Microsoft nudges closer to releasing new AI features for Windows 11

Behind the scenes, Microsoft is working on rolling out a slew of new artificial intelligence-powered features for Windows 11 users, and now the company has implemented a dedicated section within the Settings menu for "AI components".

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The new addition to the Settings menu was discovered in Windows 11 Build 26217, and isn't officially mentioned by Microsoft within its official blog post for the build. Notably, the new feature is available to developers and testers in the Canary alpha channel, and at the moment it's up for interpretation on what this new feature will do. Presumably, it will track all of the updates for coming AI features such as AI Explorer and Copilot, which was recently rolled out to Windows 11 users' taskbars.

There is also the possibility that "AI component updates" will not only be for AI-powered apps or features but also for hardware dedicated to running AI-based operations locally. Reports indicate Microsoft is preparing for its upcoming Build Developer conference later this year, which is associated with the company encouraging developers to take advantage of Windows and build their own AI features.

It's good to see Microsoft roll out a new Windows 11 update that isn't a new implementation of advertisement within its latest operating system, as it was only last week the company continued with its plan to roll out a new Game Pass ad and ads under the guise of "recommended" in the Start Menu. Both of which weren't received well by users.