Microsoft is testing a news feed powered by Copilot in Windows 11. Windows Central's Zac Bowden reports that Microsoft is testing a new layout for the news feed in the Windows 11 widget panel that utilizes AI instead of the traditional MSN push algorithm. The feature is called Copilot Discover, and as the name suggests, it uses artificial intelligence to curate your feed based on your preferences and interests.
In current testing, Copilot Discover's push speed is much faster than the current version, and the animation and scrolling mechanism are smoother. Additionally, the layout is cleaner, as news stories are presented in larger boxes and larger fonts. When you hover over a story, you can like or dislike it, follow or block the media, and bookmark individual stories. Embedded videos within the box will also play automatically. There's also a notification button at the top that highlights breaking news and stock market movements, and these can be customized or disabled.
It’s worth noting that while the layout is powered by Copilot Discover, the news stories themselves still come from MSN, so clicking on any story will jump to the MSN website. However, some stories will open directly in the Widgets panel, which is a major improvement in terms of user experience.
Talking about the user experience, it seems that the widgets have been moved to a separate "Widgets" tab in the board. The board itself can no longer be made full screen, and similarly, the weather widget cannot be moved or resized. However, it's important to note that this user experience is still under development, so it may change in the future. We're not even sure yet if it will finally see the light of day, but we'll likely see the answer in a future Windows 11 Insider build.
