It’s not Copilot, AI in Windows or Recall. Microsoft is planning to go the Apple route with its branding efforts for “Windows Intelligence”, also known as AI in Windows 11. We first picked up the news when references to “Windows Intelligence” were spotted in a Group Policy, and now Microsoft is building a dedicated Settings page for “WI”.
Like every other tech giant, Microsoft wants us to use AI in Windows 11 in one way or another. In fact, most of the promised AI features aren’t even here, including the controversial Windows Recall and the interesting “Click to Do”. They’re all coming and more features are planned, but how is Microsoft planning to market the big update?
Windows Intelligence. This is the answer. According to references in Windows 11, Windows Intelligence could be the new umbrella term for all the AI features. Ahead of the announcement, Microsoft is also preparing a dedicated Settings page for Windows Intelligence AI features.
As noticed by Albacore on X, new placeholders for the upcoming privacy page confirm that “Windows Intelligence” is a thing. It would be the new name for “Generative AI” settings Microsoft has been testing.
Windows Latest was able to turn on the hidden “Generative AI” page in the Settings. While it shows up as “Generative AI” in our screenshot, it’s getting rebranded to “Windows Intelligence”. That would be the name when the feature goes live in Windows 11.
As shown in the screenshot, the first toggle controls “Windows Intelligence access.” It lets users decide if apps on their device can access generative AI features”. The second setting, “Let apps use generative AI,” is for managing permissions, allowing you to control which specific apps can utilize AI capabilities.
The “Recent activity” section shows a history of AI requests within the last 7 days, providing transparency into which apps have accessed AI features. This could allow you to review past actions, such as when an app tried to access NPU or apps that might have access to AI-related features.
It’s supposed to give more transparency over how AI is being used on Windows 11. We think it looks like the existing recent activity log for apps that might have accessed the mic and camera in Windows 11.
Last but not least, Microsoft will also let you turn on or off Windows Intelligence system-wide or user-wide (if you’ve multiple accounts).
In addition, Microsoft previously explored a dedicated page in Settings for managing “AI Components“, including managing updates for “AI Components” on Windows Update. This is according to references to “AI component updates” in musupdatehandlers2.dll.mui.
When is it coming to Windows 11? A release date is uncertain, but Microsoft could still announce “Windows Intelligence” or tease it in some way by the end of the year, or we might learn more about it in early 2025.