Microsoft shows Copilot taking actions across Windows files
By Automate Basics, written with AI from The Verge's original
Microsoft showed a Copilot upgrade that can find local Windows files and take actions across the operating system. A demonstration showed it gathering documents, preparing an archive and drafting an email, but Microsoft did not give a release date.
What changed in Windows Copilot?
Microsoft showed an upgrade that gives Copilot access to files stored on a Windows PC and lets it take actions across the operating system, according to The Verge. Microsoft calls its approach Hybrid Intelligence: apps and tools can draw on both AI running on the PC and AI running in the cloud.
In an onstage demonstration, a Microsoft executive asked an AI agent called Autopilot to help prepare documents requested by an accountant. The agent searched folders, found the documents, renamed files, put them in a compressed folder and drafted an email with that folder attached. The demonstration showed a prepared draft, not a sent message. For someone handling work paperwork, the notable change is the combination of finding files and preparing them for a follow-up task.
Who can use the Windows Copilot update?
Microsoft showed the Windows Copilot update at its Windows and Surface event, but the source does not say when the file and operating-system actions will become available. It also does not identify eligible Windows versions, subscriptions or plans, or give a price for the feature.
That makes the demonstration more useful as a preview than as a buying decision. The same event included pricing for new Surface hardware, but the source does not tie the Copilot capability to a particular device. If your workplace is deciding whether to change a Windows setup or pay for a plan, there is not enough availability or pricing information here to make that call.
How do I try it at work?
Windows users cannot follow a reliable set of steps for this upgrade yet because the source gives no release date or instructions for accessing it. Once it is available, a sensible first task would be a small, familiar document-gathering job, similar to the one Microsoft demonstrated, where you know which files should be included.
Check that the agent found the right documents, kept useful filenames, included the intended files in the compressed folder and attached that folder to the draft. Read the draft and verify its recipient before sending anything. Those checks matter because the demonstration involved several connected actions, and the source does not establish how the feature handles mistakes, access to files or approval before an email is sent.
Frequently asked questions
Can Copilot search files on my Windows PC?
Microsoft showed a Copilot upgrade that can access local Windows files and take actions across the operating system, according to The Verge. In the demonstration, an AI agent found documents in folders and prepared them for an email. The source does not say when the upgrade will be available.
Will Copilot send an email after gathering files?
The demonstration showed an AI agent drafting an email with a compressed folder attached after finding and organizing documents. The source does not say that it sent the message or explain what approval, if any, would be required before sending.
Does the Windows Copilot file feature cost extra?
The source gives no price or subscription requirement for the Copilot upgrade. It reports prices for Surface hardware announced at the same event, but does not say that the file feature requires that hardware. Microsoft also did not provide an availability date in the reported details.
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Written with AI from The Verge's original and published after automatic checks: every figure here appears in the original, and no sentence is copied from it. The picture is AI-generated. The original is the authority.
Source: Everything announced at Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Ultra event, The Verge, 7 Oct 2026.