Microsoft is enhancing its Windows 11 applications with AI-powered features, particularly in Notepad, Paint, and the Snipping Tool.
Notepad will receive an AI-driven text generation feature in preview version 11.2504.46.0, allowing users to generate text by right-clicking in the document. This feature requires a Microsoft 365 subscription, providing 60 AI credits monthly for users on Personal or Family plans.
The Snipping Tool will introduce a 'perfect screenshot' feature that refines selections for precise cropping and a color picker for identifying colors on-screen, supporting HEX, RGB, and HSL codes.
Paint will feature a new 'welcome experience' to guide users, an AI object selection tool for easier editing, and a sticker generator for creating custom stickers based on prompts.
These updates aim to integrate AI into everyday applications, although concerns exist about potential feature bloat in Notepad and the requirement for a Copilot+ PC with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for many features, which may limit accessibility.