Microsoft has recently expanded the testing of its innovative Recall AI feature to Intel- and AMD-powered AI and Copilot Plus PCs. Initially available on Qualcomm-powered devices only, this feature is now accessible to a broader range of devices for testing.
What is Recall?
Recall was the keynote Windows feature announced when Microsoft unleashed the Copilot+ PC when they were released in September this year.
Initially recalled due to privacy concerns this is now in Public Preview for Windows Insiders on the Dev Channel.
Recall works by taking screenshots of almost everything you do on your Copilot+ PC, (these are devices with dedicated NPUs that run at 45 Trillion Operations per Second (TOPS) or more). Recall makes it easy to search and recall past activities such as “the train route I was looking at on Tuesday” rather then scanning back through Internet search history.
This feature is entirely optional to use, but when enabled enabled, helps users find previous work, content or Internet data through natural language search or an interactive scrollable timeline.
As the user, you are completely in control of what snapshots are saved and how long for, and have the ability to delete them as needed, ensuring upmost privacy and security. Snaps shots require TPM, secure boot and Windows Hello to be active on the device and Microsoft has not access to the data which is encrypted on your device.
The power of Edge AI
Unlike services like Copilot, Recall and many of the newer Copilot+ PC features leverage local LLM models on the device as well as the NPU’s present on Copilot+ PC devices like the Surface Laptop 7 and Pro 11 range. As such when you install the #WindowsInsider Dev builds, you’ll also notice that Windows Updates installs a number of processing services as well as the Phi Silica LLM.
Recalls’ enhanced security and privacy
Microsoft has implemented many new security updates and controls to address initial concerns raised by security folk and early testers.
As I mentioned, accessing snapshots now requires Windows Hello for authentication, and the feature mandates the use of BitLocker and Secure Boot. Additionally, Recall can now automatically detects and excludes sensitive information like credit card details and passwords from being saved.
Click-to-Do and more AI features
Alongside Recall, Microsoft is also allowing Insiders on Copilot+ PCs to test out Click to Do feature, which recognise text and images in snapshots and content in screen allowing users to perform actions like copying text, invoking Copilot, saving and editing images and more. This functionality extends beyond Recall, enabling users to take actions on images and text with a simple Windows + Q key or Windows Key + mouse click.
In Paint, the new Cocreator top lets you create art and images by simply typing in text prompts. The Photos app has also been updated with new tools including Image Creator, which lets users make images from text prompts, and Restyle Image, which lets users add different artistic styles to their existing photos. You also get powerful generative erase tools which can be accessed directly from the app or from Click-To-Do.
These tools use local AI and analysis models on the Copilot+ PCs to work efficiently on the device itself through the use of the NPU.
Conclusion
Microsoft initially only made these features available for Snapdragon (ARM based) Copilot+ PCs but with this update they are continuing to u lease the new AI features in Windows 11 to more devices. The expansion of Recall to Intel and AMD Copilot+ PCs marks a step forward in enhancing user experience and productivity on this next generarion of devices.
What do you think of Recall and Click-to-Do?