What’s the story
Microsoft is upgrading its Edge browser with a new feature for its Copilot AI chatbot.
The update will let the chatbot fetch information from all open tabs. You can ask questions about the content of your tabs, compare products, summarize articles, and more.
The company says users can “select which experiences you want or leave off the ones you don’t.”
Copilot Mode is being retired
Along with the new update, Microsoft is also retiring the Copilot Mode. This mode could also pull information from your tabs and had some agentic features, such as booking reservations on your behalf.
However, these capabilities have now been integrated into Microsoft’s “Browse with Copilot” tool.
The move is part of a broader effort to bring more advanced AI capabilities into the Edge browser.
New ‘Study and Learn’ mode in Edge
Microsoft is also bringing an AI-powered “Study and Learn” mode to Edge. The feature can turn the article you’re viewing into a study session or interactive quiz.
Another new tool will convert your tabs into AI-powered podcasts, similar to NotebookLM’s functionality.
An AI writing assistant will also appear when you start typing on a webpage, further enhancing user experience with the browser.
Copilot will now have access to your browsing history
Microsoft is also giving Edge’s Copilot permission to access your browsing history. This will help the AI provide more “relevant, high-quality answers.”
The update will bring “long-term memory” to Copilot on both desktop and mobile versions of Edge.
This feature can customize its responses based on previous conversations, making user interactions with the browser more personalized and efficient.
Redesigned new tab page with AI integration
The new update will also bring a redesigned page when you open a new tab. The page will combine chat, search, and web navigation features.
It will also include the Journeys feature, which uses AI to categorize your browsing history into topics you can revisit later.
This is aimed at making web navigation more intuitive and user-friendly.
