(Credit: Microsoft)
The web, Edge, Bing, and Microsoft 365 versions of the Microsoft Copilot generative AI chat tool have supported plug-ins for months, and that capability now comes to Copilot on Windows 11.
Also new are skills, which in this case refers to Copilot's ability to perform action on the PC it’s running on, such as changing settings or showing device information. The Windows Photos app is getting a generative erase feature, similar to Google’s Magic Erase, and Windows’ included ClipChamp video editor is getting an AI-powered silence remover.
What Do Copilot Plug-Ins Do?
Plug-ins, simply put, give Copilot access to third-party apps and real-time information. OpenAI has supported plug-ins for ChatGPT Plus subscribers for nearly a year, so since Copilot is based on ChatGPT, there’s no surprise that it, too, is getting plug-in support.
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)What can these new Copilot Plug-ins do? For starters you could use the OpenTable plug-in to find and make dinner reservations at that hot new restaurant in town. Similarly, the Kayak plug-in will search and make flight reservations. Microsoft has mentioned the following plug-ins for Copilot, so far (mostly the same ones that launched on ChatGPT last year).
- Instacart
- Kayak
- Klarna
- OpenTable
- Shopify
Some of these are already available, while others will show up over the next month. But plug-ins do more than make reservations. Businesses can use them to connect their own apps and data to Copilot’s intelligent language model.
What New Copilot Skills Are Available
Copilot already had some skills, such as the ability to turn on dark mode on the PC, to start a Focus session, and to use a Snap Layout for program windows. With the update announced today, the following skills have been added:
Settings:
- Turn on/off battery saver
- Show device information
- Show system information
- Show battery information
- Open storage page
Accessibility:
- Launch Live Captions
- Launch Narrator
- Launch Screen Magnifier
- Open Voice Access page
- Open Text size page
- Open contrast themes page
- Launch Voice input
Device information:
- Show available Wi-Fi network
- Display IP Address
- Show Available Storage space
- Empty Recycle Bin
(Credit: Microsoft/PCMag)In my experience, controlling these settings with Copilot is slower than simply opening the Settings app and making the change. I’d also like to see more-streamlined app opening. As it stands, when you ask Copilot to open an app, you get a button in the answer that you have to click to actually open the app. I’d also like the ability to shut down the PC or log out from your account with my voice, as used to be possible in the good old days of Cortana.
What Else Is New in Windows 11?
As web sleuths have discovered, the included Windows Photos app is getting a Generative Erase tool, which lets you paint over objects or people in a photo and then recreates a background to match the rest of the photo. Clipchamp’s new Silence Removal tool (in preview) detects dead air in your video and eases the editing process of removing it.
Today’s update is also bringing new capabilities to accessibility and cloud PC features, including voice control and Narrator.
Microsoft is starting to roll out some of these new features today, and you can obtain them if you’re running Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2 by heading to Settings > Windows Update, turning on the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” toggle, and then clicking the Check for Updates button.