Microsoft unveiled its latest laptops dubbed “Copilot Plus PCs” which are powered by Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon X Elite chips. The new laptops come with the latest in-built AI hardware including the neural processing unit (NPU) – a new AI processor that will enable powerful smaller models to run locally.
Alongside the launch of the new PCs, Microsoft also unveiled new AI features including an AI-powered search called Recall.
This is a feature coming to Windows 11 that tracks all your activities on your laptop and provides a new way to search and retrieve information on anything you’ve done or seen on your computer. Notably, this feature will only roll out to the latest Copilot Plus PCs with NPUs.
The Recall feature uses semantic search to recognize intent and context for terms you search. Unlike traditional keyword search which only provides exact matches for terms, you can use Recall to “search and find things you’ve forgotten by simply using the cues that you remember.” Microsoft says this is like having a “photographic memory.”
How does Recall work? Recall is continuously taking screenshots of what is on your screen and saving them on your device. The feature then builds your semantic index by leveraging on-device generative AI to process all this data and make it searchable.
When you search for a particular item, Recall will provide an explorable timeline of snapshots you can scroll through to find what you’re looking for. This also works for live meetings and videos.
Recall will require a minimum of 256GB storage space with 50GB must be available for allocation. You can opt to increase the feature’s allocated storage in your device settings.
Privacy concerns
This raises some privacy concerns which Microsoft has tried to address. The company says that all your screenshots are stored locally – no one else can access them – and you can also filter, pause, or delete individual screenshots. Alternatively, you can filter specific websites and apps from ever being saved.
But still, a feature taking screenshots of everything you do every few seconds is unsettling.
Important to note, Recall won’t take screenshots of content protected with digital rights management (DRM) or when you’re InPrivate web browsing in Microsoft Edge.
Microsoft further points out that the feature does not perform content moderation. Recall will not hide sensitive information like passwords or financial account numbers.
The feature starts rolling out to compatible devices on June 18, 2024.
