Computerworld.com [Hacking News]

In connection with this year’s Ignite conference, Microsoft has unveiled a new interpretation tool that will be added to Teams in the spring. What makes the voice cloning tool — currently called “Interpreter In Teams” — special is that users will be able to use your own voice to speak in other languages ​​in real time.

According to Techcrunch, users need a subscription to Microsoft 365 to have access to the technology.

Initially, the tool will support nine languages: English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Japanese, Korean and Mandarin. More languages ​​are likely to be added over time.

Among the first things Apple IT admins woke up to this morning was news of a pair of actively exploited zero-day attacks in the wild targeting Intel Macs, iPhones, iPads, and even Vision Pro users. Apple has already released software patches for the flaws, which is why the second thing admins realized is that they must rush through any necessary software verification process required before expediting installation of the update.

In these days of remotely managed devices and increasingly effective MDM systems, that’s far less a problem than it was in the past. You can usually make a policy change and push out updates to all your managed devices quickly.

Companies that don’t use these systems, or those that have employees using their own personal devices to access potentially sensitive internal data, must work harder to convince users to install security updates. So, what can they tell people about the latest threat that might help motivate them to install the patch today?

Why you should update immediately

First, Apple says it believes the attack is being actively used, which means any Intel system — including systems used by other people you interact with — is a potential target. “Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited,” the company said. 

Second, it slips in using flaws in software you use daily, including JavaScript and WebKit, the rendering engine that powers the Safari browser on Apple devices. In other words, everyone using Apple’s devices is a potential target. 

Finally — and perhaps best of all — Apple has already shipped a fix for the problem, maintaining its reputation for being ahead of threats, rather than echoing the approach taken by some other platforms and racing to keep up with attacks. It’s almost as if Apple’s systems remain more secure for a reason. The company addressed 20 zero-day attacks in 2023 and has guarded against just six so far this year.

Apple also shipped security patches for iOS 17 and iPad OS 17 systems and patches for Safari on macOS Ventura and Sonoma.

What the experts say

Michael Covington, vice president for portfolio strategy at Jamf, thinks all users should update at once.

“While Apple has warned that the vulnerabilities, also present in macOS, may be actively exploited on Intel-based systems, we recommend updating any device that is at risk,” he said. “With attackers potentially exploiting both vulnerabilities, it is critical that users and mobile-first organizations apply the latest patches as soon as they are able.” 

What are these attacks?

The attack vector makes use of two vulnerabilities found in macOS Sequoia JavaScriptCore (CVE-2024-44308) and WebKit (CVE-2024-44309). The first lets attackers achieve remote code execution (RCE) through maliciously crafted web content; the second lets attackers engage in cross-site scripting attacks.

As admins will recognize, RCE exploits can enable attackers to install malware surreptitiously on infected machines, perform denial-of-service attacks, or access sensitive information, while a cross-scripting attack can help hackers grab personal data for identity theft and other nefarious ends.  No one wants to be a victim of either form of attack.

Who is using these attacks?

No information pertaining to who has been using these flaws in their attacks has been shared. With that in mind, it’s important to note that the flaws were identified by researchers at Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG), which works to counter government-backed attacks. That suggests that whoever has been weaponizing these vulnerabilities is connected to a national entity of some kind.

If that is the case, recent reports from TAG suggest an upsurge in such attacks, so users in some industries and professions might want to consider locking down their devices with Apple’s Lockdown Mode to minimize their attack surface. IT, meanwhile, should review security compliance, particularly among those using older iPhones, iPads, or Intel Macs.

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Microsoft Ignite 2024 kicks off in Chicago and runs Nov. 19-22.  If you can’t make it to Chicago, no worries. First, the physical event is sold out, according to the Ignite event page. Second, it’s a hybrid event, so you can attend Ignite virtually. 

Whether you’re there physically or online, expect to learn more about the latest technologies from Microsoft — everything from artificial intelligence (AI) to cloud computing, security, productivity tools, and more  In the keynote address, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Microsoft leaders — including Charlie Bell, executive vice president of Microsoft Security, and Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of the Microsoft Cloud + AI Group — will share how the company is creating new opportunities across its platforms in this rapidly evolving era of AI.

You can also network with industry experts and Microsoft’s team, IT leaders, and other tech enthusiasts; gain hands-on experience and learn from experts at technical sessions; and learn about new products and services. (Microsoft often announces new products and features at Ignite.)

Here are highlights from the 2024 show, followed by a look back at some of our previous Ignite coverage, as well as recent articles that touch on related topics. Remember to check this page often for more on Ignite 2024.

Microsoft Ignite 2024 news and insights Microsoft upgrades Copilot Studio agent builder tools

Nov. 20, 2024: Microsoft unveiled new Copilot Studio features aimed at both expanding the functionality of AI agents created with the application and improving the accuracy of outputs. Customers will be able to connect Copilot Studio agents to third-party apps, and tools for building autonomous agents are now available in a public preview.

Microsoft partners with industry leaders to offer vertical SLMs

Nov. 20, 2024: Teaming up with industry partners such as Bayer and Rockwell Automation, Microsoft is adding pre-trained small language models to its Azure AI catalog aimed at highly specialized use cases.

Microsoft brings automated ‘agents’ to M365 Copilot

Nov. 19, 2024: Microsoft has introduced a new tool in Microsoft 365 Copilot to automate repetitive tasks, part of a drive to make the genAI assistant more useful to users. Copilot Actions features a simple trigger-and-action interface that Microsoft hopes will make the workflow automations accessible to a wide range of workers. 

Microsoft extends Entra ID to WSL, WinGet

Nov. 19, 2024: Microsoft has added new security features to Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and the Windows Package Manager (WinGet), including integration with Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Active Directory) for identity-based access control. The goal is to enable IT admins to more effectively manage the deployment and use of these tools in enterprises.

Microsoft looks to genAI, exposure managment, and new bug bounties to secure enterprise IT

Nov. 19, 2024: Microsoft announced a host of new security measures at its annual Ignite conference, with the goal of strengthening its existing data protection, endpoint security, and extended threat detection and response capabilities. Notable improvements include the introduction of a dedicated exposure management tool, an upgrade to insider risk management (IRM) tailored to GenAI usage, new data loss prevention (DLP) features, and integration of genAI into security operations center (SOC) processes.

Microsoft and Atom Computing claim breakthrough in reliable quantum computing

Nov. 19, 2024: The companies have announced what they claim is a significant step forward in reliable quantum computing, unveiling a commercial quantum machine built with 24 entangled logical qubits. The system, achieved through a combination of Atom Computing’s neutral-atom hardware and Microsoft’s qubit-virtualization technology, aims to address the critical challenge of error detection and correction in quantum computation.

Microsoft adds major upgrades to Power Apps at Ignite

Nov. 19, 2024: The company announced a series of low-code product enhancements, targeted at developers, that ranged from new agent-building capabilities in Power Apps and Power Pages to new AI and governance features in the codeless automation tool Microsoft Power Automate.

Microsoft’s Windows 365 Link is a thin client device for shared workspaces

Nov. 19, 2024: Microsoft will start selling a thin client device that lets workers boot directly to Windows 365 “in seconds,” the company announced on Tuesday.

Microsoft reimagines Fabric with focus on AI

Nov. 19, 2024: The company announced a slate of enhancements to its data analytics platform, including Fabric Databases, which can provision auto-optimizing and auto-scaling AI databases in seconds.

Microsoft rebrands Azure AI Studio to Azure AI Foundry

Nov. 19, 2024: The toolkit for building generative AI applications has been packaged with new updates to form the Azure AI Foundry service.

From MFA mandates to locked-down devices, Microsoft posts a year of SFI milestones at Ignite

Nov. 19, 2024: The company shared a progress report on its Secure Future Initiative (SFI), introduced a year ago, which included significant measures such as enforcing multifactor authentication (MFA) by default for new tenants, isolating close to 100,000 work devices under conditional access policies, and blocking GitHub secrets from exposure.

Previous Microsoft Ignite coverage Microsoft to launch autonomous AI at Ignite

Oct. 21, 2024: Microsoft will let customers build autonomous AI agents that can be configured to perform complex tasks with little or no input from humans. Microsoft announced that tools to build AI agents in Copilot Studio will be available in a public beta that begins at Ignite on Nov. 19, with pre-built agents rolling out to Dynamics 365 apps in the coming months.

Microsoft Ignite 2023: 11 takeaways for CIOs

Nov. 15, 2023: Microsoft’s 2023 Ignite conference might as well be called AIgnite, with over half of the almost 600 sessions featuring AI in some shape or form. Generative AI (genAI), in particular, is at the heart of many of the product announcements Microsoft is making at the event, including new AI capabilities for wrangling large language models (LLMs) in Azure, new additions to the Copilot range of genAI assistants, new hardware, and a new tool to help developers deploy small language models (SLMs) too.

Microsoft partners with Nvidia, Synopsys for genAI services

Nov. 16, 2023: Microsoft has announced that it is partnering with chipmaker Nvidia and chip-designing software provider Synopsys to provide enterprises with foundry services and a new chip-design assistant. The foundry services from Nvidia will be deployed on Microsoft Azure and will combine three of Nvidia’s elements — its foundation models, its NeMo framework, and Nvidia’s DGX Cloud service.

As Microsoft embraces AI, it says sayonara to the metaverse

Feb. 23, 2023: It wasn’t just Mark Zuckerberg who led the metaverse charge by changing Facebook’s name to Meta. Microsoft hyped it as well, notably when CEO Satya Nadella said, “I can’t overstate how much of a breakthrough this is,” in his keynote speech at Microsoft Ignite in 2021. Now, tech companies are much wiser, they tell us. It’s AI at heart of the coming transformation. The metaverse may be yesterday’s news, but it’s not yet dead.

Microsoft Ignite in the rear-view mirror: What we learned

Oct. 17, 2022: Microsoft treated its big Ignite event as more of a marketing presentation than a full-fledged conference, offering up a variety of announcements that affect Windows users, as well as large enterprises and their networks. (The show was a hybrid affair, with a small in-person option and online access for those unable to travel.)

Related  Microsoft coverage Microsoft’s AI research VP joins OpenAI amid fight for top AI talent

Oct. 15, 2024: Microsoft’s former vice president of genAI research, Sebastien Bubeck, left the company to join OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. Bubeck, a 10-year veteran at Microsoft, played a significant role in driving the company’s genAI strategy with a focus on designing more efficient small language models (SLMs) to rival OpenAI’s GPT systems.

Microsoft brings Copilot AI tools to OneDrive

Oct. 9, 2024: Microsoft’s Copilot is now available in OneDrive, part of a wider revamp of the company’s cloud storage platform.  Copilot can now summarize one or more files in OneDrive without needing to open them first; compare the content of selected files across different formats (including Word, PowerPoint, and PDFs); and respond to questions about the contents of files via the chat interface. 

Microsoft wants Copilot to be your new AI best friend

Oct. 9, 2024: Microsoft’s Copilot AI chatbot underwent a transformation last week, morphing into a simplified pastel-toned experience that encourages you…to just chat. “Hey Chris, how’s the human world today?” That’s what I heard after I fired up the Copilot app on Windows 11 and clicked the microphone button, complete with a calming wavey background. Yes, this is the type of banter you get with the new Copilot.

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Microsoft at this week’s Ignite conference unveiled new Copilot Studio features aimed at both expanding the functionality of AI agents created with the application and improving the accuracy of outputs.

Copilot Studio was unveiled at last year’s event as a way to customize Microsoft’s generative AI (genAI) “copilot” assistants for different business use cases. Since then, the company has stepped up its messaging around AI agents that can perform a wider variety of tasks on behalf of workers.

Among the latest updates to Copilot Studio is the ability to connect agents to third-party applications such as Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Zendesk. The goal is to provide access to “real-time knowledge” that helps answer complex questions, Microsoft said. That feature is now in preview. 

[ Related: Microsoft Ignite 2024 news and insights ]

In addition, Copilot Studio now integrates with the new Azure AI Foundry to enable access to a wider range of data within an organization, Omar Aftab, vice president of conversational AI at Microsoft, said in a blog post. “By connecting all their data sources, organizations can see that agents are more grounded in their business data and provide specific, high-quality responses,” he said. 

There are also new “multimodal” AI enhancements to Copilot Studio agents. Users can embed an agent built in Copilot Studio into an interactive voice system (used in automated voice calls for customer service, for example) to create “speech enabled agents,” said Aftab. These can also be embedded in various “applications, standalone kiosks, concierge systems, and more,” he said. And Copilot Studio agents can now analyze images, allowing users to upload files and ask questions about them.

Microsoft has also opened access — in a public preview — to autonomous agent builder tools in Copilot Studio, as announced last month. “Makers can now build agents that work on their behalf, without having to prompt the agent, saving human hours and increasing efficiency,” said Aftab. “They can create these agents from scratch or configure agents that are prebuilt in Copilot Studio.” 

There’s an agent library to help users get started, too, (also in public preview), with pre-built agents tailored to common work processes such as leave management, sales orders and deal acceleration, Microsoft said. 

Among the other announcements Tuesday is the ability to build customized agents with a “streamlined Copilot Studio experience” that’s now embedded in the BizChat interface of Microsoft 365 Copilot. These agents are created using natural language directions, and can be given access to enterprise data held in apps such as Dynamics 365 and SharePoint. There are also pre-built agents, including an Employee Self-Service agent. 

Copilot Studio can address some of the shortcomings of a “horizontal” tool such as Microsoft 365 Copilot, which often requires a lot of guidance to access the right data, and may produce hallucinations, said J.P. Gownder, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester.

“The Copilot Studio tools help to fill this gap by allowing organizations to create more finely tuned solutions that nevertheless are a lot easier and cheaper than training a model from scratch,” he said. 

Improved tuning and sourcing in Copilot Studio allows more retrieval augmented generation (RAG)-based approaches, said Gownder, which specifies data more precisely, reducing the likelihood of “both vague outputs and hallucinations.” The ability to use custom Azure AI Search indexes as a knowledge source for custom RAG scenarios — another of the Copilot Studio updates at Ignite — allows for more “specific, contextual, and accurate outcomes,” he said. 

“Being able to then take these Copilot Studio agents and plug them into Microsoft 365 Copilot could democratize some of these innovations, allowing employees to tap into them right in their flow of work,” said Gownder. “This heightened context, accuracy, and specificity could solve some of the problems that enterprise leaders have cited as downsides to M365 Copilot.

“Microsoft has rolled out a lot of Copilot solutions with sunny story lines that enterprises aren’t always able to replicate in their own environments,” said Gownder. “So, while the Copilot Studio announcements sound promising, we must wait and see if they truly work as advertised to create value.”

A US congressional commission has called for a “Manhattan Project-like” initiative to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) development, urging Congress to grant the executive branch sweeping, multiyear contracting authority to fund advancements in AI, cloud computing, and data centers.

The bipartisan US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) issued the recommendations in a 793-page report on Tuesday, highlighting the growing urgency to outpace China’s rapid strides in emerging technologies, including AI, quantum computing, and biotechnology.

“Congress should establish and fund a Manhattan Project-like program dedicated to racing and acquiring an Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) capability,” the report stated, drawing parallels to the WWII-era government project that developed the first atomic bombs.

“Provide broad multiyear contracting authority to the executive branch and associated funding for leading artificial intelligence, cloud, and data center companies and others to advance the stated policy at a pace and scale consistent with the goal of US AGI leadership,” the report further added as a suggestion to Congress.

The report also advised the Secretary of Defense to designate AI projects as having the highest national priority, underscoring the strategic importance of staying technologically ahead of China to protect US economic and military interests.

“Direct the US secretary of defense to provide a Defense Priorities and Allocations System “DX Rating” to items in the artificial intelligence ecosystem to ensure this project receives national priority,” it stated.

A “DX Rating” is assigned to programs of highest national priority.

The USCC, established in 2000 to monitor and report on US-China trade and economic relations, issued its latest report amid mounting geopolitical tensions and a race to dominate the technologies of the future.

Tech rivalry with global implications

The commission warned that China’s technological progress, if left unchecked could threaten US deterrence in the Pacific region and destabilize the global balance of power. “China’s advancements could erode the United States’ economic and military position and tip the global balance of power,” the report said.

The US has already taken steps to limit China’s access to critical technologies. On Monday, the Treasury Department finalized a rule restricting US investments in Chinese AI, quantum computing, and semiconductor sectors — a move building on President Joe Biden’s executive order last year aimed at curbing the export of technologies that could bolster China’s military and intelligence capabilities.

Tuesday’s report also detailed tensions between the two nations over issues such as sanctions on Chinese officials, restrictions on semiconductor imports, and national security concerns surrounding the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok.

“Despite a bilateral agreement reached in late 2023 to pursue limited cooperation on military communication, climate change, countering fentanyl and other drugs, artificial intelligence (AI), and people-to-people ties, China has continued its efforts to counter or weaken US policies without changing its own behavior,” the report observed.

Generative AI is central to the recommendations of the report, which pointed out that while the US currently leads development in the domain by over a year, “Chinese companies are making a concerted effort to develop generative AI models similar in sophistication to those of US companies.”

The USCC report also emphasized the US’ need to maintain leadership in developing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) — AI systems capable of performing any intellectual task that a human can do.

The proposed initiative echoes the strategic and national security urgency of the original Manhattan Project, highlighting the role of advanced technology in shaping global power dynamics.

Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant appears to be transforming into a chatty AI sidekick, and I’ve seen quite a few Copilot users who aren’t happy about it. Thankfully, there’s now another option for anyone interested in using AI purely for productivity — a full-featured ChatGPT app for Windows PCs.

Even at launch, ChatGPT’s Windows app is already a better productivity tool than Copilot. It’s quite a setback for Microsoft’s AI assistant — which, when it first launched as Bing Chat, had a more powerful AI model than ChatGPT and offered features that went beyond what ChatGPT offered, such as the ability to search the web.

Things have certainly changed.

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Meet ChatGPT’s new Windows app

OpenAI technically launched its ChatGPT app for Windows in October. But at the time, the ChatGPT Windows app was only for paying ChatGPT subscribers. Now, it’s free for anyone to use — including free ChatGPT users.

That means you can now get ChatGPT’s Windows app from the Microsoft Store, whether you’re paying for the premium version of the service or not. The app runs on both Windows 11 and Windows 10 PCs. Once you launch it, you’ll have to sign in with an account. (The web-based version of ChatGPT doesn’t require an account, but the desktop app does.)

The official ChatGPT app offers more options than Copilot.

Chris Hoffman, IDG

(While I’m focusing on Windows here, it’s worth noting that official ChatGPT apps are also available for Mac, Android, iPhone, and iPad.)

ChatGPT’s app is just like Copilot — but better

Under the hood, both Copilot and ChatGPT use much of the same technology. While Google’s Gemini assistant uses Google’s own AI models, Microsoft’s Copilot uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT models — along with something Microsoft calls the “Microsoft Prometheus model.”

Comparing the two, you’ll first notice how similar the interface is. But ChatGPT feels more like a more focused productivity tool, whereas Copilot feels like it’s trying to be more friendly and approachable. Copilot has pastel colors, lots of graphics, and greets you by name with requests about how your day is going.

Microsoft Copilot is starting to feel more like an “AI friend” than an AI assistant.

Chris Hoffman, IDG

For example: Both ChatGPT and Copilot offer voice chat. When I click the voice chat button in ChatGPT, I hear silence — the AI model won’t respond until I speak to it. When I click the voice chat button in Copilot, I hear a friendly “Hey Chris! How’s your day going?”

It really makes me wonder: Were few people using Copilot in Windows? Did Microsoft have to redesign it to make it more approachable?

ChatGPT provides a selection of voice options, just like Copilot does.

Chris Hoffman, IDG

ChatGPT’s app also beats Copilot when it comes to working with files:

• Copilot lets you drag and drop image files to upload them — but that’s it.
• ChatGPT lets you drag and drop PDF files, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and more to the ChatGPT app to upload them and ask questions about them.

It’s just a much more powerful interface. ChatGPT offers more flexibility with its built-in hotkeys, too:

• To launch Copilot, you’ll need a new-ish laptop that comes with a Copilot key on its keyboard. (Microsoft used to let the Windows+C hotkey launch Copilot, but that’s been removed.)
• To launch ChatGPT, you can press Alt+Space — or you can change this shortcut to anything you’d prefer in the ChatGPT app’s settings. (If you have Microsoft PowerToys installed, the Alt+Space shortcut may launch the PowerToys Run launcher instead. You’ll need to change the hotkey for either tool.)

If you do have a laptop with a Copilot key, you’ll be able to go into the Settings app in Windows and tell Windows to launch the ChatGPT app instead of the Copilot app when you press it.

ChatGPT launches a convenient small window when you press the shortcut.

Chris Hoffman, IDG

ChatGPT also offers more flexibility when it comes to working with saved conversations:

• Copilot will let you start a new conversation, if you like — but that’s it.
• ChatGPT lets you start new chats, and it also lets you switch to recent chats you’ve used right from its sidebar.

Some features are similar. Both Copilot and ChatGPT can search the web for you to find up-to-date information. Neither can search the web while you’ve having a voice conversation, however — hopefully that’ll arrive in the future.

Both ChatGPT and Copilot offer different answers, too. You should experiment with both to see which best fits your needs. However, in my testing, I found that ChatGPT was more verbose in its responses — in a good way. Since the update where Copilot started trying to be your best friend, Copilot has been giving shorter responses with a focus on follow-up questions for you, to keep the conversation going.

Copilot Pro still beats ChatGPT for Office integration

For all of ChatGPT’s advantages, Copilot does still have one trick up its sleeve: If you pay for a $20 per month Copilot Pro subscription, you get access to Copilot AI integration in Microsoft Office apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

If this is a feature you like, Copilot is unbeaten. ChatGPT can’t get its hooks into Office apps directly. And it’s a good argument for paying Microsoft’s $20-per-month Copilot Pro subscription rather than OpenAI’s $20-per-month ChatGPT Plus subscription if you’re going to be spending money on a premium AI chatbot subscription.

But for people who aren’t spending any money, ChatGPT is a better productivity tool.

I haven’t found it worthwhile to spend $20 a month to use Copilot in Office apps, although I use Microsoft Word and Excel all the time. But everyone has different workflows, and some professionals are finding it to be useful.

ChatGPT is more of a productivity tool than Copilot

I haven’t covered every option in the ChatGPT app here. In general, ChatGPT has more options and feels like more of a productivity tool, while Copilot feels more like it’s trying to be the new ELIZA. (ELIZA was a chatbot from the 1960s. It was a mock therapist that asks questions like “How does that make you feel?”)

ChatGPT also offers more for free, for anyone whose company isn’t already footing a premium subscription. For example: ChatGPT lets you upload Office documents to analyze them; on Microsoft’s side, that feature requires the $20 per month Copilot Pro subscription to do the same thing in Word or other Microsoft 365 apps.

And, again, Copilot refuses to let you launch it with a hotkey — unless you buy a new PC that comes with a Copilot key; ChatGPT lets you choose your own key.

ChatGPT pulls ahead — for now

Is the race over? Of course not. Remember, when Microsoft launched Bing Chat, it surpassed ChatGPT. Bing Chat originally had more advanced AI models that only came to ChatGPT later. Microsoft could improve the ChatGPT app and integrate it better with Windows — currently, it’s really just a web app. And Microsoft could create its own AI models and use them with Copilot.

But, for now, ChatGPT is in the lead here. Windows users who rely on ChatGPT — or Windows users who just want a more powerful AI chatbot app than what Microsoft is delivering with Copilot — should install the app and give it a look.

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Stop me if you’ve heard this one: Google’s got two primary user-facing platforms, Android and ChromeOS — and, if the latest rumors are to be believed, the company may be on the brink of bringing ’em together and combining ’em into a single, streamlined entity.

If you’re feeling a funny sense of déjà vu, you aren’t alone. We’ve been going through some version of this same exact scenario more or less nonstop since the advent of ChromeOS nearly a decade and a half ago.

The buzz reached a boiling point around 2015, when a string of reports told us with no uncertainty that Google was, like, totally gonna merge Android and ChromeOS and that the long-predicted one-or-the-other duel was nearing its inevitable conclusion.

The reality, of course, has thus far turned out to be far more nuanced and less dramatic. Instead of merging the two platforms into one, Google’s spent the past several years working to align them and bring more Android-inspired elements into the ChromeOS environment. The result has been an experience that feels noticeably more consistent, complementary, and connected — and that’s turned Chromebooks into a much more versatile, capable, and broadly appealing computing product that’s genuinely compelling for professional purposes.

And yet, the notion of Android and ChromeOS coming together continues to come up. A fresh set of rumors about a pending platform merger is gaining steam this second, in fact. And while I’m usually the first person to throw water on such possibilities and raise the curtain of skepticism around those claims, for the first time, I’m actually thinking: You know, right now, this might make an awful lot of sense.

Let me explain.

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Google’s never-ending Android-ChromeOS saga

These latest rumors, from known Android oracle Mishaal Rahman, stem from an unnamed “source within Google.” And they state, unequivocally, that Google is “working on a multi-year project to fully turn ChromeOS into Android,” with an intended end result of creating a single platform “that finally bests the iPad.”

To better compete with the iPad as well as manage engineering resources more effectively, Google wants to unify its operating system efforts. Instead of merging Android and ChromeOS into a new operating system like rumors suggested in the past, however, a source told me that Google is instead working on fully migrating ChromeOS over to Android. While we don’t know what this means for the ChromeOS or Chromebook brands, we did hear that Google wants future “Chromebooks” to ship with Android. 

While this specific suggestion may sound somewhat new, the idea behind it actually dates back to the first set of serious rumors around an Android-ChromeOS combo. Back then, in 2015, the theory was that Google would somehow “fold” ChromeOS into Android to create a single combined mega-platform.

And that same basic scenario is almost exactly what’s being proposed again today.

It’s a significant twist from the most recent set of Android-ChromeOS merger rumors, from 2018, which suggested that Google was cookin’ up an entirely new piece of software called Fuchsia that’d ultimately act as an all-purpose replacement for Android and ChromeOS alike. That rumor had echoes of a previous narrative (!) around a similarly all-new operating system called Andromeda from 2016, even down to the alleged Pixel-branded laptop being prepped to showcase the newly combined software.

Spoiler alert: Neither possibility ended up playing out as predicted.

At those times, I was adamant that a full-fledged merger of any sort with Android and ChromeOS seemed unlikely and that, just like early on in the platforms’ coexistence, more nuanced ongoing alignments seemed like the more logical progression. Those analyses have proven somewhat prophetic over time.

But now, I’m not nearly as convinced that that sort of sanity-seeking, perspective-drawing counternarrative needs to exist.

Reconsidering an Android-ChromeOS combo

To be clear, I’m not basing my conclusions here off any sort of inside info. I’ve reached out to Google to ask for clarity around the latest Android-ChromeOS combo reports, and as of this writing, I’ve yet to hear back with any official answers.

My views are based entirely on my own observations, as someone who’s both personally used and closely covered Android and ChromeOS since their earliest eras.

And unlike with every past rumor along these lines, this one feels almost shockingly sensible — from the perspective of Google, as a business, and also from the perspective of those of us who use and rely on devices across the Android-ChromeOS spectrum as part of our professional and/or personal lives.

As I’ve continued to contemplate this over the past few days, I’ve realized I have a couple core reasons why this strikes me as being such a sensible shift from all perspectives at this point:

1. The Google benefit

First and foremost, we have to remember that Google is a business — and so any move it makes has to be something that’d benefit it from a business perspective as well as, ideally, benefitting us as its users.

And on that front, an Android-ChromeOS combo has never made more sense.

For months now, we’ve been watching Google “realign” its business to cut costs and streamline, simplify, and eliminate areas that aren’t actively moving the organization forward in any measurable way. Part of that has even involved an ongoing shift in the teams responsible for Android and ChromeOS — divisions that recently lost their longtime leaders and became part of a broader Google “Platforms and Devices” team under the same single executive previously responsible only for homemade hardware.

At the same time, Google’s been increasing its under-the-hood alignment of Android and ChromeOS in some eyebrow-raising ways. Most notably, this past summer, the company announced it would begin working on revamping the under-the-hood ChromeOS engine to use the same foundation as Android — a nerdy-sounding pivot that, one could contend, sets the stage for something exactly like what we’re hearing about now to follow.

On top of that, we’ve seen signs suggesting work is afoot on a new Android-based version of Chrome that’d support extensions and an effort to allow Linux access within Android — just like we already have within ChromeOS. Let’s not forget, too, about the new under-development desktop windowing system for Android tablets (for which my first reaction upon using it was: “This feels a lot like ChromeOS!”) and even the decreased emphasis of the signature Chromebook Launcher/Search/Everything key. Considered under the umbrella of this latest rumor, it sure seems reasonable to see these once-disparate-seeming shifts as pieces that’d build toward that same broader puzzle.

Factor in fresh questions around whether Google could one day be forced to sell off Chrome entirely as part of its ongoing U.S. monopoly investigation, and it’s easy to see why a move to Android as the underpinnings of a Chromebook could now add up in a way that didn’t entirely come together in the past.

But there’s another side to the story, too, and it’s every bit as important.

2. The user benefit

As someone who uses both Android and ChromeOS every single day, two truths about the platforms are undeniable:

• The Android touch experience is exceptional. When you’re using Android on a phone or a tablet — in an optimal Android environment, at least — you’re typically left wanting for nothing.
• At the same time, the Chromebook desktop experience is in a league of its own. Using a ChromeOS device as a computer is incredible and something that, despite all the ongoing progress over the years, Android in the same scenario simply can’t match.

Now, don’t get me wrong: Android and ChromeOS both provide perfectly passable experiences in their alternate forms. A Chromebook in its tablet mode is fine, as is an Android device in its desktop environment. But neither holds a candle to what the other platform can offer in its more native-feeling “default” version of that same environment — Android on the touch side and ChromeOS with a keyboard.

So if Google managed to create a situation where you could essentially enjoy Android when a device is in a touch-centric form and then seamlessly switch to something that felt like a Chromebook when a keyboard is attached, it could create a brilliant best-of-both-worlds mashup — a scenario where you don’t have to settle for passable and could instead have the best possible option for any given way you’re using a device at any moment, whether it’s an “Android tablet” or a “Chromebook” in name.

It’s not far removed from my long-standing dream of owning a gadget that’d seamlessly switch to either Android or ChromeOS to match which arrangement would be most advantageous depending on how, exactly, you’re using the thing. Perhaps not coincidentally, in fact, “experiments” around a system just like that showed up in some of Google’s source code earlier this year.

And speaking of such subjects…

The Android-ChromeOS combo path no one’s considering

My revelation about the two-pronged benefit of an Android-ChromeOS merger today took me back to something a ChromeOS executive said to me in an interview a couple years ago:

“What’s underneath doesn’t really matter to the user. You could have 10 different operating systems, one for each form factor, if you wanted that. The important piece is what you present to the user.”

That, [Google Senior Director of Product Management Alexander] Kuscher says, is why Android and ChromeOS have continued to grow more consistent and connected over the years. In Google’s view, the operating system is less important than the experience — and increasingly, it’s working to present experiences that are so similar that they feel more like different branches of the same tree than completely separate forests.

And that, in turn, reminded me of some musings I shared back in 2016 — when the previous “Android and ChromeOS coming together” rumors were taking shape and everyone was convinced, again, that Google was on the brink of beginning an effort to “fold” ChromeOS into Android and create a single streamlined operating system.

At that time, I raised this newly intriguing notion:

What if [this] were essentially just a way to give Android devices a “desktop mode” — a ChromeOS-like environment that appears when, say, a physical keyboard is present, with a more traditional Android interface remaining in place for touch-centric use? A ChromeOS-like environment wouldn’t be ideal as a core part of the regular touch-centric Android experience, after all, but it sure could be valuable as an option for scenarios involving more productivity-oriented and laptop-like use.

And what if this best-of-both-worlds, dual-purpose mentality applies not only to convertible systems but also to phones? …

Such a setup could effectively turn any compatible Android device into a versatile all-purpose computer that packs the strengths of Google’s two platforms into a single superpowered package.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

To be clear, the current state of these current rumors makes it sound like Google’s moving toward a more full-fledged adoption of Android on the Chromebook front — a full merger, as opposed to any sort of harmonious coexistence.

But still: Perhaps there could be more nuance involved. Perhaps the Chromebook/”Android desktop mode” side of the equation could still look and feel largely like what we consider to be ChromeOS today, only with Android running as the foundation beneath it. Perhaps Android could be the base of the future Chromebook experience and not the entire experience itself, in any front-facing, user-visible way. And perhaps those Google-exec comments about what’s underneath not mattering and the operating system being less important than the experience could come into play once more.

If Google can manage to pull that off effectively without sacrificing too much of what makes ChromeOS special, this could be a very good thing for both the company and for those of us who rely on its platforms — Android and ChromeOS alike.

But that involves an awful lot of “if”-type questions. And right now, most of them remain vexingly unanswered.

Android-ChromeOS combo caveats — and a philosophical pondering

So, yes: I see a lot of logic in the notion of an Android-ChromeOS combo now — for Google and for us, as users of its software and devices. But I also have a lot of concerns about how this could play out, particularly as someone who’s long been immersed in the Chromebook universe and appreciative of the unique advantages that platform offers for businesses, schools, and also regular ol’ individual computer owners.

Specifically:

• ChromeOS has some significant security advantages in the way its software is structured. These are an important part of the Chromebook proposition, particularly for businesses and other organizations. If the ChromeOS base is replaced with Android, would these architectural advantages be lost?
• Chromebooks also offer some incredibly important advantages around updates, with fresh software showing up every few weeks — quickly and reliably, regardless of who made a device or how old it may be. And most Chromebooks are now promised a minimum of 10 years of ongoing software support. This, suffice it to say, is quite a contrast from the update situation on Android, where the manufacturer- and carrier-dependent nature of that operating system creates a bit of a Wild West scenario (outside of Google’s own closely controlled Pixel devices).
• On the same note, a big part of why Chromebooks can offer such a stable update experience is because of the consistency ChromeOS creates from one device to the next. Unlike Android, where device-makers and carriers alike are able to modify the software in all sorts of ways, every Chromebook is essentially identical in terms of its interface and software experience. And so Google can send out updates universally, without third-party companies needing to be involved (the variable that always leads to extended delays and irksome uncertainty on Android).
• Finally, on a less tangible but every bit as consequential consideration, using a Chromebook feels noticeably and meaningfully different from using Android in a desktop state. ChromeOS has always offered a true desktop-caliber experience in a way that Android has never managed to match. If Google isn’t able to maintain that — and if the Chromebook/”Android desktop mode” interface feels more like a traditional Android tablet experience instead of a true desktop-caliber, Chromebook-style setup — that’d be a massive stumble in the wrong direction and a major devolution for the productivity-first focus the company has managed to create with ChromeOS.

Google’s got its work cut out for it, in other words. But unlike in the past, this possibility seems promising. And the more you think about it, the more sense it really makes — again, if Google manages to get it right.

A decade ago, I posed a philosophical question about the ever-overlapping future of Android and ChromeOS. At the time, the question represented my thinking about these platforms from a slightly different perspective, with the notion of ChromeOS potentially taking over for Android at some theoretical point down the road.

The tables may have turned in the other direction, but the question itself feels freshly relevant today:

If all Android apps can eventually run on ChromeOS — and if ChromeOS evolves to look more like Android while web apps and Android apps grow increasingly similar in design — would you notice the difference between a phone running Android and a phone running Chrome?

Flip that question around, and you’ve got a fascinating slice of food for thought for this current situation. If all these factors come together and Google manages to make the surface-level Chromebook interface similar enough while maintaining each environment’s under-the-hood advantages — a tall order, to be sure — would you even realize if your Chromebook technically ran Android?

We may not know the answer for some time yet. This project is said to be a multi-year effort, and that’s providing all the still-unofficial details are accurate and the plans continue to push forward. (All tech companies test out ideas internally that never end up seeing the light of day, and Google in particular is notorious for developing concepts and then abandoning ’em before they ever turn into anything.)

But this sure is an interesting notion to chew over. And for the first time, it feels like there could be something to it beyond just misguided excitement.

Want even more Googley knowledge? Check out my free Android Intelligence newsletter to get next-level tips and insight delivered directly to your inbox — starting with my Android Notification Power-Pack as a special welcome bonus!

It took the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) less than a month to decide that there is no need to proceed further with a merger investigation after Google’s purchase of a $2 billion stake in Anthropic.

In a statement released on Oct. 24, the CMA indicated that it had obtained “sufficient information” to launch a preliminary investigation into the investment by Google, which was first announced last year and involved an initial sum of $500 million, with the remainder to be invested at a later date.

The regulator was then scheduled to announce on Dec. 19 whether or not a more detailed phase 2 probe would take place, a move that ended up being fast forwarded.

Scott Bickley, advisory fellow at Info-Tech Research Group, said when the initial investigation was announced that the probe sounded like a “precautionary investigation across the board to me, primarily due to the fact that the CMA just recently approved Amazon’s Anthropic investment and partnership.”

Last March, Amazon announced it was investing $2.75 billion in Anthropic, bringing its total investment in the AI startup to $4 billion.

As part of this partnership, Anthropic said it would use Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its main cloud provider for key operations, including AI safety research and the development of foundation models. Anthropic will also use AWS Trainium and Inferentia chips for building, training, and deploying future models.

The CMA ruling on that investment was released on Sept. 27, and stated that the regulator does not believe that a “relevant merger situation has been created.”

Phil Brunkard, executive counselor at Info-Tech Research Group, UK, said last month that “both Google and Amazon are trying to compete with OpenAI, but it’s interesting that the CMA is focusing on Google when Amazon was just cleared, which raises some questions about consistency.”

While investigations do create some uncertainty, he said, “Amazon’s clearance hints that Google could have a similar outcome. It seems the CMA is just being thorough, but these investments will likely continue.”

Brunkard said Tuesday he was not surprised by the ruling issued by the CMA, a non-ministerial department in the UK government that oversees business activities and flags potentially unfair competition.

“As I had mentioned previously, the CMA appeared to have been conducting a thorough review, and the latest report confirms they were satisfied after assessing their criteria,” he said, adding, “it’s essential that the CMA continues this consistent approach to ensure a fair and competitive marketplace.”

This kind of oversight, said Brunkard, is “especially important in the exponentially evolving AI sector, where investments from tech giants like Google and Amazon have the potential to shape the market significantly.”

The CMA first launched an initial review into the market for AI systems in May 2023, and in a statement announced it would focus in on three key areas: how the competitive markets for foundation models and their use could evolve; the opportunities and risks these scenarios could bring for competition and consumer protection; and what guiding principles should be introduced to support competition and protect consumers as AI models develop.

The organization said that the review is in line with the UK government’s aim to support “open, competitive markets.”

Cyber-attacks can cost companies millions of dollars in lost revenue, legal fees, and recovery efforts. A security breach can severely tarnish a company’s reputation and customer trust, making comprehensive internet security crucial for your small business.

Investing in effective cybersecurity measures, especially regarding business internet and email security, acts as a shield against potential threats. These internet security solutions will protect your sensitive data and maintain the trust and safety of your clients and partners.

Business Internet Security Checklist

Building a robust internet security strategy for your business may seem complex. To help you prioritize your cybersecurity threats and build a strong security solution, we’ve created an extensive checklist.

1. Secure Your Network Infrastructure

The foundation of good internet security relies on a strong, secure network infrastructure. Your network is like your office; strong walls, locked doors, and vigilant guards keep it secure.

Firewall Protection: Your First Line of Defense

Firewalls act as a barrier between your network and the outside world, blocking unauthorized access and malicious traffic. Think of it as your business’s security guard, carefully checking everyone who tries to enter. Firewalls can filter incoming and outgoing network traffic, enforcing your security rules through threat detection.

Network Segmentation for Damage Control

Imagine dividing your office into sections with different security clearances—that’s what network segmentation does. By separating your network into smaller, isolated segments, you limit the reach of any potential breach.

Even if one part of your network is compromised, the others remain safe, containing the damage and preventing a complete shutdown. Network segmentation is one of the most important security features a business can implement, even if you run a small business.

2. Strengthen Your Devices and Access Points

Each device on your business’s network, from computers to mobile phones, represents a potential point of entry for hackers. Treat connected devices as a door to your Wi-Fi networks, ensuring each one is secure enough to protect the entire structure.

Robust Passwords and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Using weak or easily guessable passwords is like leaving your office unlocked, allowing online threats to gain access. It’s an open invitation for trouble. Implement a strong password policy requiring employees to use complex passwords.

You should encourage use of a password manager and implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all accounts to add another layer of protection. Strong passwords are one of the easiest ways to strengthen your business cybersecurity.

Regular Software Updates

Software updates often include vital security patches that address identified vulnerabilities. Delaying updates on your security software is like ignoring a leaky roof; if left unattended, it will only get worse. Patch management and regularly updating all software on all your devices, including antivirus software and operating systems, will minimize the risk of exploitation.

Schedule updates and educate your employees about the importance of keeping their systems current. Regularly updating your software is one of the best free security solutions for your business.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Solutions

EDR solutions are your network’s security team that continuously monitors for suspicious activity. They then respond to this activity in real-time. Consider implementing an EDR solution that proactively detects, isolates, and responds to threats on individual devices within your network.

3. Safeguarding Your Data

Your business’s data—customer information, financial records, and intellectual property—is invaluable. Protecting your business data should be a top priority.

Data Encryption

Imagine losing access to all your essential documents; that’s the chaos data loss can cause. Having secure backups of your crucial data ensures business continuity, even if a cyber incident occurs.

Implement a secure data backup and recovery plan that includes regular backups, offsite storage, and disaster recovery testing. It is also vital to make sure your internet connection is secure before backing up data to the cloud.

Implement a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Strategy

A robust DLP strategy helps detect, monitor, and prevent the unauthorized use or transmission of sensitive data. This strategy acts as a safeguard against both accidental data leaks and intentional theft.

4. Educating Your Workforce

Your employees play a critical role in maintaining strong business internet security. Equip them with the knowledge and tools they need to act as an added layer of defense through security awareness training workshops. Human error causes many data leaks and security risks.

Cybersecurity Training

Conduct regular and comprehensive cybersecurity training for all employees. Training should focus on common cyber threats like malicious sites, phishing scams, and social engineering attacks. It is also important to educate employees about security awareness and best practices for online security, especially on public networks.

Password Management

Encouraging the use of strong and unique passwords for all business accounts, such as Microsoft Exchange, is key to fortifying your first line of defense. Implement a business-wide password manager for secure storage and effortless access for your employees.

Establish Clear Communication Channels

Establishing clear communication protocols for reporting security incidents and concerns helps you address issues more rapidly and effectively. This will help mitigate potential damage. Encourage employees to use these communication channels if they have accessed any inappropriate or malicious websites on company devices.

Your Business’s Cybersecurity Journey Starts Now

With cyber threats continuing to evolve and become more sophisticated, businesses can never be complacent about internet security and protecting their private network and data.

Taking proactive steps toward securing your digital infrastructure and safeguarding sensitive data is a critical business decision. Prioritizing robust internet security measures safeguards your small business and ensures you’re well-equipped to face whatever kind of threat may come your way.

While implementing these security measures may seem daunting, partnering with the right internet service provider like Optimum can give you a head start on your cybersecurity journey.
Want Internet service with cybersecurity built in? Try Optimum Business Internet.

Frequently Asked Questions About Business Internet Security How can we protect IoT devices from becoming the entry point for security vulnerabilities into a network?

IoT devices can be particularly vulnerable to security breaches, but several measures can help protect your network:

• Change default passwords immediately and use strong, unique passwords for each device
• Regularly update IoT device firmware to patch security vulnerabilities
• Implement network segmentation to isolate IoT devices on a separate network from critical business systems
• Disable unnecessary features and ports that could be exploited
• Monitor IoT device activity for unusual patterns that might indicate a breach
• Use a dedicated firewall for IoT devices to control their internet access

Which security measure limits the access of outsiders to the internal network of a business?

Firewalls are the primary security measure that controls external access to your internal network. They act as a barrier between your trusted internal network and untrusted external networks, like the internet. Firewalls monitor and control incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules, effectively limiting unauthorized access while allowing legitimate business communications to continue.

Who in a business should be responsible for cybersecurity?

While a designated IT security team or professional may lead cybersecurity efforts, security is everyone’s responsibility. Here’s how responsibility can be distributed:

• Leadership: Set security policies and allocate resources
• IT Department: Implement and maintain security measures
• Department Managers: Ensure compliance within their teams
• Employees: Follow security protocols and report suspicious activity
• External Partners: Comply with security requirements when accessing company resources

However, if you don’t have the benefit of a dedicated IT department, you can turn to Optimum for help and support.

What can we do to stay on top of cybersecurity threats?

Keeping strong cybersecurity is all about staying alert and taking proactive steps. Organizations should consider signing up for threat intelligence feeds to stay updated on new vulnerabilities and regularly assess their security to spot potential issues.

Having an ongoing routine of software updates and security patches, along with ongoing employee training on security awareness, can help build a strong cybersecurity foundation. Many organizations also find it helpful to team up with cybersecurity experts who can offer advice on new threats and suggest the best security practices.

Learn more about what Optimum can do for your business.

A new research study indicates that Open AI’s chatbot Chat GPT-4 is better at diagnosing diseases than human doctors, according to The New York Times.

Fifty doctors, a mix of attending physicians and residents, participated in the study; diagnoses were based on evaluations of medical patient cases. All in all, Chat GPT-4 got a 90% score for the diagnoses it delivered; the doctors on their own got average scores of 74%.

The doctors also reportedly performed worse than the chatbot when they were allowed to use Chat GPT-4 in their work. Physicians who used the tool performed only marginally better — getting scores of 76% — than physicians who did not use a chatbot at all.

The reason for that, the study said, was that the doctors rarely allowed themselves to be convinced by the chatbot if it noticed something that did not agree with the doctor’s own diagnosis. Many doctors also didn’t know how to use the chatbot’s skills to their full potential.

Apple’s main manufacturing partner, Foxconn, has announced it is working with Nvidia to build digital twins that it says will reshape the future of manufacturing and supply chain management.

Nvidia and Foxconn last year announced plans to use Nvidia’s Omniverse platform to create 3D digital twin tech with which to plan and simulate automated production lines. The scheme was first put into effect at Foxconn’s Hsinchu factory in Taiwan and will be scaled out to Foxconn factories worldwide. 

What happens in Hsinchu…

Apple’s connection with the Hsinchu facility isn’t particularly overt, but it certainly exists. There’s an Apple Store currently hiring in the city, and Apple also has an R&D facility there. In 2020, Apple confirmed plans to build a new plant in Hsinchu Science Park to supplement the operations it already had in place.

As far as we know, Apple’s Hsinchu-based R&D teams are working on next-generation monitor technologies such as low-temperature polysilicon displays and metal-oxide-semiconductor screens, along with quantum film image sensors, according to earlier reports. (Who knows, it’s not impossible that new tech used in the latest MacBook Pro displays might have been developed there.) 

While a bit of a long shot, some of Apple’s server development team might also be based there, given the company is developing its own servers to support its Private Cloud Compute systems for Apple Intelligence. It was recently reported that Apple has asked Foxconn to make AI servers based on Apple Silicon in Taiwan, and given the proximity of the Hsinchu digital twins project, it is hard to ignore the overt opportunity for additional cooperation between the firms.

When it comes to manufacturing, Apple has a pressing challenge to scale up the capacity to build iPhones at factories outside China. Some of this work is already taking place in India where the company is rapidly ramping up production, but it is possible Apple wants some manufacturing taking place elsewhere, such as in Mexico. 

Foxconn’s move to build heavily automated production facilities could help Apple with those efforts.

Industry 4.0 and the Apple supply chain

I see the latest news with Nvidia as part of a continuum. Foxconn has already built a growing network of eight Industry 4.0  lights-out factories in Taiwan, China, and Mexico. In China, the steady move toward additional automation means Foxconn has been able to reduce its workforce by more than a third while maintaining production levels. 

Foxconn’s entire Shenzhen, China, Guanlan factory operates without lighting as it is automated and controlled by a cloud-based AI. The vision of that latter project is that it will become possible to simply tell the cloud AI what products need to be made and how they are to be manufactured, and the system will adjust itself to automatically churn those products out. 

There’s a ways to go before that becomes possible, but it sounds like Foxconn will use Nvidia’s tools to track existing manufacturing processes so they can be more easily replicated at factories situated elsewhere. 

“Through this technology, Foxconn can replicate and establish production lines across diverse geographical locations with unprecedented speed and precision,” the company said. “This capability enables Foxconn to swiftly deploy high-quality production facilities with unified standards in strategic markets worldwide, significantly enhancing the company’s competitiveness and adaptability in the global landscape.”

Digital twin tech is also very good at identifying bottlenecks and inefficiencies in existing production processes, while the ability to more easily take manufacturing lines to new nations also help build resilience into manufacturing systems. “When facing supply chain disruptions or sudden market demands, Foxconn can quickly simulate manufacturing process changes and adjust production strategies to flexibly allocate resources across different regions for itself and its clients, ensuring production continuity and stability,” Foxconn says.

Resilience and flexibility

To some extent, the writing has always been on the wall. Supply chains globally buckled during the height of the CoVID-19 pandemic, and Apple’s decision to widen its manufacturing base to new nations was a direct response to this. Apple — and quite clearly, Foxconn — now understand the need to build resilience into the supply chain, and one way to do that is to turn to using heavily automated manufacturing systems that can be easily set up and made productive in new locations. This seems to be the game in play here, particularly in the wake of Apple’s purchase of Darwin AI earlier this year.

The other part of that game reflects the challenge of staffing manufacturing operations at the scale Apple demands. Hundreds of thousands of people globally are now involved in building Apple hardware, and the job is skilled enough that recruiting all those workers can pose problems for the company. This is likely why in June it was revealed that Apple intends to replace 50% of iPhone related assembly line workers in the next few years. That ambition logically requires the kind of productivity enhancements Foxconn and Nvidia are working on now, so logically it makes sense that Apple’s production processes are part of the plan.  

Designed by Apple, built by robots

Achieving this is not going to be easy. But where Apple goes, others inevitably follow, which itself means that future employment is going to become even further deindustrialized at about the same time as AI itself leads to mass scale changes in working practices elsewhere. It’s hard to see where this is going, but the other side of that story is that iPhone manufacturing will itself become a movable feast.

“Designed by Apple, built by robots,” some might say.

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Microsoft has introduced a new tool in Microsoft 365 Copilot to automate repetitive tasks, part of a drive to make the generative AI (genAI) assistant more useful to users.

Copilot Actions, announced at Microsoft’s Ignite conference Tuesday, features a simple trigger-and-action interface that Microsoft hopes will make the workflow automations accessible to a wide range of workers. 

The company offered up a few examples for Copilot Actions in a blog post. It can be set to create an automatic summary of important action points at the end of the workday, gather inputs from a team for a weekly newsletter, or summarize recent interactions with a client ahead of a meeting. The feature is now in private preview.

[ Related: Microsoft Ignite 2024 news and insights ]

A Gartner survey of digital workers indicated that 51% have customized and built their own workflows, apps and automations, “so the demand is certainly there for business users (aka citizen developers) to build their own AI agents,” said Jason Wong, vice president analyst at Gartner.

Microsoft’s low-code and no-code tools, including Power Apps and Power Automate, have already “paved the way for Copilot Studio for citizen development,” Wong said. “However, Copilot Studio is still an immature product, and organizations have only started to upskill their employees to understand how to build generative AI powered apps or agents.”

Other new features announced at Ignite include an update to Copilot Pages, the recently-launched document editor tool connected to M365 Copilot. Microsoft will add “rich artifacts” to Copilot Pages, which lets users share a wider variety of information generated in Copilot, such as blocks of code or flow charts, and share them to a Pages document. 

Copilot Pages is due to be generally available in early 2025, Microsoft said.

Copilot in Teams will soon be able to analyze visual content shared on-screen during a video call, and users can ask the assistant for a quick summary of files shared in Teams Chat. Both features will be in public preview early next year.

There’s also an “interpreter” function coming to Teams that Microsoft claims will translate meeting participants’ speech in real-time during a video call. Available in public preview in early 2025, Microsoft said it will also be possible simulate a user’s voice in the translated audio.

The feature, currently in private preview, is one of several examples of AI agents coming to M365 Copilot and M365 apps. 

Microsoft also announced AI “agents” for M365 Copilot — including the general availability of the previously announced agent builder functionality in SharePoint; the latter essentially lets users created a tailored chatbot to respond to queries related to a specific set of files stored in the content management application. To help manage and secure data accessed by M365 Copilot, Microsoft will make the SharePoint Advanced Management add-on (which previously cost $3 per user a month) available at no extra cost starting early next year. 

There’s an Employee Self-Service Agent for BizChat —  the chat interface for M365 Copilot –— whereemployees can ask HR and IT-related questions, such as requesting a new laptop. The agent, now in a private preview, can be customized in Microsoft’s Copilot Studio app.   

There’s an agent to automate project management processes in Microsoft’s Planner app (in public preview now), with plans in place to open up access to third-party agents from the likes of ServiceNow in the coming months.

Microsoft has struggled to convince Microsoft 365 customers that it’s worth investing in its various genAI tools, many of which launched last year. The latest updates provide an opportunity to show the business value of the genAI assistant, which costs $30 per user each month.  

While Microsoft’s “Wave 2” of M365 Copilot features announced in September can be viewed as an attempt to win over undecided buyers, Wong said the new agentic capabilities announced at Ignite are “really more for their current M365 Copilot customers to extend the business value of generative AI beyond individual productivity to show greater ROI.

“Copilot customers [don’t] just want content creation and summarization,” he said. “They want Copilot to replace manual work, impact team workflows and drive process improvements.”

The new MacBook Pro is everything you expect: faster, better and more capable than before. While you can say that about every new Mac, the move to Apple Silicon means Apple can introduce vastly improved systems almost every year — something that was not always possible before.

I tested a beautiful Space Black MacBook Pro with the new M4 Pro chip and 48GB memory (which I would treasure if it belonged to me). The 3-nanometer chip it uses has 14 cores, consisting of 10 performance and four efficiency cores; it has a 2TB drive; a Liquid Retina XDR nanotexture display; and it costs $3,349.

What you already know

You already know everything you need to know about the all-new M4-series MacBook Pro systems. You know what they look like, that they are considerably faster, deliver extensive battery life, and are packed with more memory than Apple has pre-installed in Macs before. These AI PCs, of course, will run Apple Intelligence and any third-party generative AI systems you want to throw at them and are capable of handling incredibly intensive tasks. (When they do, they do not become hot enough you can fry an egg on them.)

You also know they run macOS, and (as virtual machines) run Windows really well if you also install Parallels. They also run most popular flavors of Linux in VM. They’re the most stable and inherently secure PC’s you can get, and if you are running a fleet of them you also know they’re less expensive to run in terms of tech support and other costs of ownership.

That’s the reputation these new Macs carry, and every single claim is true; it is why these Macs almost always win the PC group tests.

Test scores

I ran a few tests.

Geekbench 6

• Open CL: 69,201
• Single Core: 3,964
• Multi Core: 22,952

There are multiple scores for these systems (Mac16,8) now available on Geekbench. These all confirm this kind of power.

Cinebench

I ran the Multi Core test using CinebenchR23. CPU results yielded 22,056 points for multi-core performance and 2,188 for single-core. The Mac utterly dominated single-core testing and comfortably took third in multi-core tests, eclipsing most AMD and Intel chips. 

Blender

Blender has its own benchmarks, which it has aggregated from users of its software. These give the equivalent Mac a median score of 2,547.97, which basically means Blender performance will be only slightly slower than what you can expect from a much more expensive Apple system running an M2 Ultra chip. 

Valley

I even tested the Mac using Valley. That test forces the Mac to render a selection of graphically intensive moving images, which makes it a neat way to put the GPU through its paces. This is no longer a fair test, however, as Valley isn’t optimized for Apple Silicon and relies on Apple’s Rosetta technology to work.  Despite which, the Mac flew, reaching an average 127.9 fps without switching on the fan. 

Apple wins the race

This level of performance — and annual improvements in that performance — could never have been achieved before the introduction of Apple’s M-series chips. Apple Silicon stands far ahead of the pack of Intel Core Ultra 200 chips or AMD Ryzen AI 9HX 370s (catchy name) — even the widely praised Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite. 

Really, truly, Apple now leads in the processor wars. Dollar-for-dollar, and most especially, watt-for-watt, you can absolutely expect Macs running these M4 Pro chips to handle pretty everything you throw at them — in a portable Apple supercomputer you can use on battery and trundle to your next destination tucked away under your arm. Capable of delivering 8.6 teraflops of performance, it’s the computer most in the AI development industry are using; they need this level of performance and know Apple’s Macs deliver.

Apple What are they for?

What all the performance data really means is that these Macs are more powerful than the superpowered Mac Studio or Mac Pro desktop models introduced in 2023. Want to edit a movie using pro apps like Adobe Premier or Apple’s Final Cut Pro? These machines are for you. It doesn’t stop at editing — they’re solid performers for color grading, motion graphics creation, CAD applications, RAW image editing, data modeling, structural engineering, advanced statistical analysis, even building, compiling, and testing new AI models. 

That performance also means that if you must run some legacy apps using Windows, you can — and you might find that even in emulation mode, the Mac runs Microsoft’s OS faster than most PCs. If you’re a gamer, you’ll be happy; World of Warcraft: The War Within performs 16.7 times faster than it did on an Intel-based MacBook Pro, Apple said. And these computationally intensive tasks can be done wherever you happen to be, thanks to the battery life of 24 hours. 

What about the display?

The test system I used had a nano-texture display to reduce glare and reflections. This is great for using the Mac outdoors in sunlight, and while the technology does make for a slight reduction in contrast if you look closely, this is more than offset by the image clarity. If you intend to use your new Mac when out and about, the $150 extra for nano-texture is a good investment.

When it comes to image clarity and color accuracy, you get a display capable of outputting color at the same degree of accuracy as reference systems users paid $40,000 or more for just five years ago. That’s the beauty of the Liquid Retina XDR display, which also means you can look at the display side on and still discern what it is showing. Apple has also switched to a Quantum Dot film in the display, which is a layer of phosphorescent crystals situated between the backlight and the display’s color filter that help make color more vibrant, accurate, and bright.

Otherwise, you can expect industry-leading 1600 nits of peak brightness and 1000 nits of sustained brightness for HDR and SDR content. The Mac is smart in other ways, too, and can adjust brightness all the way down to 1 nit in low-light situations. Put all of this together and what you get is a professional display in a professional notebook, which matters if your work requires staring at that display all day.

Want to use an external display? You can. While I was only able to test this with one external display, the MacBook Pro with an M4 Pro chip can drive up to two external displays in addition to the built-in display

Battery life

“Oh,” you exclaim, “but the bright display and powerful processor must eat away battery life.” While it depends on what you do, that isn’t necessarily so. Apple promises this MacBook Pro can handle up to 22 hours of video streaming and up to 14 hours of wireless web browsing.

In my experience, Apple’s battery life claims easily stand up – the only way you’ll really see battery life drop fast is if you want your Mac to start rendering large video files or preparing massive data sets for export. Oddly enough, the best way I found to easily test this was to set Valley’s test onto an endless loop. After eight hours, my beautiful Space Black Mac was still happily chugging away.

I humbly suggest that means unless you’re really pushing those processor cycles, your Mac will carry on doing whatever it is you need for a return journey between London and New York, even if you forget to bring your power cable with you. Oh, and one more thing, if you unplug your Mac, you’ll see no reduction in performance. 

Speaking to friends

Of course, if you’re staying across the ocean you might want to speak with your colleagues, family, or friends. The good news there is that the 12-megapixel webcam (1080p HD) brings Apple’s on-board camera a little further into the 21st Century.

The follow up good news is that it’s the AI Apple created in support of that camera that really does that job. Contrast will be good, even when you are backlit by a window; Center Stage will keep you in the frame without getting in the way; and Desk View gives people you speak with a good perspective on what your fingers are doing.

Of course, a good camera for video conferencing is one thing, but you also need good sound; again, Apple’s deep investments in digital sound tech is easy to hear in these Macs. The six-speaker system delivers a beautiful wide stereo sound, which means whether you’re listening to music, watching a Dolby Atmos movie, or listening to someone who loves the sound of their own voice blaring on during an endless weekly meeting, you’ll be cocooned in a cloud of sound. And if you want to output sound to a bigger system, you’ve even got a headphone port.

Summing up

Power users will be thrilled that these Macs support up to 128GB of high-bandwidth memory, which will make a big difference to 3D and AI professionals. It’s also true that users shifting video assets between multiple codecs will find they can do that while still handling tasks like color and effects processing — and if you’re trying to open a large file, the speed of the SSD is as “Pro” as everything else in this machine.

These really are pro machines, with an illuminated keyboard, outstanding built-in microphones, the productivity-boosting tools in Apple Intelligence, and the now iconic (thin and light) MacBook Pro design. You even get a polishing cloth! 

The only snag? You might not need one.

These are astonishingly portable, amazingly powerful computers that look great and sound better. However, most of us aren’t doing the computational equivalent of joining the queue to climb Everest or investigating vast data sets toward building a vaccine against cancer. Instead, we’re playing some games, surfing the internet, shifting our identities to BlueSky from Twitter, and writing a couple of word processing documents. 

Think of it this way: I’m writing this using a beautiful MacBook Pro that I can only ever aspire to.

This computer is born for speed, bred for performance, and hungry to handle some really demanding tasks. But perhaps you only really need a MacBook Air. The way I see it, if Apple were a horse breeder, then M4 Pro MacBook Pros are outstanding thoroughbreds absolutely born for world-class performance and speed, while the MacBook Air is a slightly slower but also desirable long distance runner.

I think almost every Mac user will continue to aspire to owning a thoroughbred. These Macs deliver everything we expect and cement Apple’s reputation as the world’s best racehorse breeder. No one else is consistently churning out such champions today.

You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky,  LinkedIn, Mastodon, and MeWe. 

Also by Jonny Evans:

• Review: The M4 iPad Pro — an amazing AI PC
• Google’s Gemini app is now available on iPhones
• Apple’s iPhone partners make plans for US manufacturing
  

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At Microsoft Ignite 2024, which began Tuesday in Chicago, the company announced a series of low-code product enhancements, targeted at developers, that ranged from new capabilities in Power Apps and Power Pages to new AI and governance features in the codeless automation tool Microsoft Power Automate.

According to a release from Microsoft, the Power Apps upgrade is designed to help build intelligent apps and give users more ways to leverage AI for greater productivity in low-code apps.

[ Related: Microsoft Ignite 2024 news and insights ]

The capabilities, which will be in preview next month, include a new way to build complex offerings on the Power Platform. Developers, supported by the Copilot in Power Apps, will be able to define a business problem and then step through and review proposed roles and requirements, working alongside Copilot to help ensure it reflects the true business problem, Microsoft said.

Copilot, it said, “will iteratively build a solution architecture from apps, pages, automations, and agents as possible assets. This iterative and outcome-focused development cycle will happen within a single view in Power Apps Studio, but can enhance the way solutions are built across the breadth of low-code apps.”

Other enhancements include the following:

• Agent builder in Power Apps that Microsoft said will give developers “a fast and convenient way to bring their apps into the agentic era by being able to build agents for their app from within Power Apps Studio, using the lightweight Copilot Studio experience. The app-specific agents will leverage the logic, knowledge and actions already existing in the apps to execute tasks autonomously.” App users can oversee the actions that the agents took in the app and take action if necessary.
• AI-generated record summary card with a custom prompt that will enable developers to “enrich the user experience in low-code apps with several generative AI features, including adding a custom prompt to their apps to help users easily gain insights from their records.”

• The ability for users to fill out forms using files and emails as a source of data, making assistance in apps more useful out of the box. “Model-driven app users will be able to add a file or email to generate form field suggestions, saving valuable time on a tedious task,” the release stated. “The form filling experience has been improved based on user feedback, giving more control over suggestions.”
• The ability for Snowflake data to be brought into Dataverse, Microsoft’s enterprise data platform for Copilot, through a new Snowflake Power Platform connector, which the release said will allow sales teams to analyze purchase patterns in Snowflake and track leads in real time within Dataverse.

Kyle Davis, VP analyst at Gartner who specializes in areas related to application modernization using low-code and genAI, said the “major changes that will help Power Platform customers are the new managed capabilities aligned to roles within an organization, the change to data policies, and the new capacity management capabilities.”

The new AI and governance features in Power Automate, the platform’s codeless automation tool, Microsoft said, will “span Copilot for Power Automate cloud automation and robotic process automation (RPA). These updates will enable users to build more intuitive, reliable, and fast authoring automations.”

Scheduled for preview in December, the offerings include generative actions that will accept natural language input and let cloud flows create AI-powered steps from it, and a Copilot expression assistant, currently in preview, that will help developers build expressions by describing what they want to create and referencing the dynamic data in the flow.

According to Davis, “nearly all the built-in governance capabilities have fallen under Managed Environments. The feature list has grown over time and was due for a revamp. The new approach includes new capabilities, but also breaks out the governance capabilities that existed under Managed Environments into three areas: managed governance, managed operations, and managed security.”

These areas, he said, “align with typical roles within an organization. For example, managed operations are where you’ll find backup and recovery, ALM, testing, and monitoring capabilities. Managed Security is where you’ll find IAM, network isolation, advanced data policies, and encryption.”

Davis added, “the major change to data policies is that they have been simplified. The blocked, non-business, and business categories have been removed. Now, an organization can choose which connectors to make available and which to block. Also, all connectors are now blockable.”

Also launched on Tuesday were:

• New capabilities in Power Pages that Microsoft said are designed to enhance the user experience, streamline operations and provide secure, intelligent solutions to meet evolving business needs. These capabilities, in preview, include agent-enabled workflows that “will allow users to empower their digital presence through autonomous agents, secured by robust access controls.”
• An update to the SaaS-based Power Platform admin center, currently in preview, that Microsoft said will “include pages to help users manage low-code assets and explore resources, view and help with agent adoption in Microsoft Copilot Studio, manage capacity and licenses and monitor reliability and optimize latency. The updated security page will allow IT admins to gain visibility, get recommendations and utilize the controls needed to improve their security posture.”

Davis said, “the new capacity management capabilities allow admins to allocate Copilot Studio messages, Dataverse capacity, and other capacity-based features to different environments. This has been a pain point in the past, especially when an organization has elected to use a chargeback model but has had no way to protect capacity accrued at the tenant level for those business units or departments that had paid for it. Now, if different business units or departments have their own environments, those environments can have the capacity they paid for allocated to them.”

Microsoft will start selling a thin client device that lets workers boot directly to Windows 365 “in seconds,” the company announced on Tuesday. 

Windows 365 Link will cost $349 when it launches next April, but businesses can contact their Microsoft account team and request a private preview. The preview program is open to customers in a handful of countries: the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, New Zealand.

[ Related: Microsoft Ignite 2024 news and insights ]

“As cloud adoption has been growing, we’re starting to receive asks from customers for a Windows 365 endpoint that is secure, simple to manage, and gets them directly to Windows 365,” said Jalleen Ringer, product leader for Windows Cloud Endpoints, “and it gets them there fast.” 

Measuring 4.72 inches square and just over an inch thick, the device can easily be mounted behind a desktop monitor or under a desk, Microsoft said.

The Link will particularly suit organizations that have hybrid work arrangements in place, according to Microsoft, with employees sharing the same desks and monitors. With Link devices, workers can turn up to work without a laptop and access their own Windows 365 desktop via the cloud. 

“This would also be a great fit for call centers … and front-line workers who need to be able to log into their desktop from different areas around the factory, hospital, warehouse, etc,” said Tom Mainelli, IDC group vice president for device and consumer research. “What’s potentially very appealing about this relatively low-cost hardware is that it should drive a very good Windows 365 experience while helping to accentuate many of the manageability and security benefits of Windows 365.”

The device may not be a good fit for organizations that need more flexibility, however. “Those managing a mix of virtual desktop technologies, including Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop, will need to consider alternative endpoints, as Link exclusively supports Windows 365,” said Stuart Downes, vice president analyst at Gartner. 

The Link comes with 8GB of RAM — more than enough to handle the 4GB minimum requirement Teams video calls. Microsoft also plans to support other video meeting software apps such as Cisco’s Webex. 

There’s also support for dual 4K monitors; four USB ports (three USB-A 3.2, one USB-C 3.2); one HDMI port; one DisplayPort; a 3.5mm headphone jack; an ethernet port; and a Kensington lock port. The device supports Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E. 

The Link uses an Intel chip, but Microsoft declined to provide further detail on the processor and other hardware specs. 

Although the Link does not have a neural processing unit (NPU), by connecting to Windows 365, users can access the latest Windows 11 AI features coming to Copilot+ PCs — such as Recall and Click to Do  — via the cloud. 

The Link runs a lightweight version of Windows — Windows CPC — to authenticate and connect users to their PC running in the cloud, with minimal features such as settings. There are no local apps, no sensitive data stored on the device, and no local admin users. “With the small OS, we’re able to really dial up the security at the endpoint, reducing its attack surface and enabling a high security posture, all without impacting the experience,” said Ringer.

Microsoft has been testing the device with a small number of customers; Ringer claimed they’ve seen a lower total cost of ownership with the Link and Windows 365 (presumably compared to fleets of Windows-based laptops and PCs). That’s due, in part, to less time spent by IT on device setup, maintenance and user issue resolution.

Link customers still have to pay a monthly subscription fee for using Windows 365, but that could still make sense in terms of business costs.

“A Windows 365 subscription will typically cost more than buying a PC outright, but then you have to factor in the cost of managing that device and keeping it secure over its lifetime,” said Mainelli. “Many firms struggle to find enough IT professionals to manage their fleets. W365 can simplify this, and Microsoft’s new hardware may eliminate the roadblock of deciding what it should run on.”

Microsoft said the new device is the first iteration, with other form factors in development. The company also plans to work with original equipment manufacturer partners to  develop similar products. 

“The launch of Microsoft’s Surface devices previously spurred a wave of innovation among other device manufacturers,” said Downes. “Similarly, Windows 365 Link is expected to ignite advancements in the thin client market, which has seen limited hardware innovation in recent years.”

Gartner predicts that annual spending on Desktop as a Service (DaaS) will grow from $3.5 billion today to more than  $5 billion in 2028, he said.

Unemployment in IT fields has been dropping in recent months. Generative AI (genAI) is opening up new career opportunities. Inflation is deflating, and the US economy appears strong.

So, why is it so many people are still finding it hard to land a job in technology?

This year, large enterprises, including tech giants such as Alphabet (Google), Dell, Intel, Microsoft and Cisco, have announced significant layoffs. So far in 2024, 168 tech companies have laid off more than 42,000 employees. That’s still a vastly smaller number than the 262,682 staffers laid off by tech firms in 2023.

Multiple research firms reported that the unemployment rate for IT workers dropped sharply in October. One report cited a 37% slide — a marked shift from months of incremental increases and plateaus.

One reason for the trend: small to midsize companies that had been starving for workers were scooping up talent left in the wake of enterprise layoffs. According to management consultancy Janco Associates, the IT unemployment rate dropped from 6% in August to 3.8% in September, while some other industry sources estimated it as low as 2.4%.

Last month, according Janco, the number of unemployed IT professionals in the US dropped from 148,000 to 98,000. (Janco derived its findings from a US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report released at the beginning of November.)

More recently, however, hiring has slowed, in part because of a lack of qualified candidates and because the number of job openings shrank as IT positions were quickly filled earlier this year, according to Janco Associates CEO Victor Janulaitis.

“In the last three months the IT Job market shrank by 21,900 jobs,” Janulaitis said. “Overall, that is a flattening of the long-term growth rate pattern of the IT job market. Based on our data and forecast models, there will be no growth in the IT job market in [the remainder of] calendar year 2024.”

Janco Associates

A crisis of confidence for job-seekers?

ZipRecruiter just released its latest Job Seeker Confidence Index; it found that confidence has dropped to its lowest level since the index began in Q1 2022. Forty-one percent of job seekers reported it is now much harder to find a job, and almost half of job seekers (43%) said their job search is going poorly, according to the report. Only 13% of job seekers described their hunt as going well — the widest gap in nearly three years. More than half of job seekers (53%) said there are fewer opportunities compared to six months ago, and 34% said they had to look outside their usual field.

That “flattening” in job growth has led to a dour mood among IT workers. A new survey of more than 1,100 individuals in high-demand tech roles by online hiring platform Indeed found more than a third of tech talent is concerned about layoffs in the next year. Four in 10 believe if layoffs occur, they’ll be impacted, 70% said that they are likely to start looking for roles at other companies if their current company does layoffs, and 79% feel pressure to upskill because of the rise of genAI.

The dynamic of smaller companies hiring more employees also added to the shift in needed skills.

“The economy is slowing,” Janulaitis said. “However, there are a number of jobs unfilled by IT pros. The primary culprit is the lack of qualified individuals to fill the open positions.”

Savi Thethi, who leads tech transformation consulting for the Americas at Ernst & Young, agreed that despite low unemployment, many IT job seekers struggle due to a shortage of skills in crucial areas such as data analytics, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing. The rapid evolution of those technologies has outpaced the availability of qualified professionals, creating a gap between demand and supply, he said.

“In addition, companies are increasingly investing in reskilling and upskilling their current workforce, not only within their IT departments but across the entire organization, to increase digital fluency and better prepare their workforce for the future,” Thethi said.

One of the biggest changes in the IT job market is that companies are less interested in college degrees and more likely to be seeking specific hard and soft skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, communication, and change management. They also want employees who can simply get along with others.

Companies also want candidates who have a mix of business and tech skills, according to Thethi. “Generally speaking, what can IT workers in the hunt for a new job do to increase their odds of landing one? Obtaining certifications in key areas such as AI, data science, and cloud computing is quick in many cases. Additionally, leveraging social platforms to build and expand professional networks can lead to new opportunities and valuable connections.”

It’s also crucial for job seekers to highlight their business acumen, showcasing how their skills and contributions have driven value creation and business outcomes in previous roles, he said. “By combining technical expertise with strong business skills and a proactive networking approach, IT professionals can significantly enhance their job prospects,” Thethi said.

Uneven demand for IT pros, depending on skills

Allison Shrivastava, an economic research associate at the Indeed Hiring Lab, said that while the unemployment is low, some sectors are doing much better than others. For example, many in-person and service sectors have job postings well above their pre-pandemic baselines, while other sectors, including software development and IT, are below.

There are several reasons tech-related sectors aren’t doing as well as others. In particular, the sectors expanded during the post-pandemic boom, with job postings in software development reaching well above pre-pandemic levels, Shrivastava said. The declines in hiring for those jobs could be related to a market correction after several years of rapid growth.

“These sectors are also pretty costly to hire in, both in terms of time and money, so employers could be more cautious in expanding their employee base, favoring a wait-and-see approach while the labor market settles,” Shrivastava said.

Linsey Fagan, a senior talent strategy advisor at Indeed, called the tech job market “unique right now.” With tech job volume down and more talent looking, job seekers can take steps to improve their success.

“First, tech is advancing rapidly, underscoring the importance of upskilling to remain competitive,” Fagan said, adding that the future of work will increasingly be shaped by AI, forcing tech pros to continually adapt to stay relevant.

Employers are currently struggling with the question of how to future-proof their job descriptions, since they are not 100% sure on what skills will be essential, according to Amy Loomis, a vice president analyst with research firm IDC.

“Job seekers need to show experience with current IT required skills as well as those that will be valuable for the future to drive AI-enabled business. Increasingly, enterprises require that job candidates verify their skills in real-world scenarios, like labs,” Loomis said. “Employers take significant stock in badging as a marker of proficiency, but some certifications can only be achieved by being employed somewhere that offers the training to get the badge, so it’s a Catch 22.”

A key difference between last year and this year is the speed with which skills are becoming outdated and the need for employees to undertake continuous learning to stay current, Loomis added.

James Stanger, chief technology evangelist with IT industry group CompTIA, said hiring managers are looking for more specialized knowledge in potential hires in areas such as automation, cloud computing, data security, and incident response. Hands-on knowledge is essential for demonstrating true skill capabilities.

Remote work is less of an option worldwide than it was last year, according to Stanger, which has led to an increase in security and privacy regulations, such as NIS2 in the European Union, SEC regulations in the United States, and the Cybersecurity Act in Malaysia.

“Hundreds of regulations have appeared, mandating the use of things such as Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) and imposing secure by design requirements,” Stanger said. “They are having an effect on hiring, because they drive hiring managers to look for people with an understanding of these regulations and best practices.”

AI skills are beginning to “creep slowly into serious job role descriptions,” he said.

“Automation is also increasingly important. That’s significant change. Data analytics knowledge and the ability to manage data has also increased in demand,” Stanger added.

According to Indeed’s AI at Work report, AI is expected to impact jobs that require highly technical skills. For IT professionals, staying on top of the evolving needs of the market, especially in areas like AI, machine learning (AI/ML), and cloud computing, will be critical. “At Indeed, we like to say AI won’t replace jobs, but people who can use AI well will,” Fagan said.

Stanger added that job seekers need to learn how to evaluate data as it comes in from AI programs. In other words, AI doesn’t yet create “information,” just just creates the data; it takes a human to interpret that data so that it can be applied to a business use case. If you can demonstrate you know how to do that, Stanger said, “that’ll get you some great interview opportunities.”

“Leaders of organizations in literally every sector have realized that wise use of technology is critical for any organization to stay on mission, or serve its constituencies, or remain profitable,” Stanger said. “As a result, hiring managers are reacting to significant pressure from the challenge to make sure their workers can map technology to business needs.”

In addition to AI skills, technologies like the programming languages Rust and Go, knowledge of Google Cloud Platform, AWS, and cloud management platforms such as Terraform, are all experiencing a surge in demand — with relatively few job seekers to fill those open roles. One place to acquire those skills: IT certifications.

The top IT certifications listed in tech Job postings for Q3 2023 vs. Q3 2024, measured in the percentage of each based on total tech job listings. Despite some certifications growing in demand and others shrinking, there hasn’t been a significant change in demand for certifications overall.

Indeed

According to Indeed, the top 10 certifications ranked by highest salary in job listings are:

• CISSP
• PMP
• IAT Level II
• DoD 8570
• IAT
• Certified Information Systems Auditor
• CompTIA Security+
• CCNA
• CompTIA Network+
• CompTIA A+

Certifications directly related to the role someone is being hired for are essential and should be called out in the job description, according to Tamara Larsen, Indeed’s director of IT Infrastructure & Platforms. These typically include certifications from recognized third-party providers such as AWS Cloud, Azure Cloud, Azure Active Directory, PMI Project Management, or CSM Scrum Master, among others.

In addition, certifications that help develop complementary skills, such as Leadership Development, Professional Writing, Toastmasters, or other technical certifications not explicitly required, can be helpful, too. “However, too many certifications that are not relevant can be considered a negative,” said Larsen.

“Learning those skills, and others related to AI, can give candidates a significant advantage in securing roles in what can only be described as a ‘dynamic landscape,’” said Indeed’s Fagan.

The good news for those currently working in IT: training is nearly always free.

“Our research found that 89% of tech professionals use company-provided training opportunities to keep their skills fresh. And with gen AI gaining momentum, 79% of tech professionals feel pressure to upskill,” Fagan said. “Most employers offer tuition reimbursement or upskilling opportunities, so it would be a missed opportunity not to take advantage.

“Additionally, adapting and integrating AI into workflows is becoming essential,” he added.

Flexibility is a priority for many job seekers, with tech professionals favoring remote roles over in-office ones. However, staying open to hybrid or on-site work can help job seekers find jobs faster.

“Our research found that professionals who work on-site about four days per week tend to want to stay with their employers, likely due to the collaboration and sense of community fostered by in-person interactions,” Fagan said. “By staying open to upskilling, particularly in high-demand areas and in AI integration, and considering flexibility in work location, tech job seekers can better navigate today’s tech job market.”

If hiring managers are looking for more evidence of your experience, then find clever ways to get experienced people to vouch for you. And, find ways to lead hiring managers into feeling confident in you.

“That’s more than just tech skill; you need to be a business tech problem solver. The way to prove that is to have a trusted third party do that for you,” CompTIA’s Stanger said. “That’s more than just tech skill; you need to be a business tech problem solver. The way to prove that is to have a trusted third party do that for you.”

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is intensifying its antitrust actions against Google, proposing a historic move that could reshape the tech landscape. The DOJ has asked federal judge Amit Mehta to force Alphabet to sell its Chrome browser, which is a cornerstone of Google’s dominance in the search market, Bloomberg reported.

This proposal follows a ruling from August 2024 that found Google guilty of illegally monopolizing the search market.

The DOJ’s latest recommendation also includes measures related to artificial intelligence (AI) and the Android operating system, with the potential to impact both Google’s core advertising business and its burgeoning AI ventures. The case, which spans two presidential administrations, aims to address Google’s practices that critics argue suppress competition.

In addition to the sale of Chrome, the DOJ is pushing for data licensing requirements and for Google to uncouple its Android smartphone operating system from its other products, such as Google Search and Google Play, the report said quoting sources who wished not to be named.

These moves are designed to increase competition by giving rival companies more access to essential data and technologies currently controlled by Google, the report added.

“The DOJ’s attempt to force Google to sell Chrome is unprecedented and faces significant legal and practical challenges,” said Xiaofeng Wang, principal analyst at Forrester. “Google’s potential appeals could delay or overturn the decision. In addition, finding a suitable buyer without similar antitrust issues is also difficult.”

In October this year, the DOJ had proposed splitting off Google’s Chrome browser and Android operating system as part of sweeping remedies aimed at curbing the tech giant’s “illegal monopoly” in online search and advertising.

“The DOJ is considering behavioral and structural remedies that would prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, Play, and Android to advantage Google search and Google search-related products and features — including emerging search access points and features, such as artificial intelligence — over rivals or new entrants,” the DOJ said in a court filing then.

Google seems to be deeply disturbed by this development.

“The DOJ continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case,” Lee-Anne Mulholland, vice president of Google’s regulatory affairs, said in a statement. “The government putting its thumb on the scale in these ways would harm consumers, developers, and American technological leadership at precisely the moment it is most needed.”

A query to the DOJ remains unanswered.

Chrome’s dominance and the push for a sale

The proposed sale of Chrome stems from its critical role in Google’s search business. Chrome, which controls roughly 65% of the global browser market, serves as the primary gateway for users accessing Google’s search engine. By owning Chrome, Google can track signed-in users and better target ads, which form the bulk of its revenue. Additionally, Chrome has been used to funnel users toward Google’s AI-driven products, such as its Gemini AI system.

In an effort to protect consumers and developers, the DOJ’s proposed measures aim to reduce Google’s power to favor its own products. If the sale of Chrome proceeds, it could unlock new opportunities for competitors, potentially creating a more balanced online search market and encouraging innovation in AI.

The DOJ is also seeking to reshape how Google uses data, particularly in relation to its AI products. Google’s AI-driven search results, branded as “AI Overviews,” have drawn criticism from website publishers who argue that these summaries hurt their web traffic and ad revenue by providing answers directly on the search results page. To address this, the DOJ is proposing that Google be required to license its search data and allow websites more control over how their content is used in Google’s AI models.

Another key aspect of the DOJ’s recommendations includes pushing Google to make its search results more widely available to competitors. This could allow rival search engines and AI startups to improve their services using Google’s syndicated search data, which is currently restricted.

Implications for Google’s future

These developments are poised to alter Google’s business operations significantly. While the company has expressed its opposition to these proposals, with Google’s VP calling the DOJ’s actions “radical,” the potential reforms could lead to a more competitive digital ecosystem.

“If the DOJ succeeds in forcing Google to sell Chrome, it would likely impact Google’s ad targeting and measurement capabilities due to reduced data availability,” Wang noted. “This could decrease ad effectiveness and revenue, pushing Google to develop new data collection methods or innovate its ad strategies.”

For context, Google’s revenue from advertisement was $237.8 billion of its total $305.6 billion in 2023.

Despite the far-reaching nature of these measures, the DOJ has stopped short of requiring Google to sell Android, a move that had been considered but ultimately deemed less essential than the changes proposed for Chrome and AI data.

The case, which will see further developments in 2025, is expected to have lasting effects on the tech industry. If the DOJ’s proposals are implemented, they could set a precedent for regulating the power of large tech companies in both the online search and AI markets.

“This action could set a precedent, leading to increased scrutiny of other tech giants like Amazon and Apple,” Wang added.

According to him, successful measures against Google might “encourage regulators to target other dominant players, reshaping the tech landscape.”

Windows 11 24H2 has been released, but behind the scenes, Microsoft is constantly working to improve the newest version of Windows. The company frequently rolls out public preview builds to members of its Windows Insider Program, allowing them to test out — and even help shape — upcoming features.

Skip to the builds

The Windows Insider program is divided into four channels:

• The Canary Channel is where platform changes (such as major updates to the Windows kernel and new APIs) are previewed. These changes are not tied to a particular Windows release and may never ship at all. Little documentation is provided, and builds are likely to be very unstable. This channel is best for highly technical users.
• The Dev Channel is where new features are introduced for initial testing, regardless of which Windows release they’ll eventually end up in. This channel is best for technical users and developers and builds in it may be unstable and buggy.
• In the Beta Channel, you’ll get more polished features that will be deployed in the next major Windows release. This channel is best for early adopters, and Microsoft says your feedback in this channel will have the most impact.
• The Release Preview Channel typically doesn’t see action until shortly before a new feature update is rolled out. It’s meant for final testing of an upcoming release and is best for those who want the most stable builds.

The Beta and Release Preview Channels also receive bug-fix builds for the currently shipping version of Windows 11. See “How to preview and deploy Windows 10 and 11 updates” for more details about the four channels and how to switch to a different channel.

Not everyone can participate in the Windows 11 Insider program, because the new operating system has more stringent system requirements than Windows 10. If your PC fails to meet the minimum hardware requirements for Windows 11, you cannot join the Windows 11 Insider Program. (See “How to check if your PC can run Windows 11.”)

Below you’ll find information about the Windows 11 preview builds that have been announced by Microsoft in the past six months. (For the Release Preview Channel, we cover builds released for the current version of Windows 11, not for earlier versions.) For each build, we’ve included the date of its release, which Insider channel it was released to, a summary of what’s in the build, and a link to Microsoft’s announcement about it.

Note: If you’re looking for information about updates being rolled out to all Windows 11 users, not previews for Windows Insiders, see “Windows 11: A guide to the updates.”

The latest Windows 11 Insider preview builds Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4510

Release date: November 15, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates as soon as they are available can share files directly from right-click jump lists on the taskbar in supported apps such as Notepad. Note that this feature will roll out gradually.

Those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates also get a fix for a single bug, in which you might have unexpectedly seen a message saying “You’re offline. Widgets are unavailable.”

Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4510.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100.2448

Release date: November 14, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build gets a wide variety of new features, including one in which when you right-click apps that you have pinned to the Start menu, jump lists will appear for apps that have jump lists. There is also a new section for touchscreen edge gestures. Go to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Touch. There, you can choose if you would like to turn off the left or right screen edge touch gesture. These features are being gradually rolled out.

There are also a variety of bugs that have been fixed, including one in which the Task Manager’s Users page could have caused Task Manager to stop responding when you used the keyboard.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100.2448.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27749

Release date: November 13, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

This build adds a new shortcut “Narrator key + Ctrl + X” to copy what Narrator last spoke to clipboard. You can use this shortcut in conjunction with “Narrator key + X,” which repeats the last spoken phrase out loud, to review and copy what Narrator spoke.

The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which Task Manager showed a 0 count for apps and processes, and another in which a blank entry in Settings > Privacy would cause Settings to crash if you clicked it.

There are five known issues in this build, including one in which if you are joining the Canary Channel on a new Copilot+ PC from the Dev Channel, Release Preview Channel, or retail, you will lose Windows Hello PIN and biometrics to sign into your PC. You should be able to re-create your PIN by clicking “Set up my PIN.”

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27749.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.2222

Release date: November 8, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates can hold Shift + Ctrl when clicking on a jump list item in the Start menu or taskbar to launch that item as admin. This feature is being gradually rolled out.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates also get several bug fixes, including for an issue in which windows unexpectedly moved around after waking from sleep if you had multiple monitors. Note that this is being gradually rolled out.

There are two known issues in this build, including one in which Narrator crashes on launch if you use one of the natural voices, and another in which your desktop background may show big black areas with multiple monitors.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.2222.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4445

Release date: November 8, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, Insiders in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates as soon as they are available have a New Folder option in the context menu when right-clicking locations in the navigation pane. Note that this change will be gradually rolled out.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates also have a variety of bugs fixed, including one in which performing a search unexpectedly triggered the search happening repeatedly. Note that these fixes will be gradually rolled out.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4445.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27744

Release date: November 6, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

This build includes a major feature update to Prism, Microsoft’s emulator for Windows on Arm, that will make it possible for more 64-bit x86 (x64) applications to run under emulation. This new support in Prism is already in limited use in the retail version of Windows 11 24H2, where it enables the ability to run Adobe Premiere Pro 25 on Arm. Starting with this build, the support is being opened to any x64 application under emulation. You may find that some games or creative apps that were blocked due to CPU requirements before will now be able to run using Prism.

Note that only x64 applications can use these new CPU features. If you have a 32-bit app or a 64-bit app that uses a 32-bit helper to detect CPU feature support, that app won’t detect the new features in Prism.

The build also fixes several bugs, including one in which certain apps did not detect a scanner, although one was connected.

There are three known issues in this build, including one in which if you are joining the Canary Channel on a new Copilot+ PC from the Dev Channel, Release Preview Channel, or retail, you may lose your Windows Hello PIN and biometric sign-in your PC. You should be able to re-create your PIN by clicking “Set up my PIN.”

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27744.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.2213

Release date: November 4, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates will have the IME toolbar hidden when apps are in full-screen mode for those who have the IME toolbar enabled and type in Chinese or Japanese. Note that this is being gradually rolled out.

Those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates also get a variety of bug fixes, including for one in which RAW images taken in portrait mode unexpectedly displayed in landscape mode thumbnails in File Explorer. Note that this is being gradually rolled out.

Everyone in the Dev Channel gets a variety of bug fixes, including for a bug that caused Task Manager to show a 0 count for apps and processes.

There is one known issue in this build, in which the desktop background sometimes may not show correctly with multiple monitors (showing big black areas).

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.2213.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4440

Release date: November 1, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates as soon as they are available get a revamped Windows Hello that adheres to contemporary Windows visual design standards. The update also has a small set of general improvements. Note that all these changes will be gradually rolled out.

Those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates also get a single bug fix, for a bug that caused touch keyboard crashes and the IME candidate window not to appear for some Insiders.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4440.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4435

Release date: October 25, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates as soon as they are available can launch an item on the Start menu or taskbar as an admin by holding Ctrl + Shift when clicking. Note that this feature will be gradually rolled out.

Those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates also get several bugs fixed, including one in which the X button to close an app window from the taskbar wasn’t working for some Insiders. This fix will be gradually rolled out.

Everyone in the Beta Channel can now configure the Copilot key again, after that feature was turned off in Build 22635.4291. Everyone in the Beta Channel gets several bug fixes, including for one in which the PIN reset did not work when you selected the “I forgot my PIN’ link on the credentials screen in Windows Hello for Business.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4435.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.2200

Release date: October 25, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates can access Windows Studio Effects in Quick Settings from the system tray of the taskbar. Windows Studio Effects delivers AI-based camera and audio enhancements on devices equipped with a neural processing unit (NPU). Note that this feature is being gradually rolled out.

Those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates also get several bugs fixed, including one in which if you clicked or tapped on a letter on the Start menu’s All apps list, the All apps list may have broken. This fix is being gradually rolled out.

Everyone in the Dev Channel gets a variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in which you could not view some parts of the UI when you ran certain apps.

There are two known issues in this build, including one in which there is an unexpected amount of spacing between items in the Start menu apps list.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.2200.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4371

Release date: October 18, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates as soon as they are available can now use the new Narrator key + Ctrl + X shortcut to copy what Narrator last spoke to clipboard. It follows the pattern of using Narrator key + X, which repeats the last spoken phrase out loud.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates as soon as possible get several fixes for several bugs, including one in which Narrator would slow down after 15 minutes of continuous use with a single application.

An update for the Snipping Tool (version 11.2409.23.0 and newer) is also being rolled out to Windows Insiders in the Beta and Release Preview Channels. It introduces a new “Copy as table” feature.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4371.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.2130

Release date: October 18, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get several new features, including one in which “All apps” is now just “All” on the Start menu.

Those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates also get several bug fixes, including for a bug in which clipboard history did not display items you had copied.

There are two known issues in this build, including one in which if you click or tap on a letter on Start menu’s All apps list, the All apps list may break. If you encounter this issue, try rebooting or restarting explorer.exe to fix it.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.2130.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27729

Release date: October 17, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

This build adds the ability  to configure the Copilot key. You can choose to have the Copilot key launch an app that is MSIX packaged and signed, thus indicating the app meets security and privacy requirements to keep customers safe.

The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which the screen went black for a few seconds for some people when using Alt + Tab.

There are five known issues in this build, including one in which some Insiders with PCs that have older NVIDIA GPUs (like the GTX 970, Quadro K620, etc.) are experiencing some issues where their displays appear stuck at a black screen and unresponsive or seeing their GPUs showing errors in Device Manager and not working correctly.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27729.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4367

Release date: October 11, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates as soon as they are available get a small set of general improvements and fixes that Microsoft claims improves the overall experience of running Windows. They also now have the ability to share directly to apps that support sharing in Windows when right-clicking on local files in File Explorer or the desktop.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates as soon as possible get several bug fixes, including for one in which some Insiders saw an unexpected amount of spacing between items in the Start menu All Apps list.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4367.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.2122

Release date: October 11, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a small set of general fixes that Microsoft says improve the overall experience of running Windows. The Disconnect and Logoff dialogs in Task Manager now support dark mode and text scaling.

Those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates also get one bug fix, for a bug that caused the screen to go black for a few seconds for some people when using Alt + Tab.

Everyone in the Dev Channel gets several bugs fixed, including one in which some Insiders saw error 0x800f0825 when trying to install the latest Dev Channel builds.

There are two known issues in this build, including one in which if you click or tap on a letter on Start menu’s All apps list, the All apps list may break. If you encounter this issue, try rebooting or restarting explorer.exe to fix it.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.2122.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100.2152

Release date: October 10, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build gradually rolls out a number of new features, including one in which you can stop the suggestions to turn off notifications from certain apps. Select the ellipses (…) in the notification and turn it off. You can also go to Settings > System > Notifications and turn it off from there.

The build also immediately rolls out a change in which you can configure the Copilot key on the keyboard. The build also immediately fixes a number of bugs, including one in which you could not sign in to your account from the web because the screen stopped responding.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100.2152.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27723

Release date: October 9, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

This build introduces several minor changes and features, including one in which you can share local files directly from within the search results shown in the search box on the taskbar.

There are five known issues in this build, including one for those using Copilot+ PCs, in which if you are joining the Canary Channel on a new Copilot+ PC from the Dev Channel, Release Preview Channel, or retail, you will lose your Windows Hello PIN and biometrics to sign into your PC. You should be able to re-create your PIN by clicking “Set up my PIN.”

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27723.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1930

Release date: October 4, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a small set of general improvements and one bug fix, for a bug in which the boot menu wasn’t displaying correctly for some Insiders with dual-boot devices.

Everyone in the Dev Channel can now configure the Copilot key. You can have the Copilot key launch an app that is MSIX packaged and signed, increasing security and privacy.

There are two known issues in this build, including one in which if you click or tap on a letter on Start menu’s All apps list, the list may break. If you encounter this issue, please try rebooting or restarting explorer.exe to fix it.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1930.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4300 

Release date: October 4, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates as soon as they are available will see “All” instead of “All apps” on the Start menu. In addition, Windows Search runs IFilters in the Less Privileged App Containers (LPACs). LPACs are like app containers, but they deny even more permissions by default. The intent is that a process running in a LPAC has access only to the resources needed by it. This helps to minimize the potential damage that can be caused by a compromised process by limiting its access to sensitive system components and data.

Two bugs are fixed for those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates as soon as possible, including one in which items in the navigation pane became very spread out for some people.

There are two known issues in the build, including one in which live captions will crash if you try to use them.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4300.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27718

Release date: October 2, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

This build introduces a number of minor new changes and features. You can now drag apps from the Pinned section of the Start menu and pin them to the taskbar. For laptops on battery, a notification will pop up asking you to plug in your laptop if the battery level reaches 20% while Energy Saver is set to “Always On.” 

Several bugs have been fixed, including one in which the emoji panel closed when you tried to switch to the kaomoji and symbols sections, or after selecting an emoji, and another in which the Widgets icon sometimes unexpectedly displayed twice in the taskbar.

There are three known issues in this build, including one for those using Copilot+ PCs, in which If you are joining the Canary Channel from the Dev Channel, Release Preview Channel or retail, you will lose Windows Hello pin and biometrics to sign into your PC; you’ll see error 0xd0000225 and an error message “Something went wrong, and your PIN isn’t available.” You should be able to re-create your PIN by clicking “Set up my PIN.”

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27718.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1912

Release date: September 30, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who’ve turned on the toggle to receive the latest updates get a small set of general improvements and fixes that Microsoft says improves the overall experience of running Windows. In addition, Windows Mobile Hotspot has been enhanced to support 6GHz connections. The new band requires chips that support the feature and updated drivers; not all chips that support 6GHz Wi-Fi in general will support the 6GHz mobile hotspot.

Those in the Dev Channel who agreed to receive the latest updates also get several bug fixes, including one in which Task Manager’s Settings page might have a white background when it should not.

There is one known issue in this build: if you click or tap on a letter on Start menu’s All apps list, the All apps list may break. If you encounter this issue, try rebooting or restarting explorer.exe to fix it.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1912.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4291

Release date: September 30, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned on the toggle to receive the latest updates as soon as they are available get an updated Task Manager design in which the Disconnect and Logoff dialogs in Task Manager now support dark mode and text scaling. They also get several bug fixes, including one in which explorer.exe crashed sporadically when using ALT + Tab in recent builds.

Everyone in the Beta Channel gets several bug fixes, including one in which Work Folders files failed to sync when Defender for Endpoint was on.

There are two known issues in the build, including one in which live captions will crash if you try to use them.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4291)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100.1876

Release date: September 23, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build, for those using Windows 11 version 24H2, gradually rolls out a number of new features, including one in which when your device’s battery power is running low, a pop-up window will appear that asks you to plug in your device. This occurs when the battery level reaches 20% and while Energy Saver is set to “Always On.

Several bug fixes are being immediately rolled out, including one in which when a combo box has input focus, a memory leak might have occurred when you closed that window.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100.1876.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.4247 and 22631.4247

Release date: September 23, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel

In this update for users on Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2, a variety of features are being rolled out slowly, including one in which the “Sign out” option is now on the account manager when you open the Start menu. To change to a different user, select the ellipses (…). A list of other users appears to make it easier to switch.

The update also fixes several bugs, including one in which Microsoft Edge sometimes stopped responding when you used IE mode.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.4247 and 22631.4247.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4225

Release date: September 20, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates as soon as they are available will get the ability to share content to an Android device from the context menu in File Explorer and on the desktop. To use this feature, the Phone Link app must be installed and configured on your PC.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates as soon as possible get a fix for a bug in which the emoji panel didn’t work properly.

Everyone in the Beta Channel can now configure the Copilot key. You can choose to have the Copilot key launch an app that is MSIX packaged and signed, thus indicating the app meets security and privacy requirements.

Everyone in the Beta Channel gets several bug fixes, including for a bug in which some Insiders experienced a bug check when closing Notepad.

There is one known issue in the build, in which if you click or tap on a letter on the Start menu’s All apps list, the list may break. If you encounter this issue, try rebooting or restarting explorer.exe to fix it.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4225.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1843

Release date: September 20, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a new feature, in which File Explorer provides you with quick access to files that have been shared with you. If you are signed into Windows with your Microsoft account or Entra ID account, you will be able to view files that have been shared with your account, such as email, Teams chat, etc. You can access this feature by launching File Explorer Home and clicking on the Shared tab.

Those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get several bug fixes, including one in which when pressing Windows key + E, a screen reader might unexpectedly say a pane had focus, or focus may not be set within File Explorer at all.

Everyone in the Dev Channel gets a number of bug fixes, including one in which could result in the Widgets icon unexpectedly displaying in the taskbar twice sometimes.

There are four known issues in this build, including one in which if you click or tap on a letter on Start menu’s All apps list, the list may break. If you encounter this issue, try rebooting or restarting explorer.exe to fix it.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1843.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4145

Release date: August 30, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates as soon as they are available will see several new features, including one in which the Sign out option is immediately visible in the new account manager on the Start menu. There’s also a list of signed in users under the three-dot icon so it’s faster to switch accounts. The mouse and touchscreen controls have more options, and hotspots now appear on the desktop when users right-click the Windows Spotlight icon. The changes are being rolled out gradually.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates as soon as possible get fixes for several bugs, including one in which explorer.exe crashed when interacting with archive files. These fixes are being rolled out gradually

Everyone in the Beta Channel gets a number of bug fixes, including for a bug in which the [NetJoinLegacyAccountReuse] registry key has been removed.

There is one known issue in the build: if you click or tap on a letter on Start menu’s All apps list, the All apps list may break. If you encounter this issue, try rebooting or restarting explorer.exe to fix it.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4145.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27695

Release date: August 30, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

In this build, Windows Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) has been improved with a new ability to recover encrypted passwords from Active Directory (AD) backup media even when there are zero AD domain controllers running.

A number of bugs have been fixed, including one in which Ctrl + F would sometimes not start a search in File Explore, and another in which the colors in the Performance section of Task Manager weren’t displayed correctly in dark mode.

There are two known issues in this build, including one for those using Copilot+ PCs, in which  If you are joining the Canary Channel on a new Copilot+ PC from the Dev Channel, Release Preview Channel or retail, you will lose your Windows Hello PIN and biometrics to sign into your PC with error 0xd0000225 and error message “Something went wrong, and your PIN isn’t available.” You should be able to re-create your PIN by clicking Set up my PIN.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27695.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4082

Release date: August 26, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates as soon as they are available will see the media controls at the lower bottom center of the Lock screen when media is being played. There is also now an option to turn off the suggestions to disable notifications from certain apps. These features are being rolled out gradually.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates as soon as possible get fixes for several bugs, including one in which explorer.exe crashed for some Insiders when closing apps from the taskbar. These fixes are being rolled out gradually.

Everyone in the beta channel gets one bug fix, in which the [NetJoinLegacyAccountReuse] registry key has been removed.

There are two known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one that causes explorer.exe to crash when interacting with archive files.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4082.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.4108 and 22631.4108

Release date: August 19, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel (Windows 11 23H2 and 22H2)

Starting with this update, a variety of features will be rolled out slowly, including one that lets you share content to your Android device from the Windows Share window. To do this, you must pair your Android device to your Windows PC. Use the Link to Windows app on your Android device and Phone Link on your PC.

A number of bugs are being fixed, including one in which when a combo box has input focus, a memory leak might occur when you close that window.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.4108 and 22631.4108.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22610.1586

Release date: August 19, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel (Windows 11 24H2)

This build, for those with Windows 11 version 24H2, gradually rolls out a new feature in which when you right-click a tab in File Explorer, you have the choice to duplicate it.

A wide variety of bug fixes are being gradually rolled out, including for a bug in which memory leak occurred when you interacted with archive folders and another in which File Explorer stopped responding when you browsed within it.

Three bug fixes have been immediately released to everyone, including one in which a deadlock occurred in the domain controller (DC) when it started up in the DNS client.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100.1586.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4076

Release date: August 19, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates will find that a feature introduced in Build 22635.3930 that showed a Studio Effects icon in the system tray when using any application with a Studio Effects-enabled camera has temporarily been disabled. It will be re-enabled in a future build.

Those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in which  Voice Access commands weren’t working for non-English supported languages.

A wide variety of bugs are fixed for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which Windows Backup sometimes failed in devices with an Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) system partition (ESP).

There are two known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which explorer.exe crashes when interacting with archive files.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4076.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1542

Release date: August 19, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a new feature that adds first letter navigation support to the taskbar. When keyboard focus is set to the taskbar (WIN + T), you can press a letter, and it will jump to the open or pinned app whose name starts with that letter. The feature is being gradually rolled out so isn’t yet available to everyone.

Those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get fixes for three bugs, including one in which the emoji panel closed when trying to switch to the kaomoji and symbols sections, or after selecting an emoji.

Everyone in the Dev Channel gets a number of bug fixes, including for a bug in which adding languages or optional features might fail with error 0x800f081f.

There are two known issues in this build, including one in which navigating between different pages in Task Manager may crash it.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1542.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27686

Release date: August 15, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

This build includes the new Windows Sandbox Client Preview that is now updated via the Microsoft Store. It introduces runtime clipboard redirection, audio/video input control, and the ability to share folders with the host at runtime. You can access these via the new “…” icon at the upper right on the app. This preview also includes a very early version of command line support. (Commands may change over time.) You can use the wsb.exe –help command for more information.

The build also includes optimizations to improve battery life and a detach virtual hard disk (VHD/VHDx) button in Settings that makes it simpler to detach your VHD/VHDx as needed.

A number of bugs have been fixed, including one in which Dev Drive VHDs weren’t automatically remounting when the underlying volume was dismounted and brought back online, and one in the Windows Security app where if you browsed the networks under Firewall & Network protection, it showed a broken glyph (a rectangle) next to the network name rather than a network icon.

There are two known issues in this build, including one in which if you are joining the Canary Channel on a new Copilot+ PC from the Dev Channel, Release Preview Channel, or retail, you will lose Windows Hello PIN and biometrics to sign into your PC. You should be able to re-create your PIN by clicking “Set up my PIN.”

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27686.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1350

Release date: August 9, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates can more easily share content to an Android device from Windows share window. The feature requires you to pair your Android device to your Windows PC using the Link to Windows app on Android and Phone Link on your PC. The feature is being rolled out gradually.

Those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get one fix that addresses an issue in which graphs on the Performance page in Task Manager did not show the correct colors when using dark mode again. The fix is being rolled out gradually.

Everyone in the Dev Channel gets several bug fixes, including for a bug in which Windows Sandbox failed to launch with error 0x80370106.

There are four known issues in this build, including one in which navigating between different pages in Task Manager may crash it.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1350.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4010

Release date: August 9, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, many of those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates will see the simplified system tray with shortened date/time change that began rolling out with Build 22635.3930. The feature is being rolled out gradually.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get fixes for two bugs, one in which the dropdown at the top of the GPU section of Performance wasn’t showing in dark mode when dark mode was enabled, and the other in which if you pressed the Shift key when you right-clicked on an app icon on the taskbar, it opened another instance of the app rather than opening the expected menu.

There are three known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one that causes explorer.exe to crash for some Insiders when closing apps from the taskbar.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4010.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1340

Release date: August 5, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get improvements for spelling and corrections in voice access, including the ability to dictate characters at a faster speed and have more editing flexibility with selection, deletion, and text navigation commands.

Those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a fix for a bug in which items under “Let desktop apps access your location” section in Settings > Privacy & Security > Location had visibly flickered although there were no changes displayed.

There are four known issues in this build, including one in which navigating between different pages in Task Manager may crash it.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1340.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4005

Release date: August 2, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a small set of general tweaks and fixes that Microsoft says improves the overall experience of running Windows.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get one fix for a bug that caused sporadic explorer.exe crashes for some Insiders.

There are three known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one that causes explorer.exe to crash for some Insiders when closing apps from the taskbar.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4005.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4000

Release date: July 26, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a small set of general improvements and fixes, as well as some improvements to spelling and corrections in voice access.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get two bug fixes, one in which Notification Center got stuck and would not open, and another that caused issues with launching the touch keyboard and emoji panel.

Everyone in the Beta Channel gets two fixes that address one bug in which Narrator would not work as expected when navigating through the Recent, Favorites, and Shared tab items, and another that caused the context menu in Home or Gallery to open in the wrong position when using Arabic or Hebrew display languages.

There are four known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which files shared with you in File Explorer may not appear if there has been no interaction with that file.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4000.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1330

Release date: July 26, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates can duplicate a tab by right-clicking on it in File Explorer. (Note: This is being gradually rolled out.)

Those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a fix for a bug in which no text appeared on the Windows Update page in Settings for Insiders using certain languages.

There are three known issues in this build, including one in which the BitLocker Recovery screen issue documented here may also impact Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1330.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100.1297

Release date: July 25, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build, for those with Windows 11 version 24H2, gradually rolls out a wide variety of new features, including pinning apps to the taskbar by dragging and dropping items directly to taskbar from the pinned section in the Start menu, using your mouse to drag files between breadcrumbs in the File Explorer address bar, and directly sharing to specific Microsoft Teams channels and group chats in the Windows share window.

It also includes a variety of changes released immediately to everyone, including being able to use OneDrive as a RemoteApp in Azure Virtual Desktop.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100.1297.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26257

Release date: July 24, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

This build introduces the ability to duplicate a tab by right-clicking it in File Explorer. In addition, if you use the netsh wlan show networks command, you should be able to read SSIDs that are UTF-8 encoded. This means that Wi-Fi SSIDs with Unicode characters (like emojis) should be properly displayed in netsh output. This change is just beginning to roll out, so not all Insiders in the Canary Channel will see it right away.

Several bugs have been fixed, including one in which the address bar dropdown appeared unexpectedly while you were using File Explorer.

There are three known issues in this build, including one in which some Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels are stuck on Build 26040 or Build 23620.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26257.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3936

Release date: July 22, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates will see updated designs for the “Open with” dialog where the group headers are removed, among a few other changes.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get several bug fixes, including one in which text suggestions for the hardware keyboard did not work.

Note that the bug fixes and new features are being gradually rolled out.

There are nine known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which swipe invocation for Widgets may not work if the taskbar is center-aligned instead of left-aligned.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3936.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1252

Release date: July 15, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates can now pin apps from the Start menu to the taskbar by dragging and dropping items directly to taskbar from the pinned section in the Start menu.

Those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get several bug fixes, including one in which explorer.exe crashed when navigating away from Home.

Everyone in the Dev Channel gets a variety of bug fixes, including for one in which some Insiders saw a bug check with error KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE, and another in which Settings > System > Power & Battery had duplicate text when showing a warning about a slow charger.

There are three known issues in this build, including one in which the Windows Update page in Settings is not displaying correctly for Insiders using certain languages (no text shows).

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1252.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3930

Release date: July 12, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build for Windows 11 version 23H2, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates can get quick access to files that have been shared with you. If you are signed into Windows with your Microsoft account, you will be able to view files that have been shared with your account, such as email, Teams chat, etc. If you are a commercial customer who is signed in with your Microsoft Entra ID account, you will additionally be able to view files that they have shared with others. You can access this feature by launching File Explorer Home and clicking on the Shared tab item.

In addition, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates can access Studio Effects in Quick Settings from the system tray of the taskbar. Note that this is being gradually rolled out and so is not yet available to everyone.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get several bug fixes, including for one in which the All apps list wasn’t being read out by screen readers.

Everyone in the Beta Channel gets one bug fix, in which you can now view or interact with the taskbar after you install KB5039302.

There are seven known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which swipe invocation for Widgets may not work if taskbar is center-aligned instead of left-aligned.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3930.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.3951 and 22631.3951

Release date: July 11, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel

In this update, you can drag apps from the Pinned section of the menu and pin them to the taskbar, and when you right-click a tab in File Explorer, you have the choice to duplicate it. Note that these features and several others might not be available to all users because they will roll out gradually.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.3951 and 22631.3951.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26252

Release date: July 10, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

This build begins to roll out the “Weather and more” feature, which brings finance, traffic, and sports to your Lock screen, alongside weather information. You can also now pin apps from the Start menu to the taskbar by dragging and dropping items directly to taskbar from the pinned section in the Start menu.

Several bugs have been fixed, including one that caused colors in the Performance section of Task Manager to not display correctly in dark mode, and another in which Settings > System > Power & Battery had duplicate text when showing a warning about a slow charger.

There one known issue with this build, in which some Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels are stuck on Build 26040 or Build 23620.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26252.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3858

Release date: June 28, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get some minor changes to simplify the Windows share window, including removing the search box. In addition, the preview thumbnail title in the taskbar, Alt + Tab, and Task View for File Explorer windows will now indicate if that window includes multiple tabs.

Those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a number of bug fixes, including some addressing accessibility issues where File Explorer, Common File Dialog (CFD), and Browse/Shortcuts Dialogs did not respond appropriately to your text size / scaling preferences.

Everyone in the Beta Channel gets several bug fixes, including one in which the app icon flashing in the taskbar is now be a bit easier to see. Another fix addresses a bug in which Group Policy failed to detect when a network’s speed is slow, instead assuming that a fast link was present.

There are six known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which swipe invocation for Widgets may not work if taskbar is center-aligned instead of left-aligned.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3858.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26244

Release date: June 28, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

This build includes a small set of general enhancements and fixes that improve the overall experience of running Windows, according to Microsoft. In addition, a new Game Pass recommendation card on the Settings homepage will be shown to you if you actively play games on your PC.

One bug was fixed, in which some Insiders saw a Pcasvc.dll error dialog pop-up with the message “Missing entry: PcaWallpaperAppDetect” after upgrading from Windows 11, version 22H2/23H2 to a 26xxx build.

There are two known issues with this build, one in which some Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels are stuck on Build 26040 or Build 23620, and another in which colors in the Performance section aren’t displaying correctly in dark mode.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26244.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3790

Release date: June 21, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build for Windows 11, version 23H2, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates can use their mobile device directly from the Start menu. See this blog post for details.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get one bug fix, which addresses contrast issues of certain elements in File Explorer (left navigation pane, view pane/folder view, status bar buttons on the bottom right) in light, dark, and high contrast themes.

Everyone in the Beta Channel gets two bug fixes, for a bug in which Settings was crashing when trying you were trying to look at Wi-Fi properties, and another in which Settings might crash when attempting to install an optional feature via Settings > System > Option features.

There are six known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which swipe invocation for Widgets may not work if taskbar is center-aligned instead of left-aligned, and another in which some Insiders to see errors when attempting to use Voice Typing.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3790.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100.994

Release date: June 20, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build, for those with Windows 11 version 24H2, fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC) failed to verify the policies of some apps, and another that caused DWM.exe to stop responding.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100.994.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26241

Release date: June 19, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

This build includes a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience of running Windows, according to Microsoft. In addition, dragging-and-dropping files between breadcrumbs is now available in the File Explorer Address Bar.

Several bugs have been fixed, including one that caused File Explorer to crash when going to Home.

There are two known issues with this build, one in which some Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels are stuck on Build 26040 or Build 23620, and another in which colors in the Performance section aren’t displaying correctly in dark mode.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26241.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3785

Release date: June 14, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates can right-click on apps pinned to the Start menu to see jump lists for apps that have them, such as PowerPoint. They can also more easily share content to an Android device from the Windows share window. Note that these and other new features are being gradually rolled out so are not yet available for everyone.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates also get a number of bug fixes, including for a bug in which clicking your profile icon on the Start menu and choosing Change account settings did not open account settings.

Everyone in the Beta Channel get a variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in which your system might have not been able to resume from hibernate after you turned on BitLocker.

There are seven known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3785.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.961

Release date: June 14, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience of running Windows.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.961.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.3807 and 22631.3807

Release date: June 13, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel

In this update, Copilot will be pinned to the taskbar and will behave like an app so you can do things like resize, move, and snap the window. The build also lets you create 7-Zip and Tape Archive (TAR) files using the File Explorer context menu and adds support for Emoji 15.1. Note that those and other features are gradually rolling out and are not yet available for everyone. The Copilot features have not yet begun to roll out.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.3807 and 22631.3807.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26236

Release date: June 12, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

This build starts the rollout of the new account manager on Start menu. When you sign in with a Microsoft account, the new design gives you a quick glanceable view of your account benefits and makes it easy to manage account settings. In addition, it includes a small set of general updates and fixes that Microsoft says improves the overall experience of running Windows.

Several bugs have been fixed, including one that caused the preferred audio volume (under Settings > System > Sound > Volume Mixer) for Microsoft Edge to not persist across after restarting the app.

There are two known issues with this build, one in which some Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels are stuck on Build 26040 or Build 23620, and another in which colors in the Performance section aren’t displaying correctly in dark mode.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26236.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3720

Release date: June 7, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates can now use voice access to dictate text hands-free using Narrator. In addition, they get a new feature, auto restart for voice access in Windows 11, which automatically restarts voice access if it encounters any issues.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a number of bugs fixed, including one in which pressing Ctrl + F would sometimes not start a search in File Explorer.

There are seven known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3720.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.770

Release date: June 7, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience of running Windows. They also get an update of the Snipping Tool that introduces automatic save for screen recordings. Your recordings will automatically be saved to the Screen Recordings folder (inside your Videos folder). You can choose to turn this off in Snipping Tool settings.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.770.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26231

Release date: June 6, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

In this build, Narrator users can now use voice access to dictate text hands-free. In addition, a new feature called auto restart for voice access in Windows 11 automatically restarts voice access if it encounters any issues so that individuals with limited mobility can get back to using voice access as quickly as possible.

The build also includes a variety of bug fixes and improvements, including several that increase Task Manager reliability.

There is one known issue with this build, in which some Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels are stuck on Build 26040 or Build 23620.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26231.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.751

Release date: May 31, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get the latest version of Copilot, which is pinned to the taskbar and runs like a traditional app, allowing you to resize, move, and snap the window. In addition, a new Linked devices page under Settings > Accounts allows you to manage PCs and Xbox consoles that you are signed into with your Microsoft account.

Everyone in the Dev Channel gets several bug fixes, including for a bug in which the Win + W keyboard shortcut did not work correctly to open the Widgets board, and another in which installation of Windows update failed to complete when you had to restart your device more than once.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.751.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26227

Release date: May 30, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

In this build, Copilot for Windows runs as a traditional app pinned to the taskbar, allowing you to resize, move, and snap the window. The build also adds support for Emoji 15.1 and introduces a new Linked devices page under Settings > Accounts that allows you to manage PCs and Xbox consoles that you are signed in to with your Microsoft account.

Several bugs have been fixed, including one in which some apps didn’t run on startup even though they were enabled as startup apps in Settings, and another in which the Win + W keyboard shortcut did not work correctly and open the Widgets board.

There is one known issue with this build, in which some Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels are stuck on Build 26040 or Build 23620.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26227.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3646

Release date: May 23, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get, in Microsoft’s words, “a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience” of using Windows.

Everyone in the Beta Channel gets a number of bug fixes, including for a bug in which File Explorer stopped responding when you swiped from a screen edge after you turned off edge swiping, and another in which TWAIN drivers stopped responding when used in a virtual environment.

There are six known issues in this build, including one in which Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3646.)

Windows 11, version 24H2 (Build 26100.712)

Release date: May 22, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build is a preview of the annual Windows 11 feature update to be released later this year. It includes a variety of new features, including HDR background support, energy saver, Sudo for Windows, Rust in the Windows kernel, support for Wi-Fi 7, and voice clarity, among others. In it, Copilot will also become a traditional app that can be pinned to the taskbar. Microsoft will be sharing details about all its features in the coming months.

Note that new AI features such as Recall announced by Microsoft earlier this week will not be available on your PC after installing this update, as they require a Copilot+ PC. For more information on those new AI features and Copilot+ PCs, see Microsoft’s blog post.

(Get more info about Windows 11, version 24H2.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.670

Release date: May 17, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a small set of unspecified “improvements and fixes that improve the overall Windows experience.”

Everyone in the Dev Channel gets several bug fixes including for a bug in which the Network Locations header was missing in the This PC section of File Explorer, and another in which NTLM authentication traffic might have increased in domain controllers (DC).

There is one known issue in this build, in which the Windows key + W keyboard shortcut may not work correctly to open the Widgets board.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.670.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3640

Release date: May 17, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get support for Emoji 15.1, which introduces a small number of new emoji, and support for creating 7-zip and TAR archives in addition to ZIP via the context menu in File Explorer. The build also fixes several bugs for those who have the toggle turned on, including a few accessibility issues in File Explorer’s Common File Dialog.

Everyone in the Beta Channel gets several bug fixes, including for the underlying cause of the Start menu crashing on launch or the All apps list not displaying.

There are five known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3640.)

Windows 11 Insider Builds 22621.3668 and 22631.3668

Release date: May 17, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build for Windows version 22H2 (Build 22621) and version 23H2 (Build 22631) adds several new features, including one that lets you directly share to specific Microsoft Teams channels and group chats in the Windows share window, if you sign in using a Microsoft Entra ID.

It also starts the rollout of the new account manager on the Start menu, which shows you your account benefits a glance and makes it easier to manage your account settings when you use a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows.

These features might not be available to all users yet, because they will roll out gradually.

The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which File Explorer stopped responding when you swiped from a screen edge after turning off edge swiping.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Builds 22621.3668 and 22631.3668.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26217

Release date: May 15, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

This build includes, in Microsoft’s words, “a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience for Insiders.”

It also fixes two bugs, including one in which after using the Disable button for a camera under Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Cameras, the Enable button wouldn’t work; and the other in which the text showing the color filters keyboard shortcut was missing from Settings > Accessibility > Color filters.

Microsoft is investigating reports that some Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels are stuck on Build 26040 or Build 23620. If that happened to you and you want to get the latest build in the Canary or Dev Channel, download the latest ISO, do a clean install, and opt your device back into flighting in the Canary or Dev Channels.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26217.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3575

Release date: May 10, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates can copy files from the Windows share window by clicking the new copy button. The build also fixes several bugs for those who have the toggle turned on, including one in which the address bar dropdown appeared unexpectedly on its own, because focus moved to the address bar.

There are five known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3575)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.470

Release date: May 10, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a new Game Pass recommendation card on the Settings homepage. The card will be shown to you if you actively play games on your PC.

Everyone in the Dev Channel gets a wide variety of bug fixes, including one in which IT admins can now use mobile device management (MDM) to turn off the prompt that appears when users sign in to an Entra-joined machine. To do this, they can turn on the “DisablePostLogonProvisioning” policy setting. After a user signs in, provisioning is off for Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.470.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26212

Release date: May 8, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

In this build, you can now generate QR codes for URLs and cloud file links through the Windows share window in order to share web pages across your devices. To do it in Microsoft Edge, click the share button in the Edge toolbar and choose “Windows share options.”

The build also fixes a variety of bugs, including one in which File Explorer sporadically crashed when using path suggestions in the address bar.

Microsoft is investigating reports that some Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels are stuck on Build 26040 or Build 23620. If that happened to you and you want to get the latest build in the Canary or Dev Channel, download the latest ISO, do a clean install, and opt your device back into flighting in the Canary or Dev Channels.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26212.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3570

Release date: May 3, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates can duplicate a tab by right-clicking on a tab in File Explorer and also receive a wide variety of bug fixes, including one in which the address bar dropdown might appear unexpectedly while using File Explorer.

The build fixes several bugs for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which Copilot auto-launched unexpectedly after PCs restarted.

There are five known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3570)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.461

Release date: May 3, 2024

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those in the Dev Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience of Windows. Everyone in the Dev Channel gets a bug fixed in which one in which Copilot auto-launched unexpectedly after PCs restarted.

There is one known issue with this build: some Insiders experience an install error 0x8007371B when trying to install Build 26120.461

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.461.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3566

Release date: April 26, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates can now drag-and-drop files with a mouse between breadcrumbs in the File Explorer Address Bar. For everyone in the Beta Channel, widgets are no longer pixelated or fuzzy. In addition, widgets on the lock screen are more reliable.

The build fixes an assortment of bugs for everyone in the Beta Channel, including a memory allocation issue in the Host Networking Service (HNS) that caused high memory consumption. The bug also affected service and pod deployment and scaling.

There are seven known issues in this build, including one in which Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3566.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3500

Release date: April 19, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

This build begins the rollout of a new account manager on the Start menu for those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates. When you sign in with a Microsoft account, the new design gives you a quick glanceable view of your account benefits and makes it easier to manage account settings.

In the build, everyone in the Beta Channel gets new navigation bar on the left allowing one to switch between a dedicated widgets dashboard and other integrated dashboards like Discover.  

There are several known issues in this build for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3500.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200

Release date: April 19, 2024

Released to: Canary Channel

In this build there are several improvements to the Widgets button on the taskbar so that the icons on the taskbar are clearer. There are also a larger set of animated icons.

Several bugs have been fixed, including one that caused RemoteApp windows to get cut off when using 200% scaling.

There are four known issues with this build, including one in which using Windows Ink to write in Copilot will not work with the updated Copilot in Windows feature that allows Copilot to act like a normal application window.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3495

Release date: April 12, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates will get recommendations for apps from the Microsoft Store under Recommended on the Start menu. This will appear only for Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel in the US and will not apply to commercial devices (devices managed by organizations). This can be turned off by going to Settings > Personalization > Start and turning off the toggle for “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more.”

In the build, everyone in the Beta Channel can switch between two ways of using Copilot for Windows: The existing “docked” behavior that attaches Copilot to the side of your desktop, and a new mode where it acts like a normal application window that you can resize and move around your screen.

There are several known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3495.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.3520 and 22631.3520

Release date: April 11, 2024

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This update adds a new mobile device management (MDM) policy called “AllowScreenRecorder” for the Snipping Tool. With it, IT admins can turn off screen recording in the app. The build also adds support for Arm64 .msi files using a Group Policy Object (GPO).

There are a wide variety of bug fixes in this build, including for a bug in which Settings stopped responding when you dismissed a flyout menu, and another in which the Windows Local Administrator Password Solution’s (LAPS) Post Authentication Actions (PAA) did not happen at the end of the grace period. Instead, they occurred at restart.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 22621.3520 and 22631.3520.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3430

Release date: April 5, 2024

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a Copilot feature in which when you copy text or image files, the Copilot icon will change appearance and animate to indicate that Copilot can help. When you hover your mouse over the Copilot icon, it will provide a menu of actions that you can take, such as creating a similar image or analyzing an image. If you select an action on the menu, it will launch the action with Copilot.

There are several known issues for everyone in the Beta Channel, including one in which Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) may not work.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3430.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100

Release date: April 3, 2024

Released to: Canary and Dev Channels

This build fixes a variety of bugs, including one that prevented bringing focus to the “…” or refresh buttons within Copilot when using a keyboard (for example, by using tab to cycle through buttons).

There are four known issues with this build, including one in which Copilot in Windows does not always fill the width of the panel when docked and resized to a large width. Resizing Copilot to less than half of the width of your screen usually fixes this issue.

Note: The Canary and Dev Channels receiving the same builds is only temporary. During the period in which they are on the same builds, Insiders in the Canary Channel can switch to switch to the Dev Channel. Soon, the Canary Channel will jump to higher build numbers and the window will be closed for switching.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26100.)

OpenAI launched its new AI-powered online search engine — SearchGPT — with the aim of supplanting “for specific search tasks” Google, Microsoft Bing and start-up Perplexity.

But the move is also raising concerns that it could open the door to plagiarism; AI-powered search engines have been accused of intentionally or unintentionally plagiarizing web-based content because the platforms scrape material and data from all over the web in real-time.

They can also generate content that closely mimics pre-existing content, according to Alon Yamin, CEO of AI-enabled plagiarism detection platform Copyleaks. That’s because the large language model engines behind generative AI (genAI) are trained using existing content.

“The trouble with ‘unintentional plagiarism’ is that it creates a gray area that’s challenging for both content creators and search engines to navigate,” Yamin said.

SearchGPT is a front-facing interface built atop OpenAI’s genAI-based ChatGPT chatbot; it will enable real-time web access for up-to-date sports scores, stock information and news. The search engine will also allow follow-up questions in the same search window, and its answers will consider the full context of the previous chat to offer an applicable answer.

The AI-based web crawler is also being touted for its ability to allow questions in “a more natural,” conversational way, according to OpenAI.

OpenAI announced on Oct. 31 that it had launched the SearchGPT prototype after beta testing it since July. Currently, access to SearchGPT is limited, as a list of hopeful free users waits for access.

An example of a search result from SearchGPT.

OpenAI

The pilot version of the search engine will be available at chatgpt.com/search as well as being offered as a desktop and mobile app. All ChatGPT Plus and Team users, as well as SearchGPT waitlist users, will have access from here on. Enterprise and education users will get access in the next few weeks, OpenAI said, with a “rollout to all free users over the coming months.”

One standout feature is the search engine’s ability to allow follow-up questions that build on the context of the original query.

For example, a user could ask what the best tomato plants are for your region; that could be followed up by asking about the best time to plant them.

SearchGPT is also designed to offer links to publishers of information by citing and linking to them in searches. “Responses have clear, in-line, named attribution and links so users know where information is coming from and can quickly engage with even more results in a sidebar with source links,” OpenAI said in its announcement.

Search rivals beat OpenAI to the punch

Last year, Google added its own AI-based capabilities to its search tool; so did Microsoft, which integrated OpenAI’s GPT-4 into Bing. “Big hitters like Google are already developing AI detection tools to help identify AI-generated content. But the challenge lies in distinguishing between high-quality AI-assisted content and low-quality, plagiarized material,” Yamin said. “It’s undoubtedly an ongoing process that will require constant refinement of algorithms and policies.”

For its part, Perplexity said in an updated FAQ that its web crawler, PerplexityBot, will not index the full or partial text content of any site that disallows it using robots.txt code. Robots.txt files are common simple text files stored on a web server to instruct web crawlers about which pages or sections of a website they are allowed to crawl and index.

“PerplexityBot only crawls content in compliance with robots.txt,” the FAQ explained. Perplexity also said it does not build “foundation models,” (also known as large language models), “so your content will not be used for AI model pre-training.”

The bottom line, Yamin said, is that search engines are in a “tricky position” as genAI evolves. “They want to provide the best results to users, which increasingly involves AI-generated or AI-enhanced content. At the same time, they need to protect original creators and maintain the integrity of search results. We’re seeing efforts to strike this balance, but it’s a complex issue that will take time to fully address.”

ChatGPT (i.e., SearchGPT) is probably best positioned among all competitors to upset Google’s dominance in online search, according to Damian Rollison, director of market insights at marketing software company SOCi. Of all the areas where ChatGPT competes with Google, search is where the latter’s 26-year advantage is the strongest.

“The early results of Bing search integrated into ChatGPT have been shaky, and the incredibly complex requirements of maintaining a world-class search platform tap into areas of expertise where OpenAI has yet to demonstrate its capabilities,” Rollison said.

Andy Thurai, a vice president analyst at Constellation Research, noted that Google still owns about 90% of the search engine market, meaning it won’t to be easy for anyone to encroach on that dominance.

An example of a follow-on question in SearchGPT that began with asking: \”What are the best tomatos for my region?\”

OpenAI

But Thurai said SearchGPT’s ease of use and conversational interface, which provides synthesized and more prose-like answers instead of traditional search results like Google, could attract more users in the future.

While Google can provide a personalized search result based on location, and previous searches, it still has limitations in terms of offering concise and conversational-style answers that remain on point, according to Thurai. “The concise nature of the answers, whether accurate or not, might be appealing to some users versus combing through many page search engines like those Google returns.”

Ironically, when ChatGPT was asked the question: Is SearchGPT as good as Google search? ChatGPT’s reply was nuanced.

“Google is great for quickly finding specific, current resources and ChatGPT is better for having interactive conversations, asking detailed questions, or seeking explanations on a wide range of topics,” SearchGPT responded. “The two can actually complement each other depending on what you need!”

When asked whether it’s as good or better than Bing, ChatGPT replied: “In short, if you’re looking for real-time information or need to browse the web, Bing is likely better. If you need detailed, conversational, or creative assistance, ChatGPT tends to be more helpful. Each tool excels in different areas!”

The murky issue of plagiarism

Thurai said he’s unsure whether AI-based search engines or “answer engines” will invite plagiarism on their own.

“They are not all that different from Google search, in which you get many answers instead of the most relevant answer that AI thinks is relevant to your question,” he said. “However, AI for content creation is a big concern for plagiarism. What is more concerning is that the current plagiarism tools don’t catch AI-produced content correctly. They are mostly useless.”

There are, however, tools that can create digital watermark/credentials such as C2PA, which can provide some content provenance and/or authenticity mechanisms, Thurai noted.

He also argued that text-based content production via AI-search engines is virtually impossible to catch. And people are getting unfairly penalized for plagiarism by using AI when in reality they didn’t, he said.

“As AI tools become more sophisticated and part of our day-to-day lives, distinguishing between AI-generated and human-created content, properly attributing original sources or authors, and empowering overall originality becomes even more critical,” Copyleak’s Yamin said. “This is precisely where the focus needs to remain — providing robust content integrity solutions that are evolving alongside the demands of the AI landscape.”