Microsoft finally brought back Cortana to Windows 11, sort of

I was really sad when Microsoft pulled the plug on the Cortana assistant in 2023. After that, there was nothing to get help around Windows OS with just your voice. We have had the Copilot assistant for a while now, but there was no way to trigger it with voice. This is going to change now with the new AI updates that Microsoft released for Windows 11.

Voice-Activated AI with "Hey Copilot"

The biggest feature is the new voice activation system that lets you trigger Copilot just by saying “Hey Copilot.” This is an optional feature that needs to be enabled from the Copilot settings. Once activated, a microphone icon appears on the screen with a chime that indicates that Copilot is listening. You can end the conversation by clicking the X button or just saying “Goodbye” to end the session by voice.

Microsoft reports that users engage with Copilot twice as often when using voice compared to text input. The wake word detection runs locally on the device for privacy, using a 10-second audio buffer that is never recorded or stored.

Copilot Vision

Copilot Vision, previously exclusive to premium Copilot+ PCs, is now available worldwide on all Windows 11 devices. This feature can help you by analysing what’s displayed on the screen and providing contextual assistance. You can share the whole display or just the app you want assistance with. It even gives you step-by-step instructions for tasks ranging from photo editing to PowerPoint presentations without manually flipping through slides.

The "Highlights" feature within Vision shows users exactly where to click when they ask, "Show me how," making it easier to learn complex applications. For Microsoft Office files, Copilot can analyse entire documents beyond what's visible on the screen.

Copilot Actions and Agentic AI

Copilot Actions and Agentic AI will be coming soon to Windows Insiders and Copilot Labs. This experimental feature allows you to perform tasks on your behalf, like sorting vacation photos, extracting information from PDFs, or even building websites from local files using the new Manus agent. The feature is disabled by default and requires explicit user permission to keep you aware of all the actions it is taking by itself.

When will these features be available?

With Windows 10 support ending on October 14, 2025, Microsoft is leveraging these AI advancements to encourage upgrades. The company is betting that voice and visual interfaces will make computing more accessible, marking what executives call the most significant evolution in PC interaction since the introduction of the mouse and keyboard.