[German]Microsoft had been announcing it as a "big event" for days—now it's clear what they meant. All computers running Windows 11 (probably 24H2 / 25H2) are to be upgraded with AI functions to become AI companions that "users can talk to." At least, that's the fever dream from Redmond, although the whole thing is supposed to be optional (for now).
To put it nicely: Anyone who is still a fan of Redmond will surely have been eagerly awaiting yesterday, October 16, 2025, because Microsoft announced that it had something big to reveal (see the following tweet from our colleagues).
I didn't mention it in my blog because it wasn't really interesting; I figured we'd find out what Redmond had in mind eventually. Only "Windows 10 support for everyone will be extended until 2032" would have knocked me off my chair—but it still wouldn't have lured me away from Linux.
The big announcement
As we know, things turned out differently, as I read on the reddit.com account enshittification in the post Microsoft announcing Microsoft announcing "a new wave of updates that make every Windows 11 PC an AI PC with Copilot at the center of it all."" And that brings us to the topic outlined in the following tweet, which includes an announcement from Microsoft and an immediate user request.
Microsoft says you should finally be able to talk to your computer. And the first user asks whether this nonsense can be turned off as an opt-out. Microsoft doesn't address this in its responses, but instead floods the channel with CoPilot teasers.
Windows 11 becomes an AI PC
In the following tweet, Microsoft then refers to the details disclosed in the Windows blog post Making every Windows 11 PC an AI PC.
Microsoft is upgrading every Windows 11 computer (no matter how underpowered) to an AI PC with a "new wave of updates"—with Copilot at the center. Redmond wants to make its AI more accessible by integrating it directly into Windows. The new "AI PC" should be able to do three things:
- Users should be able to interact with their PCs naturally, via text or voice, and the computer should understand them (Cortana was a mistake in this regard).
- Secondly, AI PCs should be able to "see" what users are doing and offer them targeted support. In other words, there is a bug that sees everything and knows what the user is doing on the computer – the "personal PC" is now history.
- And thirdly, the AI PC should be able to to take action on behalf of the user (write an email, place an order, write their own resignation letter to their employer, whatever).
Following the controversy surrounding Recall (see Microsoft Recall still collect credit card data and passwords (July 2025)), the features are essentially being introduced through the back door, just repackaged, and Microsoft is quick to assure us that all of this is (still) happening with the user's consent and based on the security of Windows 11.
On faith and error
The "Hey Copilot," copied from Apple's "Hey Siri," is designed to wake up the AI assistant so that it can take control. Microsoft strategists "believe" that this shift to voice-controlled input will be as groundbreaking as the introduction of the mouse and keyboard, as it opens up new possibilities on the PC for a broad audience.
Yusuf Mehdi, who wrote the article, says that how well AI works often depends on how well you input stuff. The more context you give and the more details you add, the better the AI's response will be. However, typing can be tedious and time-consuming, especially when multiple attempts are required to achieve the right result. With 68% of consumers saying they use AI to support their decision-making, voice control makes this process easier, according to Microsoft.
At that point, I personally rubbed my eyes in amazement and reread it to make sure I had understood correctly.
- Wasn't Cortana's promise that you could "give commands in natural language that the voice assistant would execute"? The thing disappeared into obscurity because it was a failure.
- Wasn't Microsoft's promise with Windows 8 that touch operation would be the best invention since sliced bread? You wouldn't need a mouse and keyboard anymore; you'd just tap the screen with your fingers and everything would be fine. The product disappeared into obscurity due to its failure.
- Wasn't the promise of AI protagonists that you could simply ask the AI a question in natural language and it would then provide the answer—much better than a search engine? Today, people are being drilled in prompt engineering so they can finally ask better AI questions, only to then have to laboriously figure out whether the result is valid.
We learned early on that if you lie three times, no one will believe you. I would describe what is currently being formulated as a fever dream from Redmond. Yes, there will be some scenarios where voice input makes sense. But many scenarios on desktop PCs are such that I cannot and do not want to interact with voice or CoPilot.
An open-plan office where everyone suddenly talks to their AI PC? Unthinkable. A doctor's office PC where the doctor dictates the diagnosis into the computer and the waiting room three rooms away hears exactly what degree of hemorrhoids Peter Brown from 19 oak drive in Denver is suffering from? Unthinkable. The control stations of CNC machining centers, where operators adjust a control scheme via voice input? Unthinkable for me.
When I look at typical desktop PC scenarios, there is an application running and the operating system is just a vehicle that ensures that the application is launched and works. What's underneath is irrelevant and should just do its job.
I can't shake the feeling that the ideas about what an AI PC should be able to do are born in some "ivory tower" offices where people at Microsoft have lost touch with reality.
After writing the German edition of this blog post I found this article from Tom Warren at The Verge. Warren also mentions that we have heard the "Microsoft speak" a thousand times before with Cortana, etc. ArsTechnica makes similar comments in this article, which mentions a rebirth of the ill-fated Cortana.
Everything as opt-in
To be fair, it must be said that this is (still) opt-in with CoPilot on Windows. But when it is rolled out in waves of updates, it means that the features are coming to the machines. Gigabytes of updates are being rolled out for features that users ultimately don't want. If something goes wrong with this wonderful plan, everyone looks sheepish—no one could have predicted it. It looks to me as if the development is missing the mark when it comes to "precisely meeting user needs."
But I may be wrong, and this may be the best thing since sliced bread, and it runs like a charm on the low-spec computers that retailers sell to schools and private individuals. Wasn't the credo that everyone needs Copilot+PC computers with AI chips, because otherwise the stuff doesn't run properly?
What Microsoft plans
Enough destructive criticism, here are the "great" new features that will be rolled out to all current Windows 11 PCs with the wave of updates. The "Copilot Vision on Windows" feature will be available in all countries where CoPilot is provided and will offer the following:
- Full desktop and app sharing: If you share your Windows desktop or applications, Copilot can help you analyze content, gain insights, and answer questions. I didn't understand the phrase "coaching you through it aloud." Is Copilot yelling at me, telling me what to do? I found Yusuf Mehdi's explanation exciting: "Get tips on improving your creative project, help optimizing your resume, or guidance on navigating a new game." Things the world so desperately needs.
- Highlights: With Highlights, users can ask Copilot to "show them how it's done" for a specific task. The app then displays where the user should click and what they need to do. Incidentally, I doubt that this really works outside of a few Microsoft apps. Overall, according to Microsoft's argument, Copilot can assist users and provide tips while someone is playing a game, viewing photos, etc., and show them how to improve. Alternatively, Copilot can review a travel itinerary to determine whether the packing list is sufficient for the destination. Do I feel that this is urgently needed, and would I have been lost without it for the past 70 years?
- Full app context in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint: When you share Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files, Vision can see beyond what is available on your screen, according to the text. For example, you can ask Copilot to help review a PowerPoint presentation. Copilot can then analyze the entire presentation without having to scroll through each slide individually.
I have to think hard about when I last created a PowerPoint presentation – and I have a feeling that if I don't have a plan for structuring and delivering a presentation, a co-pilot won't help me either.
The arguments listed above by Yusuf Mehdi are a typical example of the brainchild that ideas from Redmond are. I haven't heard a single argument for Microsoft's Copilot that would make me say, "I absolutely need this."
Soon, Windows Insiders will also be able to communicate with Copilot Vision via text under the term "Text-in Text-out." Copilot will respond with text in the same chat window. Until now, Vision could only be used via voice input, and Copilot "guided the user loudly through the process," according to the report. Well, you could use headphones. But wasn't there talk above that everything should preferably be done by voice?
Mehdi's post contains a number of other "wonders" about what a Windows 11 PC should be capable of in terms of AI. Connectors are supposed to enable access to other applications or services, AI is supposed to increase security, and so on.
My two cents
For me, this is typical Microsoft hype. We have a solution for something that might solve your most pressing problem. Check, if you might have this problem. What we shall call the AI bubble.
I can certainly imagine using AI solutions in certain scenarios. But then they have to be manageable, secure, and functionally tailored—and not designed in the "hello, I have a hammer, so everything is a nail, right?" manner.
Therefore, I don't understand why gigabytes of updates will be pumped through the lines to Windows 11 PCs in the future, bringing features that take up resources but are not used. And, frankly, I don't yet see how this approach can be widely applied in companies and among "thinking" people who (must) value confidentiality, security, and privacy. From this perspective, Windows 11 simply can no longer be used in many areas where confidentiality is important (lawyers, doctors, tax advisors, therapists, counseling centers, etc.) – unless there is an enterprise version where such things are never installed by default by Microsoft.
Am I being too skeptical—or does the BlueSky post above reflect the general sentiment? What do you think? My main concern is the "I'll just put this stuff on your computer, see if you can use it" approach (in the hope that enough inexperienced users won't deactivate it and will use it). That puts us light years away from "responsible IT that is transparent, privacy-friendly, and secure for people," doesn't it?
