Redesigned Windows 11 Widgets Board undergoing trials, featuring a fresh Copilot Discover feed that delivers AI-selected news stories directly to your desktop.
Microsoft is revolutionizing the way users consume news on their Windows 11 desktops with the introduction of the Copilot Discover feed in the Widgets Panel. This update, currently in testing, brings several new features and improvements over the previous MSN news feed.
AI-Curated Stories for a Personalized News Experience
The Copilot Discover feed uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to curate news stories based on your interests, likes, and Copilot usage. This means you'll receive a more relevant and tailored news feed, rather than a generic one.
Faster and Smoother Experience
The new feed boasts faster and smoother performance, with improved animations, scrolling, and overall loading times. This makes for a more enjoyable and less laggy browsing experience compared to the old MSN feed.
Cleaner, Less Cluttered Layout
Stories are now displayed in larger boxes with big text, making them more legible and easier to read. The cleaner, less cluttered layout enhances the overall user-friendliness of the feed.
Interactive Story Options
When you hover over a story, you can interact with it by upvoting or downvoting it according to your preference, bookmarking it to read later, and following or blocking specific media outlets. The feed also automatically plays video previews when hovered over.
Customizable Notifications and More
There's a new Notifications button at the top of the feed that highlights breaking news, weather updates, and stock market changes. Users can customize or disable these alerts according to their preferences.
Reading Stories Directly in the Widgets Panel
Microsoft is also testing a feature that allows reading stories directly in the widgets panel without opening them in a browser.
Rollout and Availability
The new Copilot Discover feed is currently being tested with a subset of users, and Microsoft plans to roll it out more broadly over the coming weeks. The Widgets Board on Windows 11 is also being improved, with widgets now moved to a separate tab.
The new Copilot Discover feed replaces the MSN feed and was first announced by Microsoft in May. The ability to follow news outlets on MSN has been a feature for a long time, and this functionality is still present in the new feed.
Users can customize and pin widgets to the lock screen on Windows 11, and the widgets panel can no longer be full-screened but exists as a tall, narrow slide-out on the left side of the display.
With these enhancements, Microsoft aims to provide a more relevant, responsive, and user-friendly news experience directly on your desktop through the Windows 11 Widgets Panel.
- The Copilot Discover feed, exclusive to Windows 11, is powered by Microsoft's AI, offering a personalized news experience by curating stories based on user interests and Copilot usage.
- The new Copilot Discover feed boasts improved performance, featuring faster loading times, smoother scrolling, and enhanced animations for a more enjoyable browsing experience.
- The redesigned feed offers a cleaner, less cluttered layout, with larger, more legible stories displayed in boxes, enhancing user-friendliness and readability.
- Interactive story options are now available with the Copilot Discover feed, enabling users to upvote or downvote stories, bookmark them, or follow or block specific media outlets directly from the feed.
