New Windows 11 beta brings cool AI features - but not for all Copilot+ laptops

A new beta build for Windows 11 is revealing some cool new features and fixes coming to Windows 11 laptops. The Windows 11 Preview Build 26120.3872 (Beta Channel) is bringing some nice AI features and helpful bug fixes to Copilot+ PCs, and is also attempting to resolve some of the irritating big issues users have been dealing with.

This Windows 11 update is a big one, and it is mainly aimed at expanding the functionalities of Copilot+ PCs.

First off, we have more text actions that will be available in Click to Do. Copilot is currently a pop-up window, but Microsoft is changing that with the update. Now, you will have contextual AI options in the right-click menu, which makes the UI cleaner and more logical.

You will have two more features. One is the option to improve your reading fluency and punctuation with a reading coach. The other one is the "Immersive Reader" option, which is a mode that removes any website UI distractions from the thing you're trying to read.


On top of that, the update is bringing some big new accessibility features. The first one is the long-awaited option to add custom words to the dictionary.

Basically, if there are any colloquial phrases you may have or hard-to-pronounce words not in the Windows dictionary, those will be able to be added via voice access. You should be able to say "add to vocabulary". You will also be able to ask Windows to spell the word you just added, and "correct that" if it's not spelled right as well. Wonderful addition, if I may add.

The update also brings an improved Voice Access tour. Yep, it's simple, but meaningful as it may be tricky sometimes to figure out exactly what Voice Access can do. The tour will show you new features and improvements and you can start using them quicker.

As with any update, we also have plenty of fixes and security patches. The ability to turn off searching for clod-saved content via Windows search is added, and better controls to reduce the amount of notifications from widgets are added too. And finally, that annoying Start menu crash bug is fixed: the one that was caused by creating folders, if you've experienced it.

Unfortunately, though, not all is sparkly this time around. Curiously enough, not all Copilot+ PC will get these features, and some users might have to wait for some (unknown) time for them.

Back when Copilot+ PCs were introduced, they were powered by the Snapdragon X Elite. Chips were moved to the Arm architecture, meaning they run the same way your phone does. It replaced the aging x86 that's been the standard for... as long as time itself, more or less.

This change, of course, started a trend with all the new cool Copilot+ PC features coming to the laptops powered by Snapdragon first. Microsoft stated that these AI features will be "coming soon" to AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs, but "coming soon"... well, it's not clear exactly when this means the features will come.  

So, it won't be a uniform launch of all the new features for Copilot+ laptops. Well... it is what it is.

If you want to explore preview builds of Windows 11, you can register for the Windows Insider Program.

After you register, you can switch the "Get the latest updates as soon as they're available" to be on, and then check for updates. You should get Insider Preview then.