Microsoft has expanded the capabilities of its Copilot AI assistant on Windows 11, enabling users to upload and query documents, screenshots, and images. This functionality allows users to ask Copilot questions about stored documents on their PC, aiming to provide quick and insightful summaries. This feature is particularly valuable for handling complex documents such as contracts, making them easily understandable for the average user. While available on Copilot for Microsoft Edge and Microsoft's Copilot site, the company plans to launch Copilot for OneDrive soon, automatically analyzing files stored in the Microsoft cloud.
Despite the speed and convenience of the document querying feature, some users have reported issues with Copilot's persistence, with occasional lapses in memory during follow-up interactions. Microsoft's move to empower Copilot with the ability to analyze private files directly on the user's PC, avoiding the need for cloud uploads, reflects a tradeoff between privacy and speed. While the feature shows promise, there are indications that it is still in the early stages of development, with room for improvement to ensure consistent and reliable performance in handling various types of documents.
