Windows Search is getting its biggest upgrade in years

Windows 11 is getting one of its biggest changes in years with the introduction of localized search. While it will fundamentally change the way you search for files on your Windows PC, not everyone will be able to use it right away.

Semantic Search Is Microsoft's Next Big Step in AI

Semantic search, or natural language search, is finally here on Windows 11. Sure, you can already improve your Windows Search results with a few simple tricks, but this new search method will let you search your Windows PC using more natural language.

Instead of having to search for specific settings or file names, you can simply type something like "change my theme" to do that or "uninstall a program" to bring up the program's settings, where you can remove applications installed on your PC.

It's worth noting, however, that this is part of Microsoft's next big step toward bringing more powerful AI features to Windows. As such, it only works on Copilot+ PCs , which are built to take full advantage of Microsoft's AI features.

But that’s not the only caveat. While the feature will eventually come to all Copilot+ PCs, it’s initially only available on Copilot+ PCs running Snapdragon chips, meaning PCs with AMD or Intel AI chips will have to wait for semantic search to become more widely available.

Microsoft hasn’t provided an official release date for the update that enables semantic search. However, the feature is currently in the Release Preview for Windows Insiders, meaning it will likely be included in the April Windows Update. Until there’s an official release date, though, all we can do is speculate.

Benefits of natural language search

Companies have been working hard in recent months to make searching easier and more natural. Apple and Android devices have both started incorporating more natural language processing into their search systems. But this is the first time we’ve seen it appear on native Windows. Microsoft first detailed semantic search as part of a Windows Developer Update post a few months ago.

There are many benefits to searching with more natural language. The biggest benefit is that your Windows PC will have an easier time finding the files or features you're looking for.

When semantic search is available on Windows 11, you can search using broader terms like “eco-friendly clothing” in the image below. This will bring up results without forcing you to search for more specific terms.

Another great example of how natural language search works is searching for files whose names you don’t know. For example, if you wrote a document about Apple AirTags, you could search for “documentation about Apple AirTags” in Windows Search and it would return what you were looking for.

Of course, like any search system, the more specific you are, the more likely the results will be relevant to what you’re looking for. This is a common problem you see when using Apple’s version of semantic search in a variety of apps, and Windows will have a similar problem.

Sadly, semantic search is unlikely to dethrone File Pilot as your go-to file manager on Windows—it's just unlikely to beat File Pilot's speed. But it will at least make using Windows' Search feature more appealing to the average user if they have a PC that supports Copilot+.

Like most of Microsoft's big AI features, semantic search is unlikely to appear on systems that don't use AI, which is likely part of Microsoft's effort to get more users on PC Copilot+ in the future. However, Microsoft still has a long way to go to overcome the fact that PC Copilot+ is a disaster for regular users.