The new Copilot app for Windows 11 is really just Edge in disguise

Microsoft is rolling out a new version of Copilot for Windows 11, and users are starting to realize the app isn't quite what it claims to be. Those who dug into its files discovered that opening Copilot actually launches Microsoft Edge, making it less of a standalone AI assistant and more of a rebranded browser wrapper.

If you don't have Copilot yet, searching in the Microsoft Store shows a new "Microsoft Copilot" listing with a download button, even if Copilot is already installed. The download completes almost instantly because it only downloads an installer, similar to Microsoft Edge's process.

The Store even flags that you need to take action in another window, making it clear the download is no longer handled directly through the Store. Once installed, the old native Copilot app built on WinUI automatically disappears, and the new version takes over.

Digging deeper, the new Copilot is a hybrid web app that runs a rebranded fork of Edge in a WebView2 container. Its installation folder contains a complete Microsoft Edge installation, including all Edge binaries such as msedge.exe and msedge.dll, as well as the full Chromium engine. @TheBobPony on X confirmed this by renaming the Copilot executable from mscopilot.exe to msedge.exe and its folder from "Copilot" to "Edge," after which it simply launched Microsoft Edge.

Microsoft recently announced plans to build 100% native Windows 11 apps, with a Partner Architect publicly forming a team to make it happen. We weren't sure at the time whether existing apps would be rebuilt, and this seems to indicate that this commitment applies only to future apps.

For everyday users, the practical takeaway is simple: the new Copilot ships with a hidden full copy of Microsoft Edge and is a web app dressed up to look like something more. Whether Microsoft's native app ambitions eventually reach Copilot remains to be seen.