Microsoft is enhancing the Notepad experience for users with Copilot+ PCs running Windows 11 by integrating free AI-powered text writing capabilities. This update is currently being rolled out to Windows 11 Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels, specifically for those who have upgraded to Notepad version 11.2508.28.0.
AI Features Now Available
The newly introduced features include text summarization, rewriting, and generation, which have been available to Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, and Copilot Pro subscribers over the past year. Notably, these capabilities are designed exclusively for English content. Users with a Microsoft 365 subscription can choose to switch between local and cloud AI models, providing flexibility based on their needs.
Dave Grochocki, Principal Group Product Manager for Windows Inbox Apps, stated, “Notepad now supports AI features like Summarize, Write, and Rewrite on Copilot+ PCs, with no subscription required. If you have a subscription, you can seamlessly switch between local and cloud models based on your needs.” He further emphasized that users without a subscription can still utilize the local model for their tasks, making premium AI tools more accessible.
For those who prefer a more traditional experience, the new AI options can be disabled in the settings, or users can opt to uninstall the updated Notepad app to revert to the classic notepad.exe program.
Continued Enhancements to Notepad
Since the launch of a fully redesigned Notepad app for Windows 11 in December 2021, Microsoft has introduced several features aimed at improving user experience. These enhancements include support for multiple tabs, a built-in character counter, text formatting, spell-check, and autocorrect functionalities that assist users in correcting spelling errors as they type.
In addition to Notepad, Grochocki announced updates for the Paint app, which will now support Photoshop-like project files and include an opacity slider for the Pencil and Brush tools following the upgrade to version 11.2508.361.0. Furthermore, the Snipping Tool has received an update to version 11.2508.24.0, introducing a “Quick markup” feature that allows for faster screenshot annotations before saving.
