Microsoft Edge Gets a Major AI Upgrade to Challenge New AI Browsers Just two days after OpenAI launched its new AI powered browser, Microsoft is pushing back with significant updates for the Copilot Mode in its Edge browser. This move signals a heating up of the AI browser wars as companies compete to offer the most intelligent and helpful web surfing assistant. The newly enhanced Copilot Mode is now previewing several features that were initially teased back in July. One of the key additions is Copilot Actions. This feature allows the AI to perform multi step tasks on your behalf. While already available in the standard Copilot experience, its integration into the browser is new. Microsoft gives examples like using Copilot Actions to unsubscribe from unwanted email newsletters or to handle the entire process of making a restaurant reservation. Another major feature now available is called Journeys. This is designed for users who are working on long term projects or research. Journeys act as a saved workspace that you can return to at any time. Microsoft suggests a scenario where you started researching how to begin a business but had to pause. With Journeys, Copilot can recap all the articles you previously read, suggest logical next steps, and even resurface a relevant tutorial video you watched weeks ago, eliminating the need to bookmark dozens of tabs. A related and powerful new capability gives Copilot the option to access your specific browsing history. This allows for highly personalized assistance. For instance, you could ask the AI about a piece of clothing you looked at last week but cannot remember the name of. Alternatively, you could request movie recommendations based on the genres and titles you have shown interest in during your past browsing sessions. Microsoft is emphasizing user privacy and control with these new features. The company states that Copilot will only access private data like browsing history after receiving explicit user permission. It highlights that all browser data is protected under its existing privacy policies and that Copilot only collects information necessary to improve the user experience. The blog post also mentions that clear visual cues will be present to indicate when Copilot is active and processing data. Despite these assurances, these new AI tools require a significant amount of personal information to function effectively. Users are advised to carefully consider the privacy implications before granting these permissions to the browser. These new features for Copilot Mode in Microsoft Edge are currently available for free in a limited preview, which for now is restricted to users in the United States.
