Major Windows 11 update introduces Bing AI chatbot in taskbar, among other things

Microsoft has released the latest Feature Update for Windows 11, which includes Bing Chat integration in the taskbar. There’s also a Phone Link port for iOS, a tablet-optimized taskbar, and more.

Bing Chat will be integrated into the search tool in the Windows 11 taskbar, says Microsoft CEO Panos Panay. From there, users can ask questions to the artificial intelligence and should get a similar experience to using Bing Chat in the browser. This requires users to have early access to Bing Chat, which presumably excludes most users for now. Microsoft gives examples of what Bing Chat can do scenarios like picking out recipes, planning trips, writing poems and choosing a pet.

For Windows 11 on touchscreen devices, there is now a taskbar tailored for touch-sensitive screens. This automatically reduces to a smaller bar when not in use and can be called up with a swipe up. The mode should switch on automatically when, for example, a laptop’s keyboard is disconnected from the screen.

The Phone Linkapp from Microsoft has been around for some time. Users can install it on their Android phone and then their notifications will be displayed in Windows. In addition, telephone calls can be made with the audio equipment of the computer and files can be exchanged, for example. For those who want to be able to do this with an iPhone, Microsoft now offers this as an Insider Preview.

The American company has also made adjustments in the field of widgets. There are now third-party widgets such as Facebook Messenger and Spotify. In addition, the Widgets screen is no longer limited to a maximum of one window on the screen, but can be enlarged somewhat. It is not yet fully screen-filling; left and right there is empty space.

Windows’ Snipping Tool was already capable of taking a screenshot to the clipboard in various forms, but it is now also capable of video recording. Unlike the screenshots, the videos are placed in a folder after recording instead of in the working memory. In addition, it is possible to record only part of the screen.

There are also some additions for power users. For example, following the Explorer, the Notepad now has tabs and users can search in the Task Manager. This can be done in sections such as processes, services, users, app history and startup. Furthermore, the Quick Assist app, a kind of remote desktop especially for remote technical support, now has a laser pointer function, for when the person in need would rather not give control over the inputs, but the remote assistant would like to point something out on the screen.

These changes to the operating system were previously available to Windows Insiders, the beta branch that users can subscribe to. However, this Tuesday is the first time that this feature update, internally referred to as ‘Moment 2’, is available as a non-beta. It has version number 22H2 build 22621.1344.

Microsoft “expects” that all users will receive this update automatically on March 14, along with the monthly security updates. Those who don’t feel like waiting for it may already be able to find the update in Windows Update, where it is marked as an optional feature update. This may also have to wait a while until the staged release takes place here.

Microsoft seems to have moved away from yearly major releases of Windows 11 features. Instead, it releases these so-called Moment updates in doses of a handful of features at the same time, without having a very strictly defined schedule. Instant 1 came out in November last year. A more complete overview of the changes in this update can be found in Microsoft’s blog postalthough not everything is mentioned there.