Computerworld.com [Hacking News]

Meta is continuing its compute grab as the agentic AI race accelerates to a sprint.

Today, the company announced a partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) that will bring “tens of millions” of AWS Graviton5 cores (one chip contains 192 cores) into its compute portfolio, with the option to expand as its AI capabilities grow. This will make the Llama builder one of the largest Graviton customers in the world.

The move builds on Meta’s expansive partnerships with nearly every chip and compute provider in the business. It’s working with Nvidia, Arm, and AMD, as well as building its own internal training and inference accelerator chip.

“It feels very difficult to keep track of what Meta is doing, with all of these chip deals and announcements around in-house development,” said Matt Kimball, VP and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. This makes for “exciting times that tell us just how incredibly valuable silicon is right now.”

Controlling the system, not just scale

Graphics processing units (GPUs) are essential for large language model (LLM) training, but agentic AI requires a whole new workload capability. CPUs like Graviton5 are rising to this challenge, supporting intensive workloads like real-time reasoning, multi-step tasks, frontier model training, code generation, and deep research.

AWS says Graviton5 has the ability to handle “billions of interactions” and to coordinate complex, multi-stage agentic tasks. It is built on the AWS Nitro System to support high performance, availability, and security.

“This is really about control of the AI system, not just scale,” said Kimball. As AI evolves toward persistent, agentic workloads, the role of the CPU becomes “quite meaningful;” it serves as the control plane, handling orchestration, managing memory, scheduling, and other intensive tasks across accelerators.

“This is especially true in agentic environments, where the workloads will be less linear and more stateful,” he pointed out. So, ensuring a supply of these resources just makes sense.

Reflecting Meta’s diversified approach to hardware

The agreement builds on Meta’s long-standing partnership with AWS, but also reflects what the company calls its “diversified approach” to infrastructure. “No single chip architecture can efficiently serve every workload,” the company emphasized.

Proving the point, Meta recently announced four new generations of its MTIA training and inference accelerator chip and signed a massive deal with AMD to tap into 6GW worth of CPUs and AI accelerators. It also entered into a multi-year partnership with Nvidia to access millions of Blackwell and Rubin GPUs and to integrate Nvidia Spectrum-X Ethernet switches into its platform, and was also one of Arm’s first major CPU customers.

In the wake of all this, Nabeel Sherif, a principal advisory director at Info-Tech Research Group, posed the burning question: “What are they going to do with all this capacity?”

Primarily it will support Meta’s internal experimentation and innovation, he said, but it also lays the groundwork and provides the capacity for Meta to offer its own agentic AI services, for instance, its Llama AI model as an API, to the market.

“What those [services] will look like and what platforms and tools they’ll use, as well as what guardrails they’ll provide to users, is still unclear, but it’s going to be interesting to see it develop,” said Sherif.

The expanded capacity will enable a diversity of use cases and experimentation across various architectures and platforms, he said. Meta will have many options, and access to supply in an environment currently characterized not only by a wide variety of new CPU approaches, but by significant supply chain constraints. The AWS deal should be viewed as a complement to its partnerships and investments in other platforms like ARM, Nvidia, and AMD.

Kimball agreed that the move is “most definitely additive,” not a replacement or substitution. Meta isn’t moving off GPUs or accelerators, it’s building around them. “This is about assembling a heterogeneous system, not picking a single winner,” he said. “In fact, I think for most, heterogeneity is critical to long term success.”

Nvidia still dominates training and a lot of inference, while AMD is becoming “more and more relevant at scale,” Kimball noted. Arm, meanwhile, whether through CPU, custom silicon or other efforts, gives Meta architectural control, and Graviton5 fits into that mix as a “cost- and efficiency-optimized general-purpose compute layer.”

A question of strategy

The more interesting question is around strategy: Does this signal Meta is becoming a compute provider? Kimball doesn’t think so, noting that it’s likely the company isn’t looking to directly compete with hyperscalers as a general-purpose cloud. “This is more about vertical integration of their own AI stack,” he said.

The move gives them the ability to support internal workloads more efficiently, as well as providing the infrastructure foundation to expose more of that capability externally, whether through APIs, partnerships, or other means, he said.

And there’s a cost dynamic here, too, Kimball noted. As inference becomes persistent, especially with agentic systems, economics shift away from peak floating-point operations per second (FLOPS) (a measure of compute performance) and toward sustained efficiency and total cost of ownership (TCO).

CPUs like Graviton5 are well positioned for the parts of that workload that don’t require accelerators, but still need to run continuously. “At Meta’s scale, even small efficiency gains per workload compound quickly,” Kimball pointed out.

For developers and enterprise IT, the signal is pretty clear, he noted: The AI stack is getting more heterogeneous, not less so. Enterprises are going to see tighter coupling between CPUs, GPUs, and specialized accelerators, with workloads increasingly split across them based on behavior (prefill versus decode, stateless versus stateful, burst versus persistent).

“The implication is that infrastructure decisions have to become more workload-aware,” said Kimball. “It’s less about ‘which cloud?’ and more about ‘where does this specific part of the application run most efficiently?’”

This article originally appeared on NetworkWorld.

As Europe seeks to assert its technological independence from the US vendors Aleph Alpha, once seen as Germany’s sovereign AI hope, is the target of a transatlantic takeover.

Aleph Alpha is set to merge with Canada’s Cohere in a deal that will bring together Cohere’s global AI clout and Aleph Alpha’s background in research. The two companies hope they will be able to develop an AI powerhouse, with backing from their Canadian and German ecosystems

“Organizations globally are demanding uncompromising control over their AI stack. This transatlantic partnership unlocks the massive scale, robust infrastructure, and world-class R&D talent required to meet that demand,” said ” said Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez in a news release that artfully presents the deal as a merger of equals but that, according to a footnote, only requires the approval of the German company’s shareholders, a sure sign of a one-sided takeover.

The combined companies will be looking to offer customized AI in highly-regulated sectors including finance, defense and healthcare. By pooling their talents and offerings, theu hope to offer AI solutions to organizations according to local laws, cultural contexts, and institutional requirements.

The move comes at a time when businesses across the word are looking at non-US options as a reaction to the Trump administration’s policy on tariffs and the uncertainty caused by the war with Iran.

There have been several initiatives within Europe to counteract the US dominance. The EU’s Eurostack plan looked to make sure that major projects had a European option. Aleph Alpha was one of the companies highlighted within the scheme. The EU also launched Open  Euro LLM, an attempt to slow down the US and China’s lead in AI.

This article first appeared on CIO.

Microsoft has beefed up Copilot’s capabilities in Word, Excel and PowerPoint, claiming its Agent Mode will help speed up workers’ output.

The new features, announced last year, mean that Copilot can work more efficiently with Office applications, for example, understanding the richness of a pivot table in Excel or the use of animations in PowerPoint.

In tests with customers and researchers, Microsoft has learned a few things about how to improve the way Copilot is deployed, and laid out some of them in a post to a company blog. Now, it said, Copilot takes action rather than just suggesting steps — although ensuring that users maintain control. Other improvements include the ability to work with different models and better integration of Work IQ to deliver higher quality output.

Further developments are in the pipeline, Microsoft said, including improved editing for complex workflows such as finance spreadsheets and legal documents, more visibility on changes, and a more seamless integration of Copilot into the software, so that the experience for users is the same for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

The updates are available now and are the default experience for customers with Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Premium subscriptions, the company said.

See PCWorld’s first impressions of the new Copilot agents in Word and PowerPoint.

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) does not yet have access to Anthropic’s bug-hunting AI model, Claude Mythos, even though other government agencies do, Axios reported earlier this week.

As if that weren’t a big enough slap in the face for the national cyber-defense agency, the list of those who do have access to Mythos includes several unauthorized users, according to Bloomberg News. Members of a private Discord channel specializing in seeking information about unreleased AI models, have gained access to Mythos, according to one unnamed member of the group, Bloomberg reported. “The group has been using Mythos regularly since then, though not for cybersecurity purposes,” the person told Bloomberg, supplying screenshots to back up their claim.

As a result of its fear that the powerful model could be used to identify and exploit flaws in software and online services, Anthropic has limited access to a preview of Mythos to an exclusive group of government agencies, industry groups, and software providers through an initiative it calls Project Glasswing.

Even if CISA is shut out, some government agencies do have access to Mythos, including the US Department of Commerce’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation and the US National Security Agency, which Axios said are already assessing Mythos.

Tencent has updated its Hunyuan AI model, its first major release since it recruited Yao Shunyu, a leading AI scientist from OpenAI. Tencent’s Hy3 model, currently available in preview, offers improvements in areas from complex reasoning to coding.

The Chinese technology conglomerate is playing catch-up with other Chinese AI developers including ByteDance, Alibaba and DeepSeek. China is betting big on open-source AI to offer alternatives to major US players. Back in 2023, Tencent claimed its then-new Hunyuan LLM was a more powerful and intelligent option than the versions of ChatGPT and Llama available at the time.

Tencent has backed AI start-ups including Moonshot AI and StepFun, hoping that they will boost its cloud computing division. The company has also restructured its research team to improve the quality of training data. It aims to double its investment in AI to more than $5 billion this year.

Not to be outdone, DeepSeek announced its V4 Flash and V4 Pro Series, the newest versions of its LLM model. DeepSeek became an overnight hit in January 2025 with the launch of its R1 AI model and has gone on to develop other models since. It said the V4 model upgrades will offer users advances in reasoning and agentic tasks, while a new feature called Hybrid Attention Architecture improves the ability of the AI platform to remember queries across long conversations.

This article first appeared on InfoWorld.

Adobe is rolling out autonomous agents to orchestrate work across its applications, a move that will reinforce its position at the core of content and marketing workflows as AI disrupts the software landscape, analysts say.

“We’re living at true inflection point; a moment where creativity and marketing are being reshaped by AI, unlocking incredible new opportunities and raising the bar for speed, personalization, as well as scale,” said Shantanu Narayen, Adobe CEO, during his keynote presentation at Adobe Summit on Monday.

Liz Miller, vice president and principal analyst at Constellation Research, described the various agent-focused product updates at Adobe’s Summit conference this week as “an evolution of vision that brings the right AI capability into the right application.”

“The goal … is to continue evolving where and how AI is incorporated into the work of engagement,” she said.

[ More Adobe Summit 2026 coverage ]

Adobe’s recent launches indicate a “clear shift” to prioritize agentic AI investment, said Maria Bell, senior analyst at CCS Insight.

“Rather than focusing on standalone AI features, the emphasis is on building systems that can coordinate and execute work across workflows and functions,” said Bell. “Capabilities such as CX Enterprise, workflow agents and Firefly integrations point to an ambition to move from AI that supports decisions to systems that can act on them.”

Adobe kicked off its agent-related announcements ahead of the customer experience conference, unveiling its Firefly AI Assistant last week.

Using natural language prompts, the agent can autonomously carry out multi-step workflows across Adobe Creative Cloud apps such as Photoshop, Premiere, Express, and others.  Aimed at both novice and expert users, Firefly AI Assistant can also guide users through tasks spanning image, video, audio, and design. A public beta is “coming soon,” according to Adobe.

The launch of Firefly AI Assistant signals Adobe’s intent to “lead in agentic AI for creative professionals, [by] directly addressing workflow friction, usability, and the demand for multi-model flexibility,” said Keith Kirkpatrick, research director at Futurum, in a blog post last week.

“Adobe’s Firefly Assistant is a signal that agentic AI is moving from experimental pilots to production-grade tools capable of handling real creative complexity,” he said, with enterprise buyers “no longer content with simple copilots or one-off automation.”

“The ability to automate multi-step tasks and orchestrate between image and video modalities is quickly becoming table stakes for creative AI platforms,” he said.

Adobe’s main announcement during the Summit event this week was CX Enterprise Coworker; an AI agent that coordinates multi-step workflows and tasks across Adobe’s customer experience applications.

“Adobe is moving to occupy the role of an automated operating system for marketing,” said Jim Lundy, CEO of Aragon Research, in a blog post on Wednesday. “While previous AI tools acted as individual assistants for specific tasks, the CX Enterprise Coworker acts as a supervisor that connects disparate silos of information.”

Lundy said that CX Enterprise Coworker represents a “significant evolution” in the way enterprises will manage the customer lifecycle, replacing manual hand-offs with automated orchestration across customer engagement apps.

“By anchoring this tool in its robust experience platform, Adobe is making a strong case for being the primary intelligence layer in the modern marketing stack,” said Lundy.

There were also updates to GenStudio with Brand Intelligence, a data layer that connects information across Adobe tools to provide context for agents to act upon, alongside a new agent capability in Adobe’s Workfront work management app.

While agents present an opportunity for Adobe, it also faces potential disruption from both design software vendors that build AI into their products and general-purpose AI assistants.

This risk has raised concerns in financial markets, and Adobe announced a $25 billion share buyback scheme this week — a move that can be seen as an attempt to shore up investor confidence amid a period of significant change, both across the industry as AI reshapes the software landscape, and within Adobe itself, with CEO Shantanu Narayen set to step down after 18 years in charge.

Ahead of the event, popular online design platform Canva unveiled its own agentic capabilities, with users able to access various Canva tools via a conversational interface that can complete multi-step processes, such as creating “a multi-channel campaign launch.”

“Canva is focused on accessibility, using AI to simplify and automate design for a broader audience,” said CCS Insight’s Bell. “This lowers barriers to entry and puts pressure on Adobe in lighter-weight and non-professional use cases.”

And, last week, Anthropic announced Claude Design, which lets users create design prototypes and marketing assets such as “landing pages, social media assets, and campaign visuals.”

In addition, Anthropic and Canva announced an integration that brings Claude Design outputs into Canva’s app.

Miller from Constellation Research said that tools such as Claude Design are “powerful additions” to the design ecosystem, enabling non-designers to quickly prototype and test ideas using text prompts. At the same time, these should be seen as more of a starting point. Professional-level design and editing tools are still required to create enterprise-ready prototypes.

“A creator may start in OpenAI, use that output in Claude to further build out the concept, but end in Firefly to ensure enterprise safety and brand controls in a more refined, finely tuned toolset,” Miller said.

Adobe is also working with a range of AI providers to make its software available where customers prefer. This includes the ability to interact with Adobe’s Firefly creative assistant directly from Claude, for instance.

“Our strategy is to meet where the users are,” said Varun Parmar, general manager of Adobe GenStudio and Firefly for Enterprise. A user might invoke an Adobe creative agent via Claude in the morning, he said, “and then later in the afternoon decide to do deeper precision and control work that requires a professional sort of interface, which is where Adobe’s product is world class.”

“We believe that these things will coexist; depending on the use case, you’ll go in and out [of different apps],” said Parmar.

As AI model providers expand into workplace software tools, it makes most sense for Adobe to focus on its core strength of serving creative and marketing professionals, Miller said.

“The risk to Adobe is more of an ongoing challenge to stay focused on customer demand and need, and not veer off course in a never-ending horse race with models proving what can be done, as opposed to commercially safe models that deliver what must be done,” she said.

And despite some media negativity around Adobe’s ability to transition into a new era of agentic AI, Miller said, Adobe’s strategy of embedding data, assets, and workflows into the tools marketers and creatives use remains sound.

Bell sees agentic systems as a “longer-term structural shift, while the more immediate pressure comes from accessibility-focused platforms like Canva.”

Yet Adobe’s access to data and expertise serving large customers provide it with an edge. “Adobe remains strong in professional and enterprise environments, where depth, control and integration still matter,” Bell said.

Windows 11 25H2 has been publicly released, but behind the scenes, Microsoft is constantly working to improve the newest version of Windows. The company frequently rolls out preview builds to members of its Windows Insider Program, allowing them to test out — and help shape — upcoming features.

Our story “How to preview and deploy Windows 10 and 11 updates” details how the Insider program has worked until now. However, Microsoft recently announced sweeping changes to the program that will include the ability to select which new features to test. As the first step, the company is introducing a new channel system and transitioning Insiders like so:

• Beta Channel > Beta 
• Dev Channel > Experimental
• Canary Channel (28000 series) > Experimental (26H1)
• Canary Channel (29500 series) > Experimental (Future Platforms)

This transition is happening over time, starting with the Dev Channel. See Microsoft’s blog post for more information about the transition.

Below you’ll find information about the Windows 11 preview builds that have been announced by Microsoft in the past six months. 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 preview builds for Windows Insiders, see “Windows 11: A guide to the updates.”

The latest Windows 11 Insider preview builds Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.8283

Release date: April 24, 2026

Released to: Beta Channel

Several minor new improvements and fixes are being gradually rolled out in this build, including improved detection of clicks at the leftmost edge of the taskbar to invoke the Start menu when the taskbar icons are left-aligned.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.8283.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8289

Release date: April 24, 2026

Released to: Experimental Channel (formerly Dev)

In a phased rollout, Insiders in the Dev Channel are being moved to the new Experimental channel. Insiders who do not see the new experience on their device can enable it under Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program > Feature flags.

Several minor new features are also being rolled out gradually in this build, including improved detection of clicks at the leftmost edge of the taskbar to invoke the Start menu when the taskbar icons are left-aligned.

There is one known issue in this build: Insiders who use Feature flags to enable the new Insider experience may see the feature state incorrectly marked as current; however, changing the state and applying changes should work as expected.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8289.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28200.1873

Release date: April 24, 2026

Released to: Experimental 26H1 Channel (formerly Canary)

This build is gradually rolling out a variety of small improvements, including an updated voice typing experience for the touch keyboard. To reduce distractions, the new design shows voice typing animations directly on the dictation key rather than on a full-screen overlay.

It also fixes a bug in which Settings > Network & Internet > Data Usage showed large, unrealistic values.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28200.1873.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29576.1000

Release date: April 24, 2026

Released to: Experimental Future Platforms Channel (formerly Canary optional 29500)

This build is gradually rolling out a variety of changes, including Point-in-time restore for Windows, which can quickly roll your device back to a previous state, potentially helping minimize downtime and simplify troubleshooting when disruptions strike. 

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29576.1000.)

Windows 11 Builds 26100.8313 and 26200.8313 (KB5083631) 

Release date: April 17, 2026

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build introduces a wide variety of new features rolled out gradually, including a new way to monitor your agents from the taskbar. It supports agents across first- and third-party apps, with Researcher in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app as the first adopter. When Researcher works on a report, Windows shows progress on the taskbar so you can check updates at a glance.

For IT administrators, the update gradually rolls out support for a dynamic app removal list to the “Remove Default Microsoft Store packages” policy for Windows Enterprise and Education. It also removes default trust for cross‑signed third-party drivers, while drivers from the Windows Hardware Compatibility Program (WHCP) and an allow list of trusted legacy drivers remain allowed. Enterprise State Roaming can now be managed through Windows Backup for Organizations policies.

The update also immediately introduces two minor improvements for everyone. Windows quality updates now include additional high-confidence device targeting data, which increases coverage of devices eligible to automatically receive new Secure Boot certificates. In Windows Security, the name of the affected application is now included in event logging related to CVE‑2024‑30098. This change makes it easier to identify applications that rely on smart card certificates and may need updates following recent security changes.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Builds 26100.8313 and 26200.8313.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.8271

Release date: April 17, 2026

Released to: Beta Channel

Several minor new features were made available in this build for those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, including improved reliability and performance of Windows Hello fingerprint after your PC wakes from sleep.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.8271.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8276

Release date: April 17, 2026

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, several minor new features are being gradually rolled for those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, including improved reliability and performance of Windows Hello fingerprint after your PC wakes from sleep.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8276.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1863

Release date: April 17, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build fixes a bug that prevented some apps from signing in due to a false report of no internet connectivity. The fix is rolling out gradually.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1863.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29570.1000

Release date: April 17, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel (29500 build series)

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates in the Canary Channel on the optional 29500 build series, this build has a variety of minor changes rolling out gradually, including more widget options and support for lock screen widget personalization, a new setting in Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Touchpad that lets you can choose how large the right-click zone is, and support for a dynamic app removal list to the “Remove Default Microsoft Store packages” policy for Windows Enterprise and Education.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29570.1000.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.8165

Release date: April 10, 2026

Released to: Beta Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build gradually rolls out several minor features, including one in which the size limit for formatting FAT32 volumes via the command line has increased from 32GB to 2TB, and another in which the Windows Security app gets new badges and text that reflect your device’s Secure Boot state and certificate status.

It also gradually rolls out a fix for a bug that caused Settings > Network & Internet > Data Usage to show large, unrealistic values.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.8165.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8170

Release date: April 10, 2026

Released to: Dev Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build gradually rolls out several minor features, including one in which the size limit for formatting FAT32 volumes via the command line has increased from 32GB to 2TB, and another in which the Windows Security app gets new badges and text that reflect your device’s Secure Boot state and certificate status.

It also gradually rolls out a fix for a bug that caused Settings > Network & Internet > Data Usage to show large, unrealistic values.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8170.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1812

Release date: April 10, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build gradually rolls out general improvements and fixes, including a new setting that lets users choose the size of their touchpad’s right-click zone, as well as new badges and text in the Windows Security app that reflect your device’s Secure Boot state and certificate status.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1812.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29565.1000

Release date: April 10, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel (29500 build series)

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates in the Canary Channel on the optional 29500 build series, this build includes “platform changes in moving to a new active development build,” as well as new badges and text in the Windows Security app that reflect your device’s Secure Boot state and certificate status

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29565.1000.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.8148

Release date: April 3, 2026

Released to: Beta Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build gradually rolls out several minor features, including a new icon in print settings to indicate when a printer supports Windows Protected Print Mode.

Several bugs are also being fixed, including one in which some apps weren’t able to sign in, citing an internal connection issue when internet was actually connected.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.8148.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8155

Release date: April 3, 2026

Released to: Dev Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build gradually rolls out several minor features, including one in which users will be able to feel haptic feedback effects on compatible input devices while performing certain actions, such as aligning objects in PowerPoint, window snapping, resizing, or hovering over the Close button. These haptic effects can be configured in Settings under Bluetooth & devices > Mouse > Haptic signals.

Several bugs have also been fixed, including one in which some apps weren’t able to sign in, citing an internal connection issue when internet was actually connected.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8155.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1803

Release date: April 3, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates in the Canary Channel, this build includes a small set of general improvements and fixes, including improved reliability for configuring the fluid dictation option in voice typing settings.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1803.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29560.1000

Release date: April 3, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel (29500 build series)

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates in the Canary Channel on the optional 29500 build series, this build “includes platform changes in moving to a new active development build,” in the words of Microsoft. Several bugs have also been fixed, including one in which attached USB devices weren’t working for some Insiders.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29560.1000.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.8138

Release date: March 30, 2026

Released to: Beta Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build gradually rolls out several new features, including one in which you can enable Administrator Protection in Settings under Privacy & security > Windows Security > Account protection and switching the toggle to on. A restart will be required. 

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.8138.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8142

Release date: March 30, 2026

Released to: Dev Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build gradually rolls out several new features, including one in which you can enable Administrator Protection in Settings under Privacy & security > Windows Security > Account protection and switching the toggle to on. A restart will be required. 

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8142.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1797

Release date: March 30, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel

This update, in the words of Microsoft, “includes a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience” of running Windows 11.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1797.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29558.1000

Release date: March 30, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel (29500 build series)

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates in the Windows 11 Insider Canary Channel on the optional 29500 build series, this build introduces several new features, including a variety of improvements to the Windows Console, many of which were created by open-source contributors. Several bugs have also been fixed, including an authentication error people received when trying to connect to Azure Virtual Desktop.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29558.1000.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.8079

Release date: March 20, 2026

Released to: Beta Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build gradually rolls out several bug fixes, including for one in which the Network and Sharing Center incorrectly displayed two active Wi-Fi connections after switching from one Wi-Fi network to another. The Network and Sharing Center now correctly shows a single active Wi-Fi connection when you connect to a new network. 

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.8079.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8085

Release date: March 20, 2026

Released to: Dev Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build resumes rollout of the Point Indicator Accessibility setting, which enables low-vision users to easily locate and use their cursor. The build also introduces the new Feedback Hub, which offers Insiders simpler navigation and feedback submission flows.

In addition, several bugs were fixed, including one in which the Network and Sharing Center incorrectly displayed two active Wi-Fi connections after switching from one Wi-Fi network to another. The Network and Sharing Center now correctly shows a single active Wi-Fi connection when you connect to a new network.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8085.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1743

Release date: March 20, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build includes several new features being rolled out gradually, including one in which shared audio now provides individual sliders for each listener which adjusts their volume without affecting the other. You can continue to adjust volume for both listeners at the same time through the main volume controls available through Quick Settings or on-device and keyboard controls.

The build also introduces the new Feedback Hub, which offers Insiders simpler navigation and feedback submission flows.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1743.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29553.1000

Release date: March 20, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel (29500 build series)

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates in the Canary Channel’s optional 29500 build series, this build introduces the new Feedback Hub, which offers Insiders simpler navigation and feedback submission flows.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29553.1000.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.8062

Release date: March 13, 2026

Released to: Beta Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build includes numerous changes and refinements, including an update to the “Remove Default Microsoft Store packages” policy for Windows Enterprise and Education SKUs that allows IT administrators to remove MSIX/APPX apps by adding their app package family name (PFNs) to a dynamic list.

Starting with this update, the Windows kernel will enforce a new policy removing default trust for cross-signed drivers. The policy allows third-party drivers from the WHCP program by default, with an allow list of trustworthy publishers and drivers from the cross-signing program.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.8062.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8068

Release date: March 13, 2026

Released to: Dev Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build includes numerous changes and refinements, including an update to the “Remove Default Microsoft Store packages” policy for Windows Enterprise and Education SKUs that allows IT administrators to remove MSIX/APPX apps by adding their app package family name (PFNs) to a dynamic list.

Starting with this update, the Windows kernel will enforce a new policy removing default trust for cross-signed drivers. The policy allows third-party drivers from the WHCP program by default, with an allow list of trustworthy publishers and drivers from the cross-signing program.

(Get more info about  Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8068.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1737

Release date: March 13, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build makes refinements to the Pen settings page, including small changes to the options for the pen tail button. A new option, “Same as Copilot key,” enables the pen tail button to launch the same app as the Copilot key.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1737.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29550.1000

Release date: March 13, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel (29500 build series)

For those  who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates in the Canary Channel’s optional 29500 build series, this build has a variety of minor changes, including one in which changes to global power settings (for example, Display, Sleep, Hibernate timeouts, Power/Sleep button, and lid close actions) from Settings are now applied to all power plans. This should help improve persistence of chosen settings.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29550.1000.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 26100.8106 and 26200.8106

Release date: March 12, 2026

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build introduces a wide range of minor features being rolled out gradually, including the ability to turn Smart App Control (SAC) on or off without needing a clean install. To make changes, go to Settings > Windows Security > App & Browser Control > Smart App Control settings. When turned on, SAC helps block untrusted or potentially harmful apps.

The update also improves stability in Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) when you run x64 apps on ARM64 devices. These apps run more smoothly and respond as expected.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 26100.8106 and 26200.8106.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7961

Release date: March 6, 2026

Released to: Beta Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build re-enables Administrator protection, which aims to protect free-floating admin rights for administrator users, allowing them to still perform all admin functions with just-in-time admin privileges. This feature is off by default and can be enabled via OMA-URI in Intune or via group policy.

Other changes and improvements being gradually rolled out to the same group include the ability to use voice typing (Windows key + H) when renaming files in File Explorer, as well as a smaller peek view in the drag tray.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Build 26220.7961.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.7965

Release date: March 6, 2026

Released to: Dev Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build re-enables Administrator protection, which aims to protect free-floating admin rights for administrator users, allowing them to still perform all admin functions with just-in-time admin privileges. This feature is off by default and can be enabled via OMA-URI in Intune or via group policy.

Other changes and improvements being gradually rolled out to the same group include the ability to use voice typing when renaming files in File Explorer, as well as a smaller peek view in the drag tray.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.7965.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1685

Release date: March 6, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build lets you use voice typing (Windows key + H) when renaming files in File Explorer. The build also improves the reliability of removing Windows Update files and windows.old files via Settings > System > Storage.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1685.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7934

Release date: Feb. 27, 2026

Released to: Beta Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build gives administrators and Application Control for Business policy authors additional controls over the processing of batch files and CMD scripts. Starting with this release, admins can enable a more secure mode for processing batch files that ensures they do not change during execution by adding a value to the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor named LockBatchFilesWhenInUse (DWORD, value 0 or 1). Policy authors can also use the LockBatchFilesWhenInUse application manifest control documented here to enable this mode.

There are a variety of other improvements being rolled out gradually, including one in which a new taskbar indicator displays while you’re sharing, giving a quick reminder that audio is still being shared. Clicking the indicator is a fast path to open sharing settings to change volume or stop sharing.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7934.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.7939

Release date: Feb. 27, 2026

Released to: Dev Channel

For those who opted to receive the latest updates, this build gives administrators and Application Control for Business policy authors additional controls over the processing of batch files and CMD scripts. Starting with this release, admins can enable a more secure mode for processing batch files that ensures they do not change during execution by adding a value to the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor named LockBatchFilesWhenInUse (DWORD, value 0 or 1). Policy authors can also use the LockBatchFilesWhenInUse application manifest control documented here to enable this mode.

There are a variety of other improvements being rolled out gradually, including one in which a new taskbar indicator displays while you’re sharing, offering a quick reminder that audio is still being shared. Clicking the indicator is a fast path to open sharing settings to change volume or stop sharing.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.7939.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1673

Release date: Feb. 27, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel

For those who have opted to receive the latest updates, this build gets a variety of new features being rolled out gradually, including one in which Quick Machine Recovery (QMR) now turns on automatically for enterprise managed Windows Professional devices, as well as Windows Professional devices that are not domain-joined. These devices receive the same recovery features available to Windows Home users. For domain-joined devices, QMR stays off unless it is enabled by the organization.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1673.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7872

Release date: February 20, 2026

Released to: Beta Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build offers a variety of new features, including simplified specifications on the ‘Device info’ Card on the Settings Home page and improved mouseover animations for app groups on the taskbar.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7872.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.7877

Release date: February 20, 2026

Released to: Dev Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build offers a variety of new features, including simplified specifications on the ‘Device info’ Card on the Settings Home page and improved mouseover animations for app groups on the taskbar.

Several bugs have also been fixed, including one in which all File Explorer open windows and tabs unexpectedly jumped to Desktop or Home.

Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.7877.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1619

Release date: February 20, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build offers a variety of new features, including one in which Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security (ESS) supports peripheral fingerprint sensors. Previously, ESS was only available on PCs with built-in biometric sensors, but now it can be used when you plug in a supported ESS fingerprint reader.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1619.)

Optional Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29531.1000

Release date: February 18, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel

This build is the first in a new Canary Channel optional path with a focus on platform development, which will introduce new features before the existing 28000 Canary Channel series. Microsoft recommends that most people remain on the 28000 build path, but adds that those who want to get the newest platform changes as early as possible may want to switch to this new 29500 path. Note, though, that if you switch to the 29500 path by installing this build, you won’t be able to go back to the 28000 Canary Channel series.

The build itself, in Microsoft’s words, “includes platform changes in moving to a new active development build.”

Microsoft warns, “because of the focus on platform development for this path, you may notice a temporary loss in some features that you have today. These features will return to this new active development build.”

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 29531.1000.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7859

Release date: February 17, 2026

Released to: Beta Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build displays an option to upgrade to a different Microsoft 365 plan on the Accounts page within the Settings app. It also rolls out fixes for several bugs, including one in which all File Explorer open windows and tabs unexpectedly jumped to Desktop or Home.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Preview Build 26220.7859.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 26100.7918 and 26200.7918

Release date: February 17, 2026

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build gradually rolls out a variety of new features, including one in which Quick Machine Recovery (QMR) now turns on automatically for Windows Professional devices that are not domain‑joined and not enrolled in enterprise endpoint management. These devices receive the same recovery features available to Windows Home users. For domain‑joined or enterprise managed devices, QMR stays off unless it is enabled by the organization. The build also improves login screen reliability.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 26100.7918 and 26200.7918.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1611

Release date: February 12, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel

This build brings Sysmon functionality natively to Windows. Sysmon functionality allows you to capture system events that can help with threat detection, and you can use custom configuration files to filter the events you want to monitor. The captured events are written on the Windows event log, enabling them to be used with security applications and in a wide range of use cases.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1611.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7755

Release date: February 9, 2026

Released to: Beta Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build gradually rolls out several new features, including Emoji 16.0, which contains a new set of emojis, and the ability to directly control pan and tilt for supported cameras in the Settings app.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 226220.7755.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.7760

Release date: February 9, 2026

Released to: Dev Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build gradually rolls out several new features, including Emoji 16.0, which contains a new set of emojis, and the ability to directly control pan and tilt for supported cameras in the Settings app.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.7760.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1546

Release date: February 4, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel

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

It also fixes one bug that affected apps working with files stored on OneDrive or Dropbox.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1546.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7752

Release date: February 3, 2026

Released to: Beta Channel

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get Sysmon functionality natively in Windows. Sysmon functionality allows you to capture system events that can help with threat detection, and you can use custom configuration files to filter the events you want to monitor. The captured events are written on the Windows event log, enabling them to be used with security applications and a wide range of use cases. (This feature is being gradually rolled out.)

The same group also gets a number of bug fixes being gradually rolled out, including for a File Explorer bug in which icons/tooltips for “Add to favorites” were missing.

(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 26220.7752.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.7733

Release date: February 3, 2026

Released to: Dev Channel

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get Sysmon functionality natively in Windows. Sysmon functionality allows you to capture system events that can help with threat detection, and you can use custom configuration files to filter the events you want to monitor. The captured events are written on the Windows event log, enabling them to be used with security applications and a wide range of use cases. (This feature is being gradually rolled out.)

The same group also gets a number of bug fixes being gradually rolled out, including for a File Explorer bug in which icons/tooltips for “Add to favorites” were missing.

(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 26300.7733.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1495

Release date: January 28, 2025

Released to: Canary Channel

This build, in Microsoft’s words, “includes a small set of general improvements and fixes that improve the overall experience [of Windows 11].” It also fixes a variety of bugs, including one that led to the Windows Update settings page hanging when loading.

The build has two known issues, one that sometimes causes all open File Explorer windows and tabs to unexpectedly jump to Desktop or Home in File Explorer, and another in which the desktop watermark is showing the wrong build number.

(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 28020.1495.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 26100.7701 and 26200.7701

Release date: January 27, 2026

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This build gradually rolls out a variety of new features for Copilot+ PCs, including one in which Narrator gives you more control over how it announces on‑screen controls. You can choose which details are spoken and adjust their order to match how you navigate apps. These settings apply throughout the app to help reduce extra speech and make Narrator easier to follow.

The build also immediately rolls out a variety of new features for all PCs, including one in Data Protection Application Programming Interface (DPAPI) domain backup key management. Administrators can now set how often keys rotate automatically. This strengthens cryptographic security and reduces reliance on older encryption algorithms.

(Get more info about Insider Preview Builds 26100.7701 and 26200.7701.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7670

Release date: January 27, 2026

Released to: Beta Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build gradually rolls out several bug fixes, including for an issue in which the Search process was showing an icon with an X instead of a magnifying glass.

The build has five known issues, including one in which some Insiders’ apps aren’t showing in the system tray when they should be.

(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 26220.7670.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.7674

Release date: January 27, 2026

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, the Dev Channel jumps ahead to receive 26300 series builds. This means that the window to switch from the Dev Channel to the Beta Channel is closed once Build 26300.7674is installed on your PC. This build for the Dev Channel is identical to the Windows 11 Build 26220.7653 release (see below).

(Get more info about Insider Preview Build 26300.7674.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7653

Release date: January 21, 2026

Released to: Dev Channel

This build for the Dev Channel is identical to the January 16th Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7653 released to the Beta Channel. See the writeup below for details.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7653.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7653

Release date: January 16, 2026

Released to: Beta Channel

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build gradually rolls out several changes, including one in which you can now set .webp images for your desktop background in Settings > Personalization > Desktop Background.

The same group also gets a number of bug fixes being gradually rolled out, including for a bug in which Settings crashed when interacting with audio devices.

The build has four known issues, including one in which some Insiders’ apps aren’t showing in the system tray when they should be.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7653.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1371 

Release date: January 14, 2026

Released to: Canary Channel

This build gradually rolls out a variety of bug fixes for those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, including a bug in which File Explorer showed a white flash when navigating between pages.

There is one known issue in this build: The desktop watermark shows the wrong build number.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1371.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7535

Release date: January 9, 2026

Released to: Dev & Beta Channels

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build gradually rolls out Copilot-powered image descriptions to Narrator on Copilot+ PCs, making it possible for blind and low-vision users to hear detailed, AI-generated descriptions of images, charts, and graphs.

The same group also gets a number of bug fixes being gradually rolled out, including for an issue in which File Explorer was causing explorer.exe to crash for some Insiders when invoking the context menu on the desktop.

The build has seven known issues, including one in which Settings crashes when interacting with audio devices.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7535.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7523

Release date: December 19, 2025

Released to: Dev & Beta Channels

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build gradually rolls out a version of Copilot on the taskbar tailored for commercial customers. It uses Work IQ as contextual information that they can reference in their Copilot chats and with Microsoft 365 AI agents. In addition, the build introduces Agent Launchers, a new framework that enables Windows apps to register AI agents and make them discoverable across the system.

The same group also gets a number of bug fixes being gradually rolled out, including one that addresses an issue in which File Explorer showed a white flash when navigating between pages.

The build has nine known issues, including one in which opening the context menu is causing explorer.exe to crash for some Insiders.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7523.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1362

Release date: December 15, 2025

Released to: Canary Channel

This build gradually rolls out several new features for Copilot+ PCs, including a streamlined design for the Click to Do context menu that makes frequently used actions like Copy, Save, Share, and Open easier to access. It also rolls out new features for all PCs, including improvements to the dark mode experience in File Explorer.

A variety of bug fixes are being gradually rolled out, including one for an issue in which Settings became unresponsive when attempting to navigate to the Network & Internet section.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28020.1362.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28000.1340 

Release date: December 9, 2025

Released to: Canary Channel

This build has, in Microsoft’s words, a “small set of general improvements and fixes” that improve Windows. It also enables more of the new features and improvements originally released with the October non-security preview update for Windows 11.

In addition, the build fixes a bug that caused some Storage Spaces to become inaccessible or Storage Spaces Direct to fail when creating a storage cluster.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28000.1340.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7344

Release date: December 5, 2025

Released to: Dev & Beta Channels

For those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build offers native support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard that gives AI agents a universal way to connect with apps, tools, and services. Agents can discover and connect to these tools and other agents via a secure, manageable Windows on-device registry (ODR). By default, all agent connectors in the Windows ODR will be contained in a secure environment with their own identity and audit trail.

In addition, Quick machine recovery (QMR) will now be turned on automatically for Windows Professional devices that are not domain joined. These devices will get the same recovery features as Windows Home users. For enterprise computers that are domain joined, nothing changes — QMR will stay off unless your organization turns it on.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates also get a number of bug fixes, including addressing a bug in which the search window to unexpectedly started floating above the taskbar.

The build has seven known issues, including one in which File Explorer shows a white flash when navigating between pages.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7344.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7271

Release date: November 21, 2025

Released to:  Dev & Beta Channels

This build introduces several features being rolled out gradually for those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates. These include point-in-time restore for Windows, which lets you to quickly roll your device back to a previous state to minimize downtime and simplify troubleshooting, and (on NPU devices) fluid dictation in voice typing, which automatically corrects grammar, punctuation, and filler words as you speak.

The build also expands the availability of the Xbox full-screen experience to additional Windows 11 PCs. You can add a controller to your PC for task switching and streamlined gaming on your desktop, laptop, or tablet.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates also get several bug fixes, including one that resolves a hung taskbar after receiving certain notifications.

The build has seven known issues, including one in which File Explorer shows a white flash when navigating between pages.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7271.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28000.1199

Release date: November 18, 2025

Released to: Canary Channel

This build has, in Microsoft’s words, a “small set of general improvements and fixes” that improve Windows.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28000.1199.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 26100.7296 and 26200.7296

Release date: November 17, 2025

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This update introduces a wide range of features being rolled out gradually, including several for Copilot+ PCs, such as Windows Studio Effects, which provide AI-powered camera enhancements on an additional, alternative camera such as a USB webcam or your laptop’s built-in rear camera.

All Windows 11 PCs get a variety of new features being gradually rolled out, including Windows Hello Enhanced Sign-in Security (ESS), now supporting peripheral fingerprint sensors. Also, on PCs with the settings “quick machine recovery” and “automatically check for solutions” both enabled, Quick Machine Recovery now runs a one‑time scan by default instead of repeating scans in a loop. If a fix isn’t available right away, QMR will quickly point you to the most appropriate recovery options to get you back up and running.

A bug fix is being immediately rolled out to all PCs to address an issue that affects Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS), when LSASS could become unstable due to an access violation.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 26100.7296 and 26200.7296.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7262

Release date: November 17, 2025

Released to: Beta and Dev Channels

In this build, those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a variety of features being gradually rolled out, including using high-definition voices for English (US) in Narrator and Magnifier that use generative AI to adjust tone and pacing for more natural, expressive speech. Also rolling out is a new “Experimental agentic features” toggle in the Settings app that enables the creation of AI agent accounts and an agent workspace, and grants agentic apps access to your Documents, Downloads, Desktop, Music, Pictures, and Videos folders. (Find out more about experimental agentic features.)

The same group also gets a variety of bug fixes rolled out gradually, including for a bug in which the Task Manager process wasn’t stopping correctly after Task Manager was closed. As a result, Task Manager might have been unexpectedly open on boot.

There are four known issues in this build, including one in which the scrollbar and footer are missing in File Explorer and when text is scaled in the dark mode version of the copy dialog.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7262.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7070

Release date: November 7, 2025

Released to: Beta and Dev Channels

In this build, those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a variety of features being gradually rolled out, including the ability to choose your default dashboard in an updated Widget Board Settings.

Everyone gets an updated Quick Machine Recovery in Windows, which makes it easier and quicker to get back to a working PC. The experience in both Windows Settings and the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) has been streamlined.

A variety of bug fixes are being rolled out gradually to those who have opted to receive the latest updates, including one that fixes a bug in which the “Automatically hide the taskbar” setting unexpectedly turned off after displaying a message saying, “a toolbar is already hidden on this side of your screen.”

There are five known issues in this build, including one in which the scrollbar and footer are missing in File Explorer when text is scaled in the dark mode version of the copy dialog.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7070.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28000

Release date: November 7, 2025

Released to: Canary Channel

This build has, in Microsoft’s words, a “small set of general improvements and fixes.” There are also a variety of bug fixes, including for a bug in which the credentials window was not accessible when trying to log in to Outlook.

There are two known issues in this build, one in which sleep and shutdown aren’t working correctly for some Insiders, and the other in which the new Start menu unexpectedly scrolls to the top.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28000.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27982

Release date: November 4, 2025

Released to: Canary Channel

This build gradually rolls out several new features, including one in which you can add, remove, and rearrange lock screen widgets such as Weather, Watchlist, and Sports on the lock screen. Windows also provides suggested widgets on the lock screen. To customize your lock screen widgets, go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen.

Also new is a “drag tray” that appears at the top of your screen when you drag a local file from File Explorer or your desktop. You can drop the file into one of the displayed apps or select More to open the Windows share window.

A variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which if you used your PC for a while without rebooting, explorer.exe might start crashing repeatedly.

There are two known issues in this build, one in which sleep and shutdown aren’t working correctly for some Insiders, and the other in which the new Start menu unexpectedly scrolls to the top.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27982.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7051

Release date: October 31, 2025

Released to: Beta and Dev Channels

In this build, those have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a variety of features being gradually rolled out, including Ask Copilot in the taskbar, which gives  you one-click access to Copilot Vision and Voice, so you can search via Copilot using text, voice, or guided support with Copilot Vision. As you type, results appear and update instantly. Turn it on by going to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Ask Copilot.  You can also manage whether the Copilot app launches automatically at sign-in using the “Auto start on log in” toggle in the Copilot app settings.

The same group gets a variety of bug fixes being rolled out gradually, including one to address an issue in which  interacting with a folder or its contents in Start menu could result in the folder becoming invisible.

There are four known issues in this build, including one in which the scrollbar and footer are missing in File Explorer when text is scaled in the dark mode version of the copy dialog.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.7051.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6982

Release date: October 24, 2025

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a variety of changes being gradually rolled out, including Copy & Search, which allows you to search the text in your clipboard with a single click. When you copy text anywhere in Windows, a paste gleam will appear in your search box. Click on this gleam and your copied text will appear in the search field, allowing you to search instantly.

The same group gets a variety of bug fixes, including one for a bug in which the search icon in File Explorer sometimes infinitely looped in an animation.

There are five known issues in this build, including one in which the scrollbar and footer are missing in File Explorer when text is scaled in dark mode version of the copy dialog.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6982.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27975 

Release date: October 23, 2025

Released to: Canary Channel

This build has, in Microsoft’s words, a “small set of general improvements and fixes” that improve Windows.

A variety of bugs have also been fixed, including one in which Settings crashed when accessing drive information under Settings > System > Storage. This also impacted accessing the drive information from the properties when you right-clicked a drive in File Explorer.

There are two known issues in this build, one in which sleep and shutdown aren’t working correctly for some Insiders, and the other in which the new Start menu unexpectedly scrolled to the top.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27975.)

Windows 11 Builds 26100.7015 and 26200.7015

Release date: October 21, 2025

Released to: Release Preview Channel

This update includes a wide variety of new features being rolled out gradually, including a redesigned Start menu that includes a scrollable All section, has new category and grid views, and which adapts to your screen size. The build also includes new features for Click to Do, which can now translate text into other languages. File Explorer now has a recommended files feature that shows content such as files you frequently use, have recently downloaded, or have added to your File Explorer Gallery.

Two bugs are fixed in this build: one that caused an ACCESS_DENIED error when users attempted to change passwords remotely on member servers or workgroup devices, even when they had the required permissions, and another in which protected content playback failed on some machines after installing KB506408.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 26100.7015 and 26200.7015.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6972

Release date: October 17, 2025

Released to: Dev Channel

In this build, those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a new feature being rolled out slowly, which lets you add and manage your mobile devices from Settings by navigating to “Mobile Devices” under the Bluetooth & Devices section. The page allows you to view your mobile devices, add new mobile devices, and manage features such as using your device as a connected camera or accessing your device’s files in File Explorer.

Those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get two bug fixes being rolled out slowly, one for a bug that caused File Explorer to show a Catastrophic Error (0x8000FFFF) when extracting large (1.5GB+) archive files, and another that sometimes caused an old white toolbar to randomly appear in File Explorer.

There are five known issues in this build, including one in which the scrollbar and footer are missing in File Explorer when text is scaled in the copy dialog in dark mode.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6972.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27971 

Release date: October 16, 2025

Released to: Canary Channel

In this build, the Notification Center can be used on secondary monitors. You’ll be able to see your calendar on any of your monitors and open Notification Center on any of them by clicking the date and time in the system tray of your taskbar. Note that this functionality will be rolled out gradually.

A variety of bugs have been fixed, including one in which File Explorer crashed when transferring files to a network drive.

There are three known issues in this build, including one in which sleep and shutdown aren’t working correctly for some Insiders.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27971.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.6780 

Release date: October 10, 2025

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those with Copilot+ PCs who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a handful of changes and new features, including one in Settings in which more results appear in the search flyout and let you quickly modify the settings you’re searching for.

Those with any PCs who have turned the toggle on get several changes, including a new OneDrive icon in Accounts and Homepages in Settings, and the return of the ability to enable Administrator Protection via Windows Security under Account protection.

The same group gets a variety of bug fixes, including one for an issue in the previous flight in which File Explorer frequently crashed, and another that was causing the Start menu to unexpectedly scroll to the top when interacting with it.

There are four known issues in this build, including one in which the scrollbar and footer are missing in File Explorer when text is scaled in the copy dialog in dark mode.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.6780.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6780 

Release date: October 10, 2025

Released to: Dev Channel

This update is identical to Build 26120.6780 for the Beta Channel, detailed above.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6780.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27965

Release date: October 8, 2025

Released to: Canary Channel

This update introduces a new scrollable Start menu, with “All” on the top level, so apps are accessible without having to navigate to a secondary page. There are also new category and grid views to browse and launch your installed apps in the “All” section. The new menu adapts its size based on your device’s screen size.

There are also several bug fixes, including one in which the taskbar was not autohiding correctly.

There are four known issues in this build, including one in which Settings may crash when accessing drive information under Settings > System > Storage. This also impacts accessing the drive information from the properties when you right-click a drive in File Explorer.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27965.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27959

Release date: October 6, 2025

Released to: Canary Channel

This update introduces the option to move the hardware indicators for brightness, volume, airplane mode, and virtual desktops to different positions on your screen, including the current bottom position and new top-left and top-center positions.

There are also a variety of bug fixes, including for one in which icons and text sometimes overlapped on the desktop when using increased text scaling.

There is one known issue in this build, in which sleep and shutdown aren’t working correctly for some Insiders.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27959.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.6772

Release date: October 6, 2025

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a variety of new features, including Image Object select for Click to Do in Copilot+ PCs, in which you can   hover over your image to preview selectable areas. Once selected, you can copy and paste your object into other apps or use it to kick off a chat with Copilot. Also included are improvements to dark mode for File Explorer for all PCs and the ability to use peripheral fingerprint sensors with Windows Hello. These changes are rolling out gradually.

The same group gets a variety of bugs fixed, including one in which Encrypted File System (EFS) related dialogs in File Explorer weren’t responding to increased text scaling. The bug fixes are rolling out gradually.

There are five known issues in this build, including one in which some searches may show unexpected text instead of the expected results and images.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.6772.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.6772 

Release date: October 6, 2025

Released to: Dev Channel

This update is identical to Build 26120.6772, detailed above.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.6772.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.6760

Release date: September 29, 2025

Released to: Beta Channel

In this build, those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a variety of new features, including the ability to do a network speed test straight from the taskbar. You can launch it via the Wi-Fi and Cellular Quick Settings pages or by right-clicking the network icon in the system tray. The tool opens in your default browser and supports testing Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and cellular connections. It helps in assessing network performance and troubleshooting.

The same group gets a variety of bug fixes, including for an issue in which the battery icon got out of sync with the actual charging state — for example, it would show that you weren’t plugged in when you were.

Everyone in the Beta Channel gets a variety of bug fixes, including one for developers that addresses an issue in which PIX on Windows was unable to play back GPU captures. 

There are six known issues in this build, including one in which some searches may show unexpected text instead of the expected results and images.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.6760.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6760 

Release date: September 29, 2025

Released to: Dev Channel

This build is for those who have already upgraded to Windows 11 version 25H2.

In this build, those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get a variety of new features, including the ability to do a network speed test straight from the taskbar. You can launch it via the Wi-Fi and Cellular Quick Settings pages or by right-clicking the network icon in the system tray. The tool opens in your default browser and supports testing Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and cellular connections. It helps in assessing network performance and troubleshooting.

The same group gets a variety of bug fixes, including for an issue in which the battery icon got out of sync with the actual charging state — for example, it would show that you weren’t plugged in when you were.

Everyone in the Dev Channel gets a variety of bug fixes, including one for developers that addresses an issue in which PIX on Windows was unable to play back GPU captures. 

There are six known issues in this build, including one in which some searches may show unexpected text instead of the expected results and images.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6760.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27954

Release date: September 25, 2025

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 running” Windows. It also includes fixes one bug in which you might not be able to connect to shared files and folders if you were using the Server Message Block (SMB) v1 protocol on NetBIOS over TCP/IP NetBIOS (NetBT) after the latest updates.

There is one known issue in this build, in which PIX on Windows is unable to play back GPU captures on this OS version. This will be addressed by a new PIX release, estimated to arrive by the end of September. In the meantime, if you are affected, you can use the “Send Feedback” button in PIX or contact Microsoft on the DirectX Discord server and get help via private builds.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27954.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.6690

Release date: September 19, 2025

Released to: Beta Channel

For those who have Copilot+ PCs and have turned on a toggle to receive the latest update, this build gradually rolls out several new features, including one in which Click to Do can let users translate on-screen text with just a few clicks. 

All PCs that have turned a toggle on to receive the latest updates get a variety of bug fixes rolled out gradually, including one in which File Explorer became unresponsive if a UNC server name was directly typed into address bar. There are 10 known issues in this build, including one in which the placeholder text in the Settings search box may appear vertically misaligned.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.6690.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6690

Release date: September 19, 2025

Released to: Dev Channel

This build is for those who have already upgraded to Windows 11 version 25H2. 

For those who have Copilot+ PCs and have turned on a toggle to receive the latest update, this build gradually rolls out several new features, including one in which Click to Do can let you translate on-screen text with just a few clicks. 

All PCs which have turned a toggle on to receive the latest updates get a variety of bug fixes rolled out gradually, including one in which File Explorer became unresponsive if a UNC server name was directly typed into address bar. There are 10 known issues in this build, including one in which the placeholder text in the Settings search box may appear vertically misaligned.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6690.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27950

Release date: September 19, 2025

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 running” Windows. In addition, Advanced Settings will revert to the previous “For Developers” experience after updating to this build. 

There are also a number of bug fixes, including one in which the app preview windows in the taskbar became misaligned (away from the app icon you’d clicked / hovered over) after a display resolution change. 

There are two known issues in this build, including one for developers in which PIX on Windows is unable to play back GPU captures. This will be addressed by a new PIX release, estimated to arrive by the end of September. In the meantime, anyone impacted can use the “Send Feedback” button in PIX or contact Microsoft on the DirectX Discord server and Microsoft can help provide private builds.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27950.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 26100.6713 and 26200.6713

Release date: September 12, 2025

Released to: Release Preview Channel

Build 26100.6713 is for those on Windows 11 24H2, and 26200.6713 is for those on Windows 25H2.

These builds gradually roll out a large number of new features, including AI actions in File Explorer for editing images or summarizing documents, and the ability to pin favorite apps in the Windows share window to quickly access them when you need them.

The builds fix several bugs immediately, including one that disrupted Windows Update for those using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). Additionally, several bug fixes are being gradually rolled out, including for a bug in which when Windows Sandbox was enabled, the VmmemCmFirstBoot process may have consumed large amounts of CPU after login, causing your PC to become unresponsive.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Builds 26100.6713 and 26200.6713.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.6682

Release date: September 12, 2025

Released to: Beta Channel

For those who have Copilot+ PCs and have turned the toggle on to receive the latest update, this build gradually rolls out a new Copilot prompt box in Click to Do designed to streamline interaction with Microsoft Copilot.

New emoji from Emoji 16.0 are being gradually rolled out in the emoji panel for those who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates.

The same group also gets a variety of bug fixes rolled out gradually, including for one that caused some PCs to bug check (green screen) while hibernating, and another in which the Shared section in File Explorer Home was visible even if there was no content to display.

There are seven known issues in this build, including one in which the placeholder text in the Settings search box may appear vertically misaligned.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.6682.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6682

Release date: September 12, 2025

Released to: Dev Channel

This build is for those who have already upgraded to Windows 11 version 25H2.

For those who have Copilot+ PCs and have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates, this build gradually rolls out a new Copilot prompt box in Click to Do designed to streamline interaction with Microsoft Copilot. New emoji from Emoji 16.0 are also being gradually rolled out to the same group.

The same group also gets a variety of bug fixes rolled out gradually, including for one that caused some PCs to bug check (green screen) while hibernating, and another in which the Shared section in File Explorer Home was visible even if there was no content to display.

There are seven known issues in this build, including one in which the placeholder text in the Settings search box may appear vertically misaligned.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6682.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27943

Release date: September 11, 2025

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 running” Windows.

There are also a number of bug fixes, including for a bug that caused Settings > System > Storage > Temporary files to get stuck when scanning files. This issue also caused the entry to clean up previous Windows Installations to not show in Storage Settings.

There are five known issues in this build, including one in which audio stops working and Device Manager shows one or more devices with a yellow exclamation mark, including “ACPI Audio Compositor” and others. Selecting Properties on these devices will show “Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing.”

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27943.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27938

Release date: September 8, 2025

Released to: Canary Channel

This build introduces AI actions into File Explorer. These offer new capabilities when you right-click a file, such as editing a graphic or summarizing a Word document. For now, there are four of them, all related to image files. You can perform a Bing search based on an image file, blur the background in an image, erase objects in an image, and remove the background in an image.

A number of bugs have been fixed, including one that caused Task Manager to freeze when going to the performance section, and another in which the red color used for a low space drive in This PC was unexpectedly light colored.

The build has five known issues, including one in which audio stops working and Device Manager shows one or more devices with a yellow exclamation mark.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27938.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.5790 

Release date: September 5, 2025

Released to: Beta Channel

For those who have Copilot+ PCs, this build introduces fluid dictation, which makes voice-based dictation easier. It automatically corrects grammar, punctuation, and filler words as you speak, reducing the need for manual editing. In addition, being rolled out on supported Copilot+ PCs is the ability to use Studio Effect’s AI-powered camera enhancements with an additional, alternative camera — such as a USB webcam or your laptop’s built-in rear camera.

Those in the Beta Channel who have turned the toggle on to receive the latest updates get new on-hover actions in File Manager Home for faster file management.

The same group also gets a variety of bug fixes rolled out gradually, including one for a bug in which the right-click context menu in File Explorer sometimes unexpectedly switched back and forth between the normal initial view and “Show more options” with each right-click when certain apps were installed.

There are five known issues in this build, including one in which for some users, the Shared section in File Explorer Home may be visible even if there is no content to display.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.5790.)

Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.5790 

Release date: September 5, 2025

Released to: Dev Channel

This build appears to be identical to Build 26120.5790 for the Beta Channel, detailed above.

(Get more info about Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.5790.)

Microsoft will offer voluntary retirement buyouts to about 7% of its US workforce, or roughly 8,750 employees, in the first such program in the company’s 51-year history, as the technology industry restructures under the cost pressure of AI investment.

The program, available to US-based employees at the senior director level and below, comes as large technology companies, including Microsoft, increase capital spending on AI infrastructure such as data centers and compute capacity while reviewing workforce structures to align with those investments. The initiative marks the first time Microsoft has implemented a voluntary exit scheme of this kind, CNBC reported, citing an internal memo.

Microsoft employed 228,000 people worldwide as of June 30, 2025, including 125,000 in the US, according to its latest annual filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, putting the eligible pool at about 8,750 people.

“Our hope is that this program gives those eligible the choice to take that next step on their own terms, with generous company support,” Amy Coleman, Microsoft’s executive vice president and chief people officer, wrote in the memo.

The program offers financial incentives for eligible employees to leave voluntarily, providing an alternative to layoffs. Microsoft has not said whether roles vacated through the program will be backfilled, the report added, leaving open how responsibilities may be redistributed.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A controlled workforce reset

The retirement offer follows two earlier rounds of cuts at the company. Microsoft laid off about 6,000 employees in May 2025 and a further 9,000 in July, both rounds framed around efficiency and AI-driven productivity.

“Microsoft’s move towards voluntary buyouts is best understood not as a softer alternative to layoffs, but as a more controlled instrument of structural change,” said Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst and CEO at Greyhound Research. “This is not about compassion. It is about precision. Large technology firms are entering a phase where workforce design is being actively recalibrated to align with a very different economic model — one defined by sustained, capital-intensive investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.”

Capital-intensive AI investments

The buyout program comes as Microsoft increases spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure and services. The company said earlier this year it expects to spend about $80 billion in fiscal 2025 on capital expenditures, primarily to build AI-enabled data centers and support cloud-based AI workloads.

The scale of this investment has implications for operating costs and workforce allocation, as companies balance capital-intensive infrastructure spending with headcount and other expenses, analysts say.

“Enterprises are reallocating from labour-heavy coordination models towards compute-heavy execution models,” Gogia pointed out, referring to investments in data centers, AI accelerators, and platform infrastructure.

Microsoft has not directly linked the buyout program to specific AI initiatives, but the timing aligns with a broader shift in how resources are being deployed across the business.

Knowledge loss and execution risks

Gogia said the quieter risk for enterprises is what walks out of the building with the employees who accept the offer.

“The most significant and least understood risk in AI-driven workforce transitions is not job displacement. It is the erosion of institutional knowledge,” he said. “This knowledge is rarely documented in a way that can be easily transferred or automated. It resides in experience, in exception handling, in the unwritten rules that govern how processes actually work under real-world conditions. When experienced employees exit through voluntary programmes, they take with them not just skills, but context.”

He added that this can affect execution, especially as organizations adopt new AI systems at the same time. “Teams are expected to adopt new technologies while compensating for knowledge gaps, which can slow execution and increase reliance on oversight,” he said

Broader tech layoffs

The Microsoft announcement landed on the same day Meta told employees it would eliminate about 8,000 jobs, roughly 10% of its global workforce, and leave another 6,000 open roles unfilled. The Meta cuts take effect May 20 and come as the company prepares to roughly double its 2025 capital spending on AI infrastructure.

Three weeks earlier, Oracle announced up to 30,000 job cuts, roughly 18% of its 162,000-person global workforce, through termination emails on March 31. The company disclosed a $2.1 billion restructuring charge in its SEC filings. Investment bank TD Cowen had warned in January that the reductions would free up $8 billion to $10 billion in cash flow to fund Oracle’s AI data center expansion.

Amazon announced 16,000 job cuts in January, and Salesforce has linked roughly 1,000 reductions to AI automation. Meta, Salesforce, Microsoft, Dell, and Intel have collectively announced more than 24,000 AI-related job cuts, according to an earlier tally, with a running industry timeline spanning dozens of companies.

Full details of the offer are expected to reach eligible employees in the coming weeks.

Google Keep lets you create notes and to-do lists that sync across your computer and phone or tablet. It’s handy in a variety of ways: You can record voice memos, and Keep will transcribe them as text notes. You can include images in your notes, and if an image includes text, it shows up in search results. You can create time-triggered reminder notifications based on your notes. You can share your notes with other people and collaborate on them.

Keep is free for individual users and included with a subscription to Google Workspace. You use it through a web browser on your computer, and it’s also available as an app for your Android or iOS device. You’ll get the most mileage from Keep if you use both the desktop browser version and the mobile app in your daily workflow, so that you can take notes and access them wherever you are. Your Keep notes will sync to the cloud through Google Drive.

This guide walks you through how to quickly start using Keep. We’re focusing on the web version here, but most of the same features are also in the Keep mobile app, just laid out differently.

In this article:

• Meet the Keep home page
• Create a new note
• Enhance your note
• Finish your note
• Manage your notes
• Use keyboard shortcuts

Meet the Keep home page

Start by going to keep.google.com. If you’re not already signed in with your Google account (for Gmail or Google Workspace), you’ll be prompted to do so.

Keep’s home page comprises a main board in the center and a sidebar along the left. The first time you use Keep, this main board will be empty; once you start adding notes, they’ll appear here. The white bar in the center of the main board (with “Take a note…” inside it) is what you use to create notes.

Your first view of the Google Keep home page.

Howard Wen / Foundry

Create a new note

Start typing inside the “Take a note” text box. As you type, the white bar expands down and becomes a new note. You can type in whatever text you want or paste in text that you’ve copied from another source.

Along the top of the note, you can type in a title for the note. To the right of this title line is a pushpin icon. Clicking it prioritizes the note by pinning it toward the top of the main board. (You’ll find more details about how pinned notes work later in this guide.)

Click the pushpin icon to pin the note near the top of your notes board.

Howard Wen / Foundry

If you paste in a web link, a preview of the linked page appears along the bottom of the note as a thumbnail with sample text from the page. Clicking the preview opens the link in a new browser tab. To remove the preview, click the three-dot icon that appears at its right and select Remove.

Link previews appear on notes by default but can be removed.

Howard Wen / Foundry

For each additional link you add, a preview for it is added to the bottom of the note, below the preview for the previously added link. This link preview feature may not work for every link you paste into your note, though. (It can also be turned off under Keep’s settings, described later in this guide.)

If you want to create a list of numbered items in your note, start a line by typing 1. Then type your text and press the Enter key; the next line automatically begins with “2.” You can delete this subsequent number by pressing the Backspace key. Similarly, typing an asterisk (*), typing text, and hitting Enter creates a bulleted list.

If you start a numbered list, Keep automatically numbers subsequent lines.

Howard Wen / Foundry

5 more ways to create Keep notes

Here are other ways to create a new note in Keep:

• Start a to-do list by clicking the checkbox icon on the right side of the “Take a note” bar. Then follow the steps in “Turn a note into a to-do list” below.
• Draw a doodle to put into the note by clicking the paintbrush icon on the right side of the “Take a note” bar. Then follow the steps in “Add a drawing” below. Note that this tool is available only when you use Keep in Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or another browser that’s based on Chromium, as well as the mobile app. It does not appear in Firefox.
• Upload an image to put in the new note by clicking the picture icon at the end of the “Take a note” bar. Then follow the steps in “Add or remove images” below. If you’re using the mobile app, you can take a photo with your phone or tablet.
• In the mobile app, record a voice memo. In the Android app, press the + icon and then the microphone icon that appears. On iOS, press the microphone icon at the bottom of the home screen. Start speaking, and Keep will transcribe your spoken words into text in real time.

In the Keep Android app, press the + button and then the microphone icon to record a voice memo.

Howard Wen / Foundry

• Have Google’s AI tool, Gemini, generate a list: In the Keep app for Android, tap the + icon, select Help me create a list, and enter a prompt. This feature is available only if you have a Pixel phone or a Google AI Pro, Google AI Ultra, or Workspace Labs account.

Some Android users can enlist Gemini to generate task lists.

Howard Wen / Foundry

Use the Keep Chrome extension to create notes

Google offers a Keep extension for Chrome that lets you quickly create notes based on web pages as you browse. After you’ve installed it, pin the Keep icon to Chrome’s address bar so that stays visible: Click the Extensions icon, and on the panel that opens, click the pin icon to the right of Google Keep Chrome Extension.

Now open a web page and click the Keep icon to the right of the address bar. A new blank note will appear at the upper right. When you’re finished filling it out, click Create Note, and this new note will appear on your Keep notes list. The link to the web page will be set at the top of the new note.

The Keep extension for Chrome lets you create a note without having to open the Keep web app.

Howard Wen / Foundry

You can also use text on a web page to create a note: Highlight the text, right-click on it, and select Save selection to Keep.

And you can save an image on a web page to a new note: Right-click the image, select Google Keep Chrome Extension > Save image to Keep. A new blank note will appear at the upper right for you to fill out, as described above, with the image embedded on it.

The Keep extension lets you create a new note from selected text or an image on a web page.

Howard Wen / Foundry

Enhance your note

At the bottom of a note is a toolbar that lets you take various actions on a note. Starting from the left…

Format text in a note

Click the icon of the underlined “A” to open a toolbar that lets you format text that you’ve selected in your note. There are three size options (heading 1, heading 2, normal) and three styles (bold, italic, underline). If you haven’t selected any text, new text that you start typing in your note will appear in the size and style that you’ve selected on this toolbar.

Change the background

The palette icon lets you change the background color of the note. You can choose from eleven colors and nine background images.

A background color can help a note stand out on your board.

Howard Wen / Foundry

You may find it helpful to change a note’s background color to make it easy to spot on the main board, or to designate notes under a similar category with the same color. Or you could come up with a color-coded system — for example, red notes have the highest priority, while yellow notes get lower priority.

Set a reminder for your note

Click the bell icon to pick a day and time when you want a notification to be sent to your PC, phone, or tablet about this note. Select one of Keep’s suggested three reminder times or Pick date & time to set a custom time for the alert to appear. You can use this function to remind you of an appointment or other important event.

Remember important items or events by creating a note and adding a reminder.

Howard Wen / Foundry

A reminder appears along the bottom of an opened note or a note on the main page of Keep. You can remove a reminder from a note by hovering over it and clicking the X by the reminder. To change the reminder’s date, time, or interval: Click the reminder itself, which will open a panel that lets you change these attributes.

Note: Reminders for your Keep notes are saved and can also be managed in Google Tasks, which you can access through its web app or mobile app for Android or iOS.

Invite collaborators

The headshot icon lets you share the note with others so that you can work on it together. These people can be from your list of contacts saved under your Google account (or your corporate directory under a Google Workspace account), or you can invite people by entering their email addresses. They’ll get an email inviting them to collaborate on your note; they will need to sign in with a Google account to do so.

Need help with a note? Invite collaborators.

Howard Wen / Foundry

The people you invite to collaborate can change all aspects of your note, as described throughout this guide, except for deleting the note.

Add or remove images

To add images to your note, click the picture icon and select an image file stored on your PC. (In the mobile app, you can take a photo or choose an image stored on your phone or tablet.) It will appear at the top of your note.

Images you add to notes appear at the top.

Howard Wen / Foundry

You can keep adding images; each subsequent image you add to a note appears to the right of the first image you added. When you click an image in a note, a viewer tool shows you the image in a larger size.

To remove an image: Move the mouse pointer over it and click the trash can icon that appears on the lower-right of the image.

Archive a note

Clicking the “down arrow in a box” icon removes the note from the main board and stows it in your Keep account’s archive. This is a good place to put notes for safekeeping when you’re no longer using them but don’t want to delete them.

Tag a note with a label

Tagging a note with one or more labels enables you to find them quickly later. For example, you can choose to see only the notes that you’ve tagged with the “Work” label on the main board. (Later in this guide we’ll discuss how to filter notes by label.)

To add a label to a note: Click the three-dot icon on the note’s toolbar and select Add label from the pop-up menu. (If your note already has a label, select Change labels from the pop-up menu.) You can type a new label inside the “Enter label name” box and press the Enter key, or select the checkbox for a label that you’ve previously created on the list below. When you’re done adding labels to your note, just click anywhere outside of the “Label note” pop-up panel.

You can select from existing labels or create new ones on the fly.

Howard Wen / Foundry

Label tags appear along the bottom of an opened note or a note on the main page of Keep. You can remove a label from a note by hovering over it and clicking the X by the label.

Add a drawing

Remember, this option is available only if you’re using Keep in Chrome or a Chromium-based browser, or the Keep mobile app.

Click the three-dot icon on the note’s toolbar and select Add drawing from the pop-up menu. A simple drawing tool opens; you can use it to quickly sketch a doodle using a mouse, touchpad, or the touchscreen of your phone or tablet.

Add a quick sketch to illustrate a point in your note.

Howard Wen / Foundry

When you’re finished, click the left-pointing arrow in the upper-left corner to return to your note. The drawing you sketched appears at the top of your note, and you can manage it like any other image.

Note: You can edit a drawing that you’ve made or draw over an image that you’ve added to a note. Simply open the note and click on the drawing or image. A drawing you’ve created will open immediately in the drawing tool. To open other images in the drawing tool, click the pen icon at the upper-right corner.

Turn a note into a to-do list

Click the three-dot icon on the toolbar and select Show checkboxes from the pop-up menu. Checkboxes will be set at the beginning of each line of text in the main body of your note.

(If you turn this function on for a blank note by clicking the checkbox icon at the right end of the “Take a note” bar, each new line of text that you type will start with a checkbox.)

Give yourself a feeling of accomplishment by turning your note into a to-do list and checking items off as you complete them.

Howard Wen / Foundry

When you have a note with a checklist open,  a six-dot icon appears to the left of each checkbox. You can rearrange the order of the items in the list by clicking and holding a six-dot icon, then dragging and dropping the item into another spot in the list. (In the mobile app, press and hold a six-dot icon, then drag and drop the item.)

You can use the same technique to indent items in the checklist: Grab the six-dot icon next to an item, then drag it to the right and release. This allows you to make a checkbox item appear as a subsection below the item above it.

Indent checklist items to make them subsections of your main list.

Howard Wen / Foundry

Clicking an item’s checkbox crosses out its text and sends it to the bottom of the note. If you click the checkbox again to remove the checkmark, this sends the checkbox line of text back to the list of unchecked items. Its text will no longer be crossed out.

Checking off completed items moves them to the bottom of the note.

Howard Wen / Foundry

You can delete a checkbox item (rather than marking it complete) by hovering the mouse pointer over it and clicking the X that appears over its right end.

To uncheck or delete all items you’ve checked, or to hide the checkboxes: Click the three-dot icon in the toolbar at the bottom of the note and select Uncheck all items, Delete checked items, or Hide checkboxes.

Extract text from images

If an image attached to your note depicts text, Keep can try to extract it. Click the three-dot icon, then select Grab image text to insert that text into your note.

Keep can detect text in images and insert it into a note.

Howard Wen / Foundry

Send your note to Google Docs

When a note starts to turn into a missive, you can send it to Google Docs for more advanced editing options. Click the three-dot icon and select Copy to Google Docs. A copy of the note will be sent to your Google Drive, where you can further work on it in Docs as a normal document.

Finish your note

When you’re done tweaking your note, click Close. This shrinks down the note and sends it to the main board of your Keep home page. You can reopen a note by clicking it, make further changes to it, and click Close again.

Click Close to save your note and send it to the main board.

Howard Wen / Foundry

Manage your notes

The main board of your Keep home page is where your notes appear. Imagine it as a big cork board that your notes are pinned to as cards.

Once you’ve created several notes, it can be difficult to find the one you want. But never fear: Keep has a number of ways to make them easier to find.

Arrange your notes

Notes that you’ve pinned (by clicking the pushpin icon to the right of a note’s title line) are set toward the top of the main board. More recently pinned notes appear first. Unpinned notes are pushed down toward the bottom.

Pinned notes appear at the top of your main board.

Howard Wen / Foundry

To rearrange your notes, just drag and drop one note to another spot on the main board. The other notes will rearrange themselves to accommodate the note in its new spot.

If you want to see a certain note at the top of your main board, pin it and then, after newer pinned notes displace it, drag and drop it at the top. Or open the note, unpin it, and immediately re-pin it. This will set the note as the first one at the upper left of the board.

Search for notes

Along the top of your Keep home page is a search box you can use to search for text in your notes. Notes that contain your search query will appear on the main board.

Find notes quickly by using the search box up top.

Howard Wen / Foundry

You can also narrow down the search to certain types of notes (for example, those that contain drawings or voice memos), notes that have certain labels, or notes that you’ve shared with certain contacts. Keep provides handy shortcuts below the search box that you can click to look for notes containing these and other criteria.

Keep has some search tricks up its sleeve, too: Remember how it transcribes voice memos to text? That text is searchable. What’s more, if text appears in an image in a note, Keep can search that text as well.

Choose List view or Grid view

To the right of the search box are three icons:

• Refresh (a circular arrow — click this to reload your Keep home page)
• List view/Grid view (two horizontal bars or four small squares)
• Settings (a gear)

By default, your Keep home page is set to Grid view, which arranges your notes in a grid layout.

Clicking the horizontal bars icon puts your main board into List view, which makes your notes wider and shows them in one long, single column. This can be better for scrolling through them on a phone screen, or if you’d rather see more information on individual notes at a glance.

When you’re in List view, the icon changes to four small squares. Click it to return to Grid view.

Click the List view icon to see more of each note at once. If you prefer the default compact view, click the Grid view icon.

Howard Wen / Foundry

Navigate the left sidebar

Keep’s left sidebar helps you filter which notes are shown on the main board.

• Click Reminders to see only notes that you set with reminder notifications.
• Click one of the labels to see only notes that you’ve tagged with that label.

The left sidebar lets you filter notes by label.

Howard Wen / Foundry

• Click Edit labels to create a new label, change the name of a label, or delete a label.
• Click Archive to see only notes that you’ve archived.
• Click Trash to see notes that you’ve recently deleted. From here you can restore a note to the main board. Otherwise, a deleted note stays in Trash for 7 days before it’s removed forever from your Keep account.

Select a note in Trash, then click the Restore icon on the toolbar along the bottom of the note to restore it to the main board.

Howard Wen / Foundry

• Click the triple-bar icon at the upper-left corner to narrow or widen the left sidebar. When narrowed, the sidebar shows only the icons of these note labels. This may enable another column of notes to be shown on the main board, but it depends on your screen resolution, the size of your browser window, and your browser’s zoom level. You can try zooming your browser view in or out by pressing Ctrl + – (minus key) or Ctrl + + (plus key) to see how that affects the notes shown in the main window.

Click the three-line icon at the upper left to narrow the left sidebar and allow for another column of notes to be shown on the main board.

Howard Wen / Foundry

Adjust settings

To the right of the List view/Grid view icon, click the gear icon and select Settings from the pop-up menu. A panel opens where you can disable note sharing, turn off thumbnail previews for links in your notes, and more.

Settings lets you tweak some of Keep’s default behaviors.

Howard Wen / Foundry

Use keyboard shortcuts

You can save time in Google Keep by using keyboard shortcuts to trigger some actions. Below are some of the most useful shortcuts. To see more, click the gear icon at the upper right of the Keep home page and select Keyboard shortcuts, or just type ? when you’re on the Keep home page.

Handy Google Keep keyboard shortcuts ActionWindows shortcutmacOS shortcutON THE KEEP HOME PAGEStart a new noteccStart a new checklist notellSearch notes//Move highlight to next notejjMove highlight to previous notekkSelect highlighted notexxArchive selected note(s)eeMove selected note(s) to Trash##Pin or unpin selected note(s)ffToggle between List view and Grid viewCtrl-g⌘-gIN A NOTECopyCtrl-c⌘-cCutCtrl-x⌘-xPasteCtrl-v⌘-vUndoCtrl-z⌘-zRedoCtrl-y⌘-yFinish editing noteEscEsc

This article was originally published in January 2019 and most recently updated in April 2026.

Related reading:

• 26 note-perfecting tips for Google Keep on Android
• Google Workspace power tips: Tap into cross-app productivity
• More Google Workspace tips and tutorials

Workers are facing a conundrum: They worry about the potential for their displacement by AI even as it dramatically speeds up their own productivity.

According to a new survey from Anthropic, workers in roles most likely to be taken over by AI (developers or IT workers, for instance) recognize their precarious position. Yet, perhaps naturally, they readily adopt the tools that could take their jobs, and see first-hand how well they work.

This measurement is fundamentally different from the way others are gauging AI job displacement, noted Thomas Randall, research director at Info-Tech Research Group.

While macro reports, such as those from Goldman Sachs, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), or the World Economic Forum (WEF), are asking what share of existing job tasks AI could theoretically perform in the future, “Anthropic is measuring qualitative experiences of workers in the present,” he pointed out. This “tells us how people are navigating this landscape in real time.”

The paradox of AI in the workforce

Anthropic’s survey of 81,000 Claude users gauged peoples’ “visions and fears” around advances in AI, and weighed these findings against the company’s own measurement of jobs most vulnerable to AI displacement. This was based on Claude usage data; jobs are identified as more exposed when associated tasks are significantly performed on the platform, in work-related contexts, and take up a larger share of a role.

Some occupations at risk include computer programmers, data entry keyers, market researchers, software quality assurance analysts and testers, information security analysts, and computer user support specialists.

Overall, one-fifth of respondents expressed concern about displacement, noting that their job, or at least aspects of it, is being taken over by automation. Those in jobs identified as most exposed readily recognized that fact, voicing worry three times as often as those in less at-risk positions. One software engineer remarked: “like anyone who has a white collar job these days, I’m 100% concerned, pretty much 24/7 concerned, about losing my job eventually to AI.”

Early-career respondents were also more nervous than others.

At the same time, those in the highest-paid occupations reported the largest productivity gains when using AI. This is most notably in terms of their ability to perform new tasks, which was cited by 48% of users. In addition, 40% of workers said the technology helped speed up their work, and a little more than 10% said it improved the quality of their work.

In general, enterprise usage of AI is “actually quite consistent,” said Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst at Greyhound Research. Teams are using the technology “where information is abundant and time is limited,” such as in drafting documents and code, summarizing content, responding to customer queries, navigating internal systems.

Is AI actually creating more work?

Still, not everyone thinks AI makes their jobs easier or faster. In some cases, people felt it made their work harder; for instance, project managers are assigning tickets for issues that are much more difficult to solve, Anthropic noted.

Gogia agreed that, even when tasks become easier, scope and responsibilities expand, and roles can absorb adjacent tasks. This results in a “redistribution of effort,” rather than a reduction of effort.

“Faster generation means higher expectations on quality,” he said. More output feeds into decision pipelines that are already constrained. “In some cases, the system becomes heavier, not lighter.”

Delayed impact on enterprises

 The market is rewarding those who can integrate AI into complex workflows to do more, faster, and often with better outcomes, Gogia noted. However, the most exposed tasks, including  documentation, basic coding, routine analysis, and structured support work, often “sit at the base of the experience ladder.”

These very tasks traditionally have given entry-level workers a way in, and the automation of them reduces the urgency for companies to hire them. “What you begin to lose is not the job,” said Gogia. “It is the path into the job.”

This can have a delayed impact; enterprises may not realize until years later that they do not have enough mid-level experts because they didn’t bring enough people in at lower levels. As AI plays a greater role in the workplace, there must be a “conscious effort” to rethink how people enter and grow, Gogia said. “New pathways need to be created, and they need to be deliberate.”

How enterprise leaders should adjust

As is often the case, sentiment moves faster than structural change, Gogia pointed out. Workers feel the shift almost immediately, but organizations take longer to adjust hiring, redesign roles, and rethink workforce structures.

“This is why expectations can become misaligned,” he noted. The reality is that most enterprises have introduced AI into existing ways of working without fundamentally changing them. Acceleration occurs in unchanged systems that still carry the same dependencies, approval chains, and coordination challenges.

Ultimately, Gogia advised, leaders must approach the shift with “intentional design.” This requires clarity, he emphasized; people need to understand how their work is expected to change. What will be enhanced? What will reduce? Where should they focus their development?

Baselines are moving: Roles may begin to look “oversized” as what used to be considered a full day’s work begins to look like half a day’s work, or what used to be considered efficient begins to look average. “AI is changing how work is done, but more importantly, it is changing what work expects from people,” said Gogia.

As well, Info-Tech’s Randall pointed out that workers who experience AI expanding what they can do by performing tasks previously outside their competence appear to relate to AI more positively than those who experience it as doing their existing job faster. So, he advised, “tech leaders should design AI deployment around capability extensions.”

Along with goal setting, managers must have support, Gogia emphasized. They set expectations and interpret strategy, and when they’re not properly equipped, “even the best tools will fall short,” he said. Measurement must also evolve; enterprises need to look at quality, sustainability, and capability development over time.

“What we are witnessing right now is not a sudden disruption,” said Gogia. “It is a gradual shift that is becoming impossible to ignore.”

The AI agent introduction frenzy continued at a torrid pace this week, with OpenAI launching what it called workspace agents in ChatGPT and Microsoft adding hosted agents to its Foundry Agent Service.

Both launched on the same day that Google both updated its Gemini Enterprise app to provide new ways for office workers to build, manage, and interact with AI agents, and launched the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, which the company said is designed to build, scale, govern, and optimize agents.

This trio of offerings follows Anthropic’s early April introduction of Claude Managed Agents, a suite of composable APIs for building and hosting cloud-hosted agents, which is now in public beta.

In its announcement, OpenAI said, “workspace agents are an evolution of GPTs. Powered by Codex, they can take on many of the tasks people already do at work—from preparing reports, to writing code, to responding to messages. They run in the cloud, so they can keep working even when you’re not. They’re also designed to be shared within an organization, so teams can build an agent once, use it together in ChatGPT or Slack, and improve it over time.”

Microsoft, meanwhile, stated in a blog that its latest move “brings agent-optimized compute and services designed for production-grade enterprise agents.” After its preview of hosted agents last year at Microsoft Ignite, the company said, “this refresh is a fundamentally different experience: secure per-session sandboxes with filesystem persistence, integrated identity, and scale-to-zero economics.”

Announcements are connected

Jason Andersen, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, said, “these four announcements are connected, as the frenzy around agents continues. What OpenAI is announcing is the native ability to support the creation and sharing of agents.”

This is new functionality for OpenAI, which is a bit late to the game; Google, Microsoft, Anthropic and others have had this capability for some time, and are in fact moving farther ahead with these other announcements, he said.

 “What we are seeing with Anthropic and Microsoft is that, as agents become more powerful, they will go to great lengths to solve the problem they are posed with, and sometimes that includes the agent writing code and doing other tasks,” he pointed out. “This increases complexity and concerns about agents and models being well managed while running. The hosting options both of these vendors provide are a more advanced infrastructure for agents to run.”

Right now, he added, “many agents are being treated as simply a more advanced front end. These newer options provide the ability for an agent to do things like spin up a dedicated container, and they can support semi-autonomous and, in some cases, autonomous operations. These two announcements are more infrastructure-related, whereas OpenAI is more about agent building.”

He described the Google launch as being “something in between.”

He noted, “OpenAI’s announcement is very similar to last year’s announcement of Gemini Enterprise from Google. This year, Google took steps forward to enable a management control plane for agents called Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, which enables a much richer sharing experience and a number of management and governance capabilities.”

On the whole, Andersen said, “the agent space is getting very hot, and some who have been later to the party are getting on board, and those who have been investing are evolving to provide end customers more scale, operations, and security capabilities.”

Brian Jackson, principal research director at Info-Tech Research Group, said that with the flurry of announcements “we’re seeing a race to gain critical mass as the agentic platform becomes the daily work interface for the enterprise. Anthropic and OpenAI are coming at it from their AI startup positioning, while Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are leveraging their entrenched hyperscaler and enterprise platform positions.”

Jackson pointed out that the differentiation in what these tech firms offer is most clear in who they are targeting and their delivery model.

He noted that OpenAI’s Workspace Agents are designed for non-technical business teams. They provide templates for agents that can automate tasks from lead scoring to vendor research reports. Users can “prompt” their way to work automation without worrying about the behind-the-scenes mechanics – what model is being used, what APIs are being called, how data is retrieved and written, or how permissions are granted.

Anthropic is taking a different approach, he said. Rather than going directly to business users, it is providing tools to enterprise development teams to build their own agents and provide a custom interface to their users. Anthropic’s Managed Agents are a group of composable APIs that developers can use. The approach is more flexible, but it requires more effort to produce value.

Microsoft and Google, on the other hand, are both vertically integrated platforms providing an agentic layer on top of an extensive stack. Microsoft’s Foundry is similar to Anthropic’s offering, but offers even more flexibility by remaining model-agnostic and allowing developers to choose their preferred agentic framework.

New problems as the market develops

As the agentic platform market develops, Jackson observed, “we are seeing new problems crop up regarding observability. Detecting and observing agents will be rooted in the identity system used to provision them. However, since each platform uses its own identity system, it will be difficult for any one platform to see all agents created in an enterprise, or worse, those created by a rogue user (‘Shadow AI’).”

Furthermore, he added, “agentic workflows imply significantly higher AI token consumption to complete work. We are already seeing AI capacity constraints and price increases due to high demand. Because agents require multiple ‘reasoning’ steps to complete a single task, it is very hard to predict what a workflow you automate today might cost to run one year from now.”

This means that IT leaders need to decide where they will build the agentic layer of their stack. “You don’t want to get it wrong, because becoming entrenched in one platform means significant vendor lock-in,” he said. “We already worry about lock-in with systems and data, but when you add an intelligence layer, you are essentially building a brain with neuronal pathways to your workflows. It is not going to be easy to do a ‘brain transplant’ to another platform later.”

This article originally appeared on InfoWorld.

Global IT spending is expected to rise this year to $6.31 trillion, according to a new forecast from Gartner, a 13.5% increase compared to 2025.

According to the research firm, AI is the single most important driver behind the growth, with investments in AI infrastructure, in particular, driving the trend. The data center systems segment is expected to grow by a whopping 55.8% during the year, by far the fastest growing of all categories.

At the same time, IT services continue to account for the largest share of total spending and are expected to exceed $1.87 trillion this year. Software is also showing strong growth, particularly in generative AI.

Growth is also expected in the device market, though at a significantly slower pace. Overall, the market is expected to reach approximately $856 billion, though Gartner says this growth is being slowed by rising memory prices.

Chinese market research firm Sigmaintell expects Apple to be the only company to see growth in the laptop market this year.

Overall, Sigmaintel predicts global notebook shipments will reach 181.1 million units this year, a decline of 8%. That drop will, in part, be caused by memory and component shortages and also by slowing market demand. That’s going to damage all of the notebook vendors, bar Apple,. 

Apple laptop sales expected to rise more than 20%

Sigmaintell calculates Apple will ship 28 million laptop in the year, up 21.7% from 2025. This puts Apple in third place in laptop shipments, a demand the company will be able to meet despite component shortages because of the efficient use of memory inherent to its systems. That memory efficiency acts as a protection against the impact of climbing costs, even as competitors struggle with the affects on their business.

Apple’s incoming CEO, John Ternan, is being presented as a hardware man, so he will no doubt be pleased to experience the benefit of MacBook Neo’s massive attack on the lower echelons of the market. The Neo is already generating millions of additional sales, something Apple’s diversified revenue engine, including services, can further capitalize on.

PC makers face steep decline

There’s quite stark news for PC manufacturers. The report predicts Lenovo, Dell, HP, and ASUS will see sharp sales declines and warns that the entire industry will need to quickly transition from hardware-based sales toward full ecosystem plays. 

That’s going to be extraordinarily difficult for most PC makers. Not only do most of them use operating systems they don’t build themselves, but most lack a successful range of services customers will happily choose to use. 

For the most part, while Apple offers Apple Music, competitors only offer Spotify, a situation that generates far less revenue for them. That lack of successful monetization in terms of attached income across the customer base meant less when the PC market was growing, but in an environment buffeted by multiple business challenges it becomes a vulnerability that cannot be ignored. It exposes the inherent weakness of a strategy in which hardware manufacturers rely on third parties for operating systems and services, as the lion’s share of income doesn’t reach those hardware makers. 

You can go your own way

There’s little doubt that part of the reason Apple is in such a strong position is because of its highly strategic outgoing CEO, Tim Cook, who led efforts to build a strong services business, accompanied by a wide ecosystem of complementary accessories. You don’t just buy an iPhone, you buy a Mac, AirPods, and Apple Music. You don’t just get an iPad, but you likely also acquire Apple Arcade. 

To a great extent, Apple’s strength now owes a big debt to the many years in which the company was marginalized. Forced to follow its own path, Apple deliberately developed its own unique platform-based approach. That approach meant the company remained profitable even when it held just a few percentage points of the PC market; as its market share improves, we can also see its profitability climb. 

The way that you do it

This good news may not matter as much as you might think to Apple’s leadership team. To them, while becoming the industry’s fastest-growing notebook manufacturer is nice, what matters more is crafting a platform experience that means something to the people using it. That, after all, is how to generate the high user satisfaction Apple’s platform loyalty and word-of-mouth recommendations come from.

That 16% of everyone purchasing a notebook this year will choose a Mac suggests a watershed moment for all Apple’s platforms.

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

Apple’s Tim Cook was viewed as a worthy successor to Steve Jobs when he took over as CEO in August 2011, two months before Jobs’ death. 

Apple products became successful (and profitable) in many ways due to his success as COO, where he whipped company operations and supply chains into shape. Cook expanded the company’s product portfolio into new devices such as the Vision Pro and Apple Watch, rolled out a plethora of profitable services, and cut off failed projects like the rumored Apple car.

But Cook, who announced this week he will step down as CEO on Sept. 1 to become executive chairman, has one major blemish on his legacy. He missed perhaps one of the most important moments in computing history — the AI revolution. 

Apple could still win AI war, and it now falls on incoming CEO John Ternus, formerly Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, to play catch-up with AI rivals Google, Microsoft and OpenAI. 

When ChatGPT took the world by storm in late 2022, Apple was years behind in the AI race and had to scramble to catch up. Cook’s failure is mostly attributable to Apple believing it could always go it alone when it comes to technology, said Jack Gold, principal analyst at J. Gold Associates

“They have a bias to doing everything in house,” Gold said.

The company did not believe in AI until ChatGPT emerged to take the tech industry by storm, according to a 2025 Bloomberg news report, and Cook did not provide the resources needed in-house to develop an AI-powered Siri. Apple was forced in early 2025 to look at partnering with Anthropic and OpenAI to push Siri into the AI era; in finally settled on working with Google’s Gemini.

The stumble was even more apparent since Apple was onto the AI trend early on, when it introduced neural chips for AI in iPhones as early as 2017. (Qualcomm introduced AI chips in its smartphone chips around the same time.)

At the time, the neural engine was hailed as a revolutionary development for developers to plug AI into applications. Apple wanted to use the neural chip’s matrix computing features to accelerate image and video processing, and users loved the results. 

Then in 2024, Apple introduced Apple Intelligence to much fanfare, hoping to bring AI technology across its devices and platforms. The AI layer was based on homegrown foundation models. 

Though it arrived nearly two years after ChatGPT, Apple Intelligence at the time offered truly innovative features. It had better OS and app integration and privacy features that kept user data secure — in part because of Private Cloud Compute. Other AI providers at the time were harvesting user data to improve their AI models.

Behind the scenes, however, Apple leadership and technological challenges slowed the development of Apple Intelligence. Apple in 2018 had hired former Google executive John Giannandrea to bring AI to Apple products. Giannandrea’s leadership was largely seen as ineffective and he retired last December. In early 2026, Apple turned to former Microsoft AI leader Amar Subramanya to lead the company’s AI efforts.

As a result, many of the main Apple Intelligence features were delayed, with hopes they  would finally arrive in 2026.

Then in January came the partnership with Google: “The next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google’s Gemini models and cloud technology,” the companies said in a joint statement.

Incoming Apple CEO John Ternus and current CEO Tim Cook.

Apple

Now, the work for Apple’s soon-to-be CEO Ternus is clear: bring the company fully into  the AI age. “Unlike previous market inflections and transitions, Apple can’t afford to come in late to the party this time around,” said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

With its experience in devices and talent, Apple is well equipped to build AI into a personal experience, McGregor said. “Apple has to chart a path to reinvent the personal experience, which will drastically change devices and how we use them,” he said.

To succeed, Ternus will have to look at more partnerships and drop Apple’s reliance on in-house development, analysts said.

“When AI is moving at such a fast pace, no one company like Apple can really move fast enough to keep up,” Gold said.

The Google partnership is a solid step in that direction, as finding the expertise to hire the right people is a major hurdle, given the compensation package that others are offering, Gold said.

Whether the company has finally righted the AI ship should become clear in a little over a month at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference — the last one of the Cook era.

Microsoft 365 (and Office 365) subscribers get more frequent software updates than those who have purchased Office without a subscription, which means subscribers have access to the latest features, security patches, and bug fixes. But it can be hard to keep track of the changes in each update and know when they’re available. We’re doing this for you, so you don’t have to.

Following are summaries of the updates to Microsoft 365/Office 365 for Windows over the past year, with the latest releases shown first. We’ll add info about new updates as they’re rolled out.

Note: This story covers updates released to the Current Channel for Microsoft 365/Office 365 subscriptions. If you’re a member of Microsoft’s Office Insider preview program or want to get a sneak peek at upcoming features, see the Microsoft 365 Insider blog.

Version 2604 (Build 19929.20090)

Release date: April 21, 2026

This build includes “various fixes to functionality and performance,” according to Microsoft.

Get more info about Version 2604 (Build 19929.20090).

Version 2603 (Build 19822.20182)

Release date: April 14, 2026

In this build, Copilot can now edit your PowerPoint documents. Copilot can start a new presentation or build on an existing one, generate slides, update content, improve layouts, and polish design, while preserving formatting, structure, and branding. 

The build also plugs a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2603 (Build 19822.20182).

Version 2603 (Build 19822.20168)

Release date: April 9, 2026

This build fixes several bugs, including one in Outlook in which users could not close the Copilot chat pane using a keyboard. Users can now close the pane by navigating to the Close button using a keyboard or by using the assigned keyboard shortcut.

Get more info about Version 2603 (Build 19822.20168).

Version 2603 (Build 19822.20142)

Release date: March 31, 2026

This build includes “various fixes to functionality and performance,” according to Microsoft.

Get more info about Version 2603 (Build 19822.20142).

Version 2603 (Build 19822.20114)

Release date: March 24, 2026

This build fixes a single bug in which PowerPoint sometimes closed unexpectedly when opening a newly created empty file from the OneDrive folder.

Get more info about Version 2603 (Build 19822.20114).

Version 2602 (Build 19725.20190)

Release date: March 18, 2026

This build fixes an Outlook bug in which updating a single instance of a recurring meeting in a Microsoft 365 group calendar updated the entire series.

Get more info about Version 2602 (Build 19725.20190).

Version 2602 (Build 19725.20172)

Release date: March 10, 2026

This build introduces agent mode in Word, which adds a conversational chat experience that helps create, edit, and refine document content as you work. In addition, the build fixes a bug that impacted the rendering of extended characters in calendar items, causing certain characters to appear as question marks.

The build also plugs a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2602 (Build 19725.20172).

Version 2602 (Build 19725.20152)

Release date: March 3, 2026

This build fixes a bug in which closing a document sometimes remained in progress indefinitely after the Office app resumed from sleep or hibernation.

Get more info about Version 2602 (Build 19725.20152).

Version 2602 (Build 19725.20126)

Release date: February 24, 2025

This build fixes several bugs, including one that caused OneNote to close unexpectedly upon startup.

Get more info about Version 2602 (Build 19725.20126).

Version 2601 (Build 19628.20214)

Release date: February 17, 2025

This build includes, in Microsoft’s words, “various fixes to functionality and performance.”

Get more info about Version 2601 (Build 19628.20214).

Version 2601 (Build 19628.20204)

Release date: February 10, 2026

This build fixes a bug that sometimes prevented users from opening emails with the Encrypt Only label in Outlook.

It also plugs a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2601 (Build 19628.20204).

Version 2601 (Build 19628.20166)

Release date: February 3, 2026

This build includes, in Microsoft’s words, “various fixes to functionality and performance.”

Get more info about Version 2601 (Build 19628.20166).

Version 2601 (Build 19628.20150)

Release date: January 27, 2025

In this build, OneNote applies your chosen proofing language more consistently, so you don’t have to reset it for every paragraph when writing in multiple languages. In addition, the build fixes several bugs, including one that caused Office applications to become unresponsive when profile card-related activities were performed.

Get more info about Version 2601 (Build 19628.20150).

Version 2512 (Build 19530.20184)

Release date: January 21, 2025

This build includes, in Microsoft’s words, “Various fixes to functionality and performance.”

Get more info about Version 2512 (Build 19530.20184).

Version 2512 (Build 19530.20144)

Release date: January 13, 2026

This build fixes a number of bugs, including one that caused Excel, PowerPoint, and Word to become unresponsive when profile card-related activities were performed.

It also plugs a number of security holes. For details, see Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2512 (Build 19530.20144).

Version 2512 (Build 19530.20138)

Release date: January 8, 2025

This build offers, in Microsoft’s words, “Various fixes to functionality and performance.”

Get more info about Version 2512 (Build 19530.20138).

Version 2511 (Build 19426.20218)

Release date: December 16, 2025

This build offers, in Microsoft’s words, “Various fixes to functionality and performance.”

Get more info about Version 2511 (Build 19426.20218).

Version 2511 (Build 19426.20186)

Release date: December 9, 2025

This Patch Tuesday build offers, in Microsoft’s words, “Various fixes to functionality and performance.” The build also has a variety of security updates (see details).

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2511 (Build 19426.20186).

Version 2511 (Build 19426.20170)

Release date: December 3, 2025

This build includes, in Microsoft’s words, “Various fixes to functionality and performance.”

Get more info about Version 2511 (Build 19426.20170).

Version 2510 (Build 19328.20244)

Release date: November 20, 2025

This build fixes a bug in Outlook that caused users to see “Contacting the server for information” repeatedly when loading some emails.

Get more info about Version 2510 (Build 19328.20244).

Version 2510 (Build 19328.20232)

Release date: November 18, 2025

This build includes, in the words of Microsoft, “various fixes to functionality and performance.”

Get more info about Version 2510 (Build 19328.20232).

Version 2510 (Build 19328.20190)

Release date: November 11, 2025

This Patch Tuesday build fixes a bug in Outlook that caused some recipients to be unable to access OneDrive links shared with them via email. The build also has a variety of security updates (see details).

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2510 (Build 19328.20190).

Version 2510 (Build 19328.20178)

Release date: November 4, 2025

This build fixes a single bug, in which @mention searches produced no results in Office apps.

Get more info about Version 2510 (Build 19328.20178).

Version 2510 (Build 19328.20158)

Release date: October 30, 2025

This build introduces a new Get Data dialog in Windows that simplifies finding and using external data, and adds Analyze Data to the Data tab.

The build also fixed an bug in Outlook that prevented users from downloading web add-ins in some virtualized environments.

Get more info about Version 2510 (Build 19328.20158).

Version 2509 (Build 19231.20216)

Release date: October 21, 2025

This build has, in Microsoft’s words, “various fixes to functionality and performance.”

Get more info about Version 2509 (Build 19231.20216).

Version 2509 (Build 19231.20194)

Release date: October 14, 2025

This build has a variety of security updates (see details), along with various fixes to functionality and performance.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2509 (Build 19231.20194).

Version 2509 (Build 19231.20172)

Release date: October 7, 2025

This build has, in Microsoft’s words, “various fixes to functionality and performance.”

Get more info about Version 2509 (Build 19231.20172).

Version 2509 (Build 19231.20156)

Release date: October 1, 2025

This build fixes two bugs, one in Excel in which ribbon controls were not rendered when rejoining Office sessions in a virtual machine, Azure Virtual Desktop, or remote desktop environment, and another that caused Outlook to terminate unexpectedly when starting.

Get more info about Version 2509 (Build 19231.20156).

Version 2508 (Build 19127.20264)

Release date: September 23, 2025

This build has, in Microsoft’s words, “various fixes to functionality and performance.”

Get more info about Version 2508 (Build 19127.20264).

Version 2508 (Build 19127.20240)

Release date: September 16, 2025

This build has, in Microsoft’s words, “various fixes to functionality and performance.”

Get more info about Version 2508 (Build 19127.20240).

Version 2508 (Build 19127.20222)

Release date: September 9, 2025

This build has multiple security updates (see details), along with various fixes to functionality and performance.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2508 (Build 19127.20222).

Version 2508 (Build 19127.20192)

Release date: September 3, 2025

This build fixes a bug in which some Outlook add-ins were getting “Office.auth.getAccessToken is not a function” errors.

Get more info about Version 2508 (Build 19127.20192).

Version 2508 (Build 19127.20154)

Release date: August 26, 2025

This build fixes a bug that caused Outlook to terminate unexpectedly when sending a meeting invite with an encryption label. It also adds support for pixelated rendering of embedded images in SVG assets for the entire Office suite.

Get more info about Version 2508 (Build 19127.20154).

Version 2507 (Build 19029.20208)

Release date: August 19, 2025

This build fixes a variety of bugs.

Get more info about Version 2507 (Build 19029.20208).

Version 2507 (Build 19029.20184)

Release date: August 12, 2025

This build fixes a bug which required users to restart Outlook to open a .msg file after initially accessing it once. The build also includes a variety of security updates (see details).

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2507 (Build 19029.20184).

Version 2507 (Build 19029.20156)

Release date: August 5, 2025

This build fixes a single bug, in which users had to restart Outlook to open a .msg file after initially accessing it once.

Get more info about Version 2507 (Build 19029.20156).

Version 2507 (Build 19029.20136)

Release date: July 30, 2025

This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including in which Outlook closed unexpectedly shortly after launch, and another in Word in which the word count sometimes displayed incorrectly.

Get more info about Version 2507 (Build 19029.20136).

Version 2506 (Build 18925.20184)

Release date: July 22, 2025

This build fixes two bugs, one that caused the Copilot Command Center to continue to be visible after disabling the Copilot user interface, and another in which when creating handouts in PowerPoint, certain characters (full-width numbers) couldn’t be properly transferred to the handout.

Get more info about Version 2506 (Build 18925.20184).

Version 2506 (Build 18925.20168)

Release date: July 15, 2025

This build fixes two bugs, one that caused Visio 32-bit to close unexpectedly when using the Drawing control, particularly in setups involving COM components or .NET integrations, and another in Word in which copying and pasting content between documents sometimes changed the applied style unexpectedly.

Get more info about Version 2506 (Build 18925.20168).

Version 2506 (Build 18925.20158)

Release date: July 8, 2025

This Patch Tuesday build fixes several bugs in Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, and the whole Office suite, including one that caused the Copilot icon to unexpectedly display in Outlook when Copilot had been disabled by the admin in government cloud.

The release also includes a variety of security updates (see details).

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2506 (Build 18925.20158).

Version 2506 (Build 18827.20176)

Release date: July 1, 2025

This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Word in which print preview sometimes stopped working when printing long emails.

Get more info about Version 2506 (Build 18827.20176).

Version 2505 (Build 18827.20176)

Release date: June 26, 2025

This build introduces several new features, including one in Excel in which the PivotTables dialog box interface has been replaced by a redesigned panel, making it easier to view all of your options and simpler to change your data selection before inserting a recommended PivotTable.

Get more info about Version 2505 (Build 18827.20176).

Version 2505 (Build 18827.20164)

Release date: June 17, 2025

This build fixes a bug that caused the “Try the new Outlook” toggle to be enabled when working in Classic Outlook side by side with the new Outlook.

Get more info about Version 2505 (Build 18827.20164).

Version 2505 (Build 18827.20150)

Release date: June 10, 2025

This build fixes several bugs, including one for the entire Office suite in which a Save As attempt on an existing file didn’t complete successfully, and subsequent attempts continued to encounter issues when trying to save to a file that no longer existed.

This Patch Tuesday release also includes a variety of security updates: see details.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about  Version 2505 (Build 18827.20150).

Version 2505 (Build 18827.20140)

Release date: June 3, 2025

This build offers a variety of bug and performance fixes.

Read about Version 2505 (Build 18827.20140).

Version 2504 (Build 18730.20186)

Release date: May 20, 2025

This build introduces a new PowerPoint feature: Notification emails for mentions, tasks, comments, and replies will now contain context previews even when the source document is encrypted, and the email will inherit the document’s security policies.

Get more info about Version 2504 (Build 18730.20186).

Version 2504 (Build 18730.20168)

Release date: May 13, 2025

This build fixes a bug in which users were seeing high CPU usage when typing in Outlook. It also includes a variety of security updates: see details.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2504 (Build 18730.20168).

Version 2504 (Build 18730.20142)

Release date: May 6, 2025

This build includes various bug and performance fixes.

Get more info about Version 2504 (Build 18730.20142).

Version 2504 (Build 18730.20122)

Release date: April 29, 2025

This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in which PowerPoint was unable to open a file from a network mapped drive from File Explore, another in which Word closed unexpectedly when opening .doc files, and another for the entire Office suite in which large 3D files couldn’t be inserted.

Get more info about Version 2504 (Build 18730.20122).

Version 2503 (Build 18623.20208)

Release date: April 17, 2025

This build fixes a bug that could cause Excel to stop responding.

Get more info about Version 2503 (Build 18623.20208).

Version 2503 (Build 18623.20178)

Release date: April 8, 2025

This build fixes a single bug in Word in which users may have encountered an issue with saving, seeing the message “saving…” in the title bar. It  also includes a variety of security updates. Go here for details.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2503 (Build 18623.20178).

Version 2503 (Build 18623.20156)

Release date: April 2, 2025

This build lets you use Dark Mode in Excel, which darkens your entire sheet, including cells, and may reduce eye strain. It also fixes several bugs, including one in Word in which opening specific files that contain many tracked changes and comments resulted in poor performance, and one in PowerPoint in which the app was not displaying the icon for an inserted PDF object.

Get more info about Version 2503 (Build 18623.20156).

Version 2502 (Build 18526.20168)

Release date: March 11, 2025

This build fixes several bugs, including one in which some Word files with numerous tracked changes and comments were slow. It also includes a variety of security updates: see details.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2502 (Build 18526.20168).

Version 2502 (Build 18526.20144)

Release date: March 5, 2025

This build fixes a wide variety of bugs, including one in Word in which the default font size may not be 12pt as expected, and another in which PowerPoint automatically closed when the system went into hibernate or sleep mode.

Get more info about Version 2502 (Build 18526.20144).

Version 2501 (Build 18429.20158)

Release date: February 11, 2025

This build removes the option to display Track Changes balloons in left margin in Word. It also includes a variety of security updates. See “Release notes for Microsoft Office security updates” for details.

What IT needs to know: Because this is a security update, it should be applied relatively soon. Over the next few weeks, check for reports about problematic issues, and if all seems well, apply the update.

Get more info about Version 2501 (Build 18429.20158).

The Claude Mythos Preview appears to be living up to the hype, at least from a cybersecurity standpoint. The model, which Anthropic rolled out to a small group of users, including Firefox developer Mozilla, earlier this month, has discovered 271 vulnerabilities in version 148 of the browser. All have been fixed in this week’s release of Firefox 150, Mozilla emphasized.

These findings set a new precedent in AI’s ability to unearth bugs, and could turbocharge cybersecurity efforts.

“Nothing Mythos found couldn’t have been found by a skilled human,” said David Shipley of Beauceron Security. “The AI is not finding a new class of AI-exclusive super bugs. It’s just finding a lot of stuff that was missed.”

However, the news comes as Anthropic is reportedly investigating unauthorized use of Mythos by a small group who reportedly gained access via a third party vendor environment, revealing the double-edged nature of AI.

Closing the fuzzing gap

Firefox has previously pointed AI tools, notably Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.6, at its browser in a quest for vulnerabilities, but Opus discovered just 22 security-sensitive bugs in Firefox 148, while Mythos uncovered more than ten times that many.

Firefox CTO Bobby Holley described the sense of “vertigo” his team felt when they saw that number. “For a hardened target, just one such bug would have been red-alert in 2025,” he wrote in a blog post, “and so many at once makes you stop to wonder whether it’s even possible to keep up.”

Firefox uses a defense-in-depth strategy, with internal red teams applying multiple layers of “overlapping defenses” and automated analysis techniques, he explained. Teams run each website in a separate process sandbox.

However, no layer is impenetrable, Holley noted, and attackers combine bugs in the rendering code with bugs in the sandboxes in an attempt to gain privileged access. While his team has now adopted a more secure programming language, Rust, the developers can’t afford to stop and rewrite the decades’ worth of existing C++ code, “especially since Rust only mitigates certain, (very common) classes of vulnerabilities.”

While automated analysis techniques like fuzzing, which uncovers vulnerabilities or bugs in source code, are useful, some bits of code are more difficult to fuzz than others, “leading to uneven coverage,” Holley pointed out. Human teams can find bugs that AI can’t by reasoning through source code, but this is time-consuming, and is bottlenecked due to limited human resources.

Now, Claude Mythos Preview is closing this gap, detecting bugs that fuzzing doesn’t surface.

“Computers were completely incapable of doing this a few months ago, and now they excel at it,” Holley noted. Mythos Preview is “every bit as capable” as human researchers, he asserted, and there is no “category or complexity” of vulnerability that humans can find that Mythos can’t.

Defenders now able to win ‘decisively’?

Gaps between human-discoverable and AI-discoverable bugs favor attackers, who can afford to concentrate months of human effort to find just one bug they can exploit, Holley noted. Closing this gap with AI can help defenders erode that long-term advantage.

The industry has largely been fighting security “to a draw,” he acknowledged, and security has been “offensively-dominant” due to the size of the attack surface, giving adversaries an “asymmetric advantage.” In the face of this, both Mozilla and security vendors have “long quietly acknowledged” that bringing exploits to zero was “unrealistic.”

But now with Mythos (and likely subsequent models), defenders have a chance to win, “decisively,” Holley asserted. “The defects are finite, and we are entering a world where we can finally find them all.”

What security teams should do now

Finding 271 flaws in a mature codebase like Firefox illustrates the fact that AI-driven vulnerability discovery is now operating at a scale and depth that can outpace traditional human-led review, noted Ensar Seker, CISO at cyber threat intelligence company SOCRadar.

Holley’s “vertigo,” he said, was because defenders are realizing the attack surface is larger, and “more rapidly discoverable than previously assumed.”

Security teams must respond by shifting from periodic testing to continuous validation, Seker advised. That means integrating AI-assisted code analysis into continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines, prioritizing “patch velocity over perfection,” and assuming that any externally reachable code path will eventually be discovered and weaponized.

“The goal is no longer just finding vulnerabilities first, but reducing the window between discovery and remediation,” he said.

Shipley agreed that any company building software must evaluate resourcing so it can quickly and proactively find and fix vulnerabilities. “But stuff will happen,” he acknowledged. So, in addition to doing proactive work, enterprises must regularly exercise their incident response playbooks.

“The next few years are going to be a marathon, not a sprint,” said Shipley.

Dual-use nature of AI is a challenge

However, the dual-use nature of these systems present a big challenge. The same capability that helps defenders identify hundreds of flaws can be turned against them if the model or its outputs are exposed, Seker pointed out.

The reported unauthorized access to Mythos “reinforces that AI systems themselves are now high-value targets, effectively becoming part of the attack surface,” he said.

It’s not at all surprising that people found a way to access Mythos, Shipley agreed; it was inevitable. “Nor does Anthropic have some unique, insurmountable or exclusive AI capability for hacking,” he said, pointing out that OpenAI is already catching up in that regard, and others will “catch and surpass” Mythos.

Striking a balance requires treating AI models like privileged infrastructure, Seker noted. Enterprises need strict access controls, output monitoring, and isolation of sensitive workflows. Developers, meanwhile, must adapt by writing code that is resilient to automated scrutiny; this requires stronger input validation, safer defaults, and “fewer assumptions about obscurity.”

“In this paradigm, security isn’t just about defending systems; it’s about defending the tools that are now capable of breaking them at scale,” Seker emphasized.

This article originally appeared on CSOonline.

Google wants its Chat app to become the main interface for office workers to interact with AI agents within its Workspace suite.

“We’re making Chat the centerpiece through which people talk, not just with other people, but with all their agents, whether they are in Workspace or built on our platform,” Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said in a briefing on the company’s plans. 

The Ask Gemini in Chat feature — generally available now — also allows Workspace users to interact with third-party tools such as Asana, Jira, and Salesforce, Google said in a blog post. Ask Gemini in Chat provides a “daily briefing” that highlights action items, unread message threads, and tasks to complete. It can also act on behalf of a user, generating documents and slides, scheduling meetings, and retrieving files, for instance.

Irwin Lazar, principal analyst at Metrigy, said the addition of Ask Gemini in Chat highlights Google’s efforts to compete more directly with Microsoft Teams. “Today, chat is the primary interface for employee engagement as email has fallen by the wayside,” he said. “Ideally, I’d like to see the AI interface be equally accessible across all apps, so one could access it in Gmail, Docs, etc.” 

Other AI-related updates to Workspace apps announced at Google Cloud Next include the ability to build and edit spreadsheets in Sheets via natural language prompts; Gemini can orchestrate “multi-step construction” and combine data from various sources such as a user’s files, emails, and chats, as well as the web. Gemini in Docs is getting an upgrade, too, with the ability to create infographics grounded in business data.

Underpinning some of the Gemini features is a new work graph, Workspace Intelligence, that connects data held across emails, chats, files and the web to improve the accuracy and relevance of outputs from Gemini agents. Workspace Intelligence “understands complex semantic relationships” between a user’s data and apps, helping to personalize these outputs by learning past work and communication patterns,” Google said.

Customers’ Workspace Intelligence data is not reviewed by Google staff, sold to advertisers, or used to train Google’s AI models, unless the customer gives permission to do so, the company said.

Work Intelligence is similar to tools such as Microsoft’s Work IQ, said Lazar. “The basic idea is giving employees an AI agent that has visibility into both their own activities as well as company knowledge, enabling them to be more efficient in managing work,” he said. “The challenge for any of these tools is that to be truly useful, they need to be able to pull in data from external sources such as CRM, ERP, project management, etc.”

It’s also important to function in multi-vendor environments now common for customer organizations, such as “mixed Google-Microsoft-Zoom-Cisco-Slack shops,” he said. “The third-party integrations are still coming, but I’m not sure if/when we’ll see multi-vendor integration.” 

Google also unveiled a series of updates at Cloud Next to Gemini Enterprise, the  standalone app that lets users interact with AI agents, as well as new governance tools for IT teams.

Google has updated its Gemini Enterprise app, adding new ways for office workers to build, manage, and interact with AI agents. The company also rolled out additional tools for IT teams to govern the use of agents via the new Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform.

Google first unveiled Gemini Enterprise last year, pitching it as a way for knowledge workers to access agents that can surface information and carry out tasks autonomously. 

At Google Cloud Next this week, Google announced a raft of new features in the Gemini Enterprise app that are expected to be available over the “coming months.” Among these are new ways to interact with Gemini Enterprise, either independently or alongside colleagues. Projects is a new collaborative workspace that enables teams to interact with a shared “expert” chatbot that’s connected to specific data sources from Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 and team chats. 

The Gemini Enterprise application is built on Google’s new Agent Platform for building and managing agents at scale.

Google

A new Canvas tool lets users create and co-edit documents directly within Gemini Enterprise, whether that’s Google Docs and Slides, as well as Microsoft 365 files. Google is also making agents more accessible to users — and more capable. 

Agent Designer, for example, is a no-code agent builder tool that lets users create “schedule- or trigger-based” agents with natural language prompts or via a visual interface. Announced in preview last year, the feature is now ready for general release in the next few weeks, providing users a “virtual flowchart” interface to inspect and test each step in an agent workflow. It’s also possible to insert human-in-the-loop checkpoints to approve actions when needed. 

[ Also see: How to build your own AI agents with Google Workspace Studio ]

Then there are new “long-running” agents that can tackle more complex business processes, Google said. The agents work autonomously in cloud sandboxes, and can complete multi-step workflows such as financial reconciliations that can take days to complete. 

The Agent Gallery provides access to third-party agents from the likes of Adobe, Lovable, and ServiceNow. 

To help manage the various agents working across Gemini Enterprise, Google introduced Inbox, a “central command location to monitor, guide, and securely manage all of your agent activity,” the company said in a blog post. That includes the long-running agents. 

The Inbox tab provides a space for Gemini Enterprise users to manage agents, receive notifications, and track task completion progress.

Google

From Inbox, users can monitor active agents and view notifications around agent actions such as “Needs your input,” “Errors,” and “Completed,” to provide a “clear, consolidated view of ongoing agent progress.” 

Mike Leone, vice president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, said that while the Project and Canvas features are “table stakes” these days when it comes to AI agents, the Inbox feature is an interesting addition. “Keeping humans in the loop when async agents are running multi-day workflows in the background is a genuinely unsolved problem, and treating agent output as a prioritized notification queue is a solid way to tackle it,” Leone said.

Gemini Enterprise costs $30 per user each month for large organizations, and $21 per user for smaller businesses. Gemini Enterprise relies on Google’s own large language models (LLMs) such as Gemini 3.1 Pro, Gemini 3.1 Flash Image, and Lyria 3, as well as third-party models such as Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.7.

Underpinning the Gemini Enterprise app is the new Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform that’s billed as the platform to “build, scale, govern, and optimize agents,” said Michael Gerstenhaber, vice president of product management, Cloud AI, Google Cloud.

IT gets new agentic AI management tools, too

As part of the Agent Platform, Google introduced new tools at Cloud Next to help IT teams manage agents built and deployed in Gemini Enterprise. Among these is Agent Identity, which assigns a unique cryptographic ID to each agent operating in Gemini Enterprise. 

“This creates a clear, auditable trail for every action an agent takes, mapped back to defined authorization policies,” said Gerstenhaber. It’s similar to Microsoft’s Agent 365 platform, where each agent is assigned a unique Microsoft Entra ID to track usage and apply risk policies. 

The new Agent Registry acts as a “central library,” indexing all internal agents and skills to help IT ensure that only approved assets are accessible; Gerstenhaber described Agent Gateway as the “air traffic control” for a customer’s agents, providing “secure, unified connectivity between agents and tools across any environment.”

These are all tools that will appeal to IT as businesses start to push on with their use of agents, said Leone. “Google wants every agent action to leave the same audit trail a payroll transaction does. That’s a high bar,” he said. “Agents are going to be taking real actions on employees’ behalf at scale, and no enterprise will roll that out without knowing exactly who did what, when, and why.” 

Agent Platform “sits in the same competitive neighborhood” as enterprise agent products from the likes of Microsoft, OpenAI, and AWS, said Leone, that also provide tools to build, govern, and orchestrate agents at scale.  

“Implementing agentic processes is seen by most vendors as the next big opportunity to drive adoption of AI technologies in enterprise environments,” said Ed Anderson, research vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “There will be a lot of competition in this area.”

According to Leone, Google’s edge lies in a “full-stack ownership claim few other vendors can make as cleanly, across infrastructure, models, data, security, and end-user apps,” he said. Tools such as Agent Identity, Registry and Gateway — as well as security features such as Model Armor and MCP and A2A protocols to connect agents — will help provide IT with visibility and control when running thousands of agents across business units. 

“My bigger concern is that a typical IT buyer still struggles to figure out what to buy from Google and what each product actually includes as the portfolio and services have grown and evolved quickly,” said Leone.

Pricing for the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform was not immediately available.

Meta plans to track US employees’ mouse movements, clicks, keystrokes, and screen activity to train workplace AI agents, according to Reuters, offering an early look at how far major tech companies may go to build systems that can automate knowledge work.

The company plans to do so through a tool called Model Capability Initiative, or MCI, which will run on work-related apps and websites and periodically capture screen snapshots, according to the report.

Meta reportedly told staff in internal memos that the data collected through MCI would be used to help train AI models in areas where they still struggle to mimic how humans interact with computers, such as navigating dropdown menus and using keyboard shortcuts. The company added that the data would not be used for performance reviews and would be limited to AI training.

The move is likely to intensify debate over worker surveillance and data governance as companies push to use AI for a growing share of workplace tasks.

In a separate memo, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth told employees the company was expanding internal data collection as part of its broader “AI for Work” push, now rebranded as the Agent Transformation Accelerator, Reuters added. Bosworth said Meta’s goal was to build a future in which AI agents “primarily do the work” while employees “direct, review and help them improve.”

The move comes as the broader AI industry pushes toward agents that can operate software on behalf of users. Anthropic has already showcased computer-use capabilities, while OpenAI launched its Operator agent last year.

“Meta’s move signals a shift from automating discrete tasks to replicating entire human workflows by learning from real employee behavior,” said Pareekh Jain, CEO of Pareekh Consulting. “Enterprise systems will increasingly act as data exhaust pipelines, capturing how work actually gets done so AI agents can execute it.”

Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst at Greyhound Research, said the shift is important because companies are no longer just documenting workflows for automation, but capturing how work is actually carried out inside systems. “Systems do not just learn from historical data anymore. They learn from the way people intervene, adjust, and get outcomes despite the system itself,” he said.

Governance and compliance concerns

For enterprise IT leaders, this kind of monitoring raises a new category of behavioral data risk because it captures not just business information, but also how employees perform tasks inside enterprise systems.

“Privacy and compliance risks are significant, especially in Europe under GDPR and labor laws, where capturing keystrokes and screen activity may be restricted or require explicit consent,” Jain said. “Security risks increase because training datasets may contain credentials, IP, and sensitive workflows, making them high-value attack targets.”

Gogia said the risks should not be viewed in isolation. “These risks stack. They interact. They reinforce each other,” he said, adding that data gathered for AI training could also be repurposed over time for productivity monitoring or other employment-related decisions.

Jain added that governance could become more difficult because companies may struggle to trace what AI systems learned from specific employees. Employee awareness of monitoring could also affect the quality of the data itself. “People do not behave the same way when they know they are being observed,” Gogia said. Over time, that could mean systems are trained not on how work naturally happens, but on behavior shaped by observation.

For all the fancy-schmancy things our modern-day technology promises to do for us, one thing Google has yet to give us is a simple and reliable way to sync the clipboards on our Android phones and computers.

It’s such a powerful feat to have at your fingertips, when it works well — ’cause you can just copy something in one place and then paste it immediately in the other, without any thought or effort. At its best, it’s like your two work surfaces share the same clipboard and work harmoniously to make your life easy.

What’s most frustrating is that Google actually had a super-simple system for this years ago, within Chrome — a single switch you could flip that’d just make your clipboards sync seamlessly and automatically, across any two devices where the browser was installed — but then, in typical Google form, the company gave up on the concept and killed it off at some point along the way. (Sigh.)

Since then, we’ve been left with a mishmash of overly complicated workarounds and compromise-ridden consolation prizes to choose from.

It’s overwhelming, to say the least, and more than a little annoying. But with the right pinch of one-time planning, you can still set up a synced clipboard between your Android device and computer. You just have to know where to begin.

Lemme show you the four best paths, then you can figure out which one of ’em makes the most sense for you.

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Android-computer clipboard syncing option #1: The keyboard connection

If you’re using a Windows computer alongside your favorite Android companion, you’ve got one especially easy option — though it does come with a catch.

And no, it isn’t Microsoft’s official Link to Windows app. That system is obnoxiously limited and locked down in terms of which specific devices it allows to use it — for absolutely no good reason — and it more often than not isn’t even worth your time to futz around with.

The simplest path for Android-Windows clipboard syncing is actually the Microsoft-owned SwiftKey Keyboard. It’s one of my picks for the best Android keyboard apps, in large part because of the native Windows clipboard syncing it offers.

In short, if you don’t mind using SwiftKey for your Android text input, you can set it up so that anything you copy on Android is instantly available on Windows — and vice-versa. There’s nothing to it. It just works, instantly and automatically, which is something no other clipboard-syncing setup currently offers.

The catch is that you’ve gotta commit to stickin’ with SwiftKey as your keyboard. It’s honestly a solid all-around keyboard, so you might not mind — and/or you might find the clipboard syncing sorcery useful enough to make any hesitations worth accepting.

If, on the other hand, you strongly prefer Gboard — or any other Android keyboard app — keep reading, ’cause you do have other options.

Android-computer clipboard syncing option #2: The simple share

If the keyboard syncing path isn’t right for you (or maybe if you aren’t even using Windows to begin with), the next best option is leaning on Google’s native Quick Share system to sync stuff across your clipboards manually, as needed.

This setup lacks the instant, ongoing syncing that SwiftKey provides, which is a bummer. At the same time, it could present a privacy advantage, from some perspectives — since everything you copy won’t automatically be synced across your devices without warning or any opportunity for exception.

• On the Android front, provided you’re using a reasonably recent device, Quick Share is already built in and present — so there’s nothing you need to do there. The same is true for ChromeOS, on Chromebooks.
• On Windows, you’ll need to install and set up the official Google Quick Share Windows app.
• On Macs — sorry, Charlie: Apple doesn’t like its devices to play nicely with things it didn’t create. But, with the right device, you might be able to share stuff into Apple’s propriety AirDrop system, thanks to a recent (and ongoing!) Android-side workaround.

To get things ready, you’ll need to go into the Quick Share settings on any device involved and make sure that system is set to be visible to all of your other nearby devices. (On Android, search your system settings for Quick Share to find the appropriate area. On Windows, open the Quick Share app you just installed. And on ChromeOS, click the clock in the lower-right corner of your desktop and then click the Quick Share tile.)

Then, when you’ve got something you want to sync to the clipboard on one of your other devices — from Android:

• Press and hold your finger onto the text you want to share to highlight it, then select “Share” from the menu that pops up.
• Select “Quick Share” from the list of options.
• And select your computer from the list of available devices.

It isn’t obvious, but Android’s Quick Share system has an easy way to sync text from your phone’s clipboard to a computer.

JR Raphael, Foundry

That’s it! Within a split second, you should see a notification on the computer that the text has been received and is on the clipboard and available — and you can then hit Ctrl-V in any open field to paste it.

From Windows, meanwhile, you’ll copy your text normally — using Ctrl-C — then open the Quick Share app and hit Ctrl-V to paste it and sync it over to your Android phone’s clipboard.

You can sync text from a Windows computer’s clipboard over to Android, too, with Quick Share in place.

JR Raphael, Foundry

With ChromeOS, there’s weirdly no way to sync stuff from the computer to Android (go figure). But maybe, hopefully, surely, Google’s upcoming Android-ChromeOS “merger” plan will address that and make this kind of cross-device clipboard sharing even richer and more effective in that arena.

Android-computer clipboard syncing option #3: The browser beam

Two other interesting options exist for quick ‘n’ easy clipboard sharing — at least, if you’re going from Android to another computer.

No matter what kind of computer it is (yes, even the illustrious Macintosh, in this instance!), as long as you’ve got Chrome installed there and signed into the same Google account you’re using on the Android front, remember this:

In Chrome on Android, you can highlight any text on any page — by pressing and holding it with your finger — then select “Share” followed by “Send to devices.”

Chrome’s “Send to devices” options is a hidden gem for clipboard syncing from Android.

JR Raphael, Foundry

Chrome will show you a list of all the devices where you’ve been signed into the browser with that same Google account in recent days. You can tap any of ’em — and in an instant, your text will be on that system’s clipboard and ready for pasting anywhere your precious pinkies (and other assorted appendages) desire.

Select any other device, and boom: Your text will be on its clipboard instantly.

JR Raphael, Foundry

And last but not least…

Android-computer clipboard syncing option #4: The Lens limb

If you want to sync some text from Android to a computer and the text isn’t already in a standard plain-text form — something from a photo, for instance, or in an area of the operating system for whatever reason doesn’t support standard text selection — just capture a screenshot or share the existing image over to Google Lens.

Lens is a fantastic and free Google app. You’ll need to download its official shortcut from the Play Store before you can share to it.

Once you’ve got whatever you’re seeing into Lens, you can then press and hold any text within the image there to select it.

Google Lens makes it easy to select text from within any image on Android.

JR Raphael, Foundry

Then, tap the three-dot menu icon within the text selection menu that appears — and hey, how ’bout that? Tucked away there, where no reasonably sane person would ever think to look, is a handy little command called “Copy to computer.”

Lens has its own tucked-away “Copy to computer” option for quick clipboard syncing. Who knew?!

JR Raphael, Foundry

Tap that bad boy and tap it good, and you’ll be able to choose from any computer where you’re currently signed into Chrome with the same Google account — Windows, Chromebook, Mac, Linux, you name it — and after that, the text from that image will be on your computer’s clipboard and ready to paste wherever.

As long as your computer has Chrome — with the same Google account signed in — Lens can send text directly into its clipboard.

JR Raphael, Foundry

These options may not be as easy or effortless as they oughta be, but they do get the job done. And once you know how to use ’em, you’ll have a whole new kind of time-saving text trick in your toolkit and ready to deploy — just like the total tech wizard we all know you’re meant to be.

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