Microsoft Schedules Ask Copilot for Windows 11 Taskbar in Mid-2026

Overview

• Microsoft’s internal documentation sets a mid-2026 target for Ask Copilot and the companion Click to Do tool and notes both features are not yet generally available and may change.
• Ask Copilot will replace the Taskbar search box with a Composer-based chat input that surfaces Microsoft 365 Copilot and background agents directly in the taskbar and Start menu.
• Windows Central’s testing found the Ask Copilot search UI was more accurate at finding local files and apps than the current Windows Search, but Microsoft says the feature will be optional and disabled by default for most PCs.
• Click to Do uses on-device vision models to read static on-screen tables, images, or PDFs and convert them into structured, editable Excel spreadsheets to cut manual retyping and reduce cloud exposure.
• Microsoft is running UX and stability work — including a Windows K2 initiative to reduce Copilot entry points and tests to prioritize local results — after earlier logic and performance missteps that showed the company must fix basic errors before wider deployment.