After adding Copilot to Notepad and AI features to apps like Paint and Photos, Microsoft is now bringing it to File Explorer.
In Windows 11 Build 26080, a new context menu entry allows you to send a selected file to the Copilot panel. You can then ask the AI questions about the file you uploaded.
Microsoft has been preparing to integrate Copilot into Windows File Explorer for some time. The feature was first spotted by PhantomOfEarth on X in January 2024. As he mentioned on X at the time, this feature is called “CopilotFEContextMenu”, where “FE” stands for “File Explorer” (from File Explorer).
But until today we didn't know how Copilot could work with File Explorer. With the latest update, we can have an idea. As shown in the screenshots below, you can right-click any file inside or outside File Explorer and choose between “actions” such as “Send to Copilot” and “Summary” using Copilot.
You can send the file directly to Copilot and ask questions about it. Alternatively, you can click “summarize”, which also sends the file to Copilot but returns a short summary response containing a bulleted summary of the document.
Copilot's File Explorer integration won't be limited to just these two actions. For example, Microsoft may also add a “rewrite” option when you send one of the documents to Copilot. Likewise, if you select an image to send to Copilot, you may be able to select “Remove Background”.
The new feature sounds tempting, if Microsoft respects its customers' privacy.
Of course, this will be somewhat difficult, since a simple Send to Copilot command will mean that the file (image or document) leaves your computer, to be processed by the company's very powerful artificial intelligence systems.
This is the Windows to come, but we'll probably have to come to terms with the idea when it's already being advertised Windows as a service
