Subj : Microsoft is supercharging Windows 11s voice commands on Copilot+ To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Tue Mar 18 2025 12:00:08 Microsoft is supercharging Windows 11s voice commands on Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon CPUs, and fine-tuning a few Recall features Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2025 11:43:11 +0000 Description: This much better version of voice commands remains in testing, but when it comes to release, hopefully itll be available for all Copilot+ PCs, not just Arm-based laptops. FULL STORY ======================================================================Windows 11 has a new preview which bolsters its voice commands You can now give commands using natural speech rather than stilted phrasing Microsoft is also fine-tuning Recall and squashing some bugs therein Windows 11 is getting new powers for Copilot+ PCs thatll let the owner give voice commands to their laptop more easily, using natural language. This is coming to Copilot+ PCs with Snapdragon (Arm-based) processors, and it has only just been introduced to testing in the Dev channel with preview build 26120.3576. Its an expansion of the functionality of Voice Access commands, whereby you can give voice instructions to Windows 11 such as Open Chrome to fire up your web browser . Right now, if you deliver a voice command along the lines of Can you open my Chrome browser, this wont work you have to stick to the exact syntax of Open Chrome. With this change in testing, though, youll be able to ask in different ways, and Windows 11 will understand if you say, for example, Please open the Chrome browser or similar. Essentially, you can relax and use natural speech as you would with a query delivered to an AI like Copilot with Voice commands under Windows 11, without having to worry about getting any given command exactly correct in terms of its phrasing. Note that this feature is rolling out to testers, so some Windows Insiders may not get it straight away. Its also worth bearing in mind that Microsoft is further bolstering Voice Access in Windows 11 to support the Chinese language in this latest preview build (with both simplified and traditional Chinese options). Microsoft has also done some tuning of the controversial Recall feature in this build, fixing some bugs (such as snapshots failing to save), and changing the Click to Do capability so its intelligent text actions are now handled locally, rather than in the cloud. Essentially, thats about keeping a tighter lid on security and processing Recall-related features on the device, rather than sending any data cloud-wards. There's a clutch of other bug fixes here, too, and you can see the full details in Microsofts blog post about this new preview build. (Image credit: Shutterstock) Analysis: A good move, no doubt but lets have it on all Copilot+ PCs How many folks use voice commands on their PC? Well, they are very useful for those with accessibility needs, of course, and potentially handy and convenient for any Windows 11 user. Having to get the commands exactly correct may have limited their appeal thus far, though, so bringing in a more natural use of language here is going to be a positive step forward for the popularity of this feature. Voice Access will also be clever enough so that if it doesnt understand the instruction thats been issued, it will look for close matches in its library of commands, and present those as suggestions you can then pick one if it is indeed the command you intended. This is clearly good work from Microsoft to try and make voice commands more useful, although it should be underlined that this is for Snapdragon (Arm-based) Copilot+ PCs only. Whether thatll change to include other Copilot+ PCs with Intel or AMD processors remains to be seen, as Microsoft doesnt mention this (and the software giant usually would in release notes like this). Still, I dont see any reason why there wouldnt be a wider deployment of this new functionality eventually. As a final note, we must remember that nothing in testing is guaranteed to make the cut for release, but itd be very surprising if Microsoft curtailed this particular line of development. You may also like... Shock, horror Im not going to argue with Microsofts latest bit of nagging in Windows 11, as this pop-up is justified Are you unable to get security updates for Windows 11 24H2? Heres the likely reason why, and the fix to get your PC safe and secure again Windows 11 fully streamlined in just two clicks? Talon utility promises to rip all the bloatware out of Microsofts OS in a hassle-free way ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/microsoft-is-supercharging-windows -11s-voice-commands-on-copilot-pcs-with-snapdragon-cpus-and-fine-tuning-a-few- recall-features --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .