As functions become more and more bloated, Windows Notepad has lost its original intention.

Windows Notepad has always been the tool of choice for many users to quickly record information. It has a simple interface and no complicated startup screens or template recommendations, allowing people to quickly get into work mode.But in recent years, Microsoft has been adding new features to Notepad, and Neowin believes that the software has gradually lost its purpose and vision over the past few years.

Once Notepad was used for quick note-taking, WordPad offers additional customization options, while Microsoft Word and OneNote provide users with a complete text editing experience.

Now that WordPad is gone, the functional boundaries between Notepad, Word, and OneNote have become blurred.

In 2021, the Windows 11 Notepad redesign was leaked, introducing Fluent Design and minimalist menus. Subsequently, the introduction of dark themes and tabbed interfaces further changed the user experience.

In 2023, the addition of auto-save functions, editing functions, and character counters, although welcome, also marked the beginning of Notepad's redevelopment.

In January 2024, AI writing assistance appeared in Notepad, and then Insiders users could use Copilot's "Explain" function directly in Notepad. Soon after, Microsoft also introduced a spell checker.

Although the addition of these functions has improved the functionality of Notepad to a certain extent, it has also confused some users. Notepad was originally a simple tool, but now it has gradually become more complex.

The function expansion of Notepad has not stopped. The addition of AI-driven rewriting, text summarization, formatting and generation functions make Notepad no longer a simple application, but begins to compete with other Microsoft applications in the field of AI text.

Not only that, but things like AI-driven text generation require a paid Copilot Pro or Microsoft 365 license to use, which could be just the beginning of Microsoft introducing more ads in Notepad.

Neowin said that from a business perspective at Microsoft, it makes sense to introduce Copilot into as many products as possible, but this is really unfortunate.