How to Use Microsoft Copilot for Windows 11

Microsoft Copilot is a new feature in Windows 11 that helps you find and access your files, emails, web pages, and other information across your devices and accounts. Copilot uses artificial intelligence (AI) to learn from your behavior and preferences and provide you with personalized suggestions and shortcuts. In this article, we will show you how to enable and use Microsoft Copilot for Windows 11 and highlight the security concerns behind using this feature.

How to Enable Microsoft Copilot

To enable Microsoft Copilot, you need to have Windows 11 installed on your device and sign in with your Microsoft account. It would help if you also had the same Microsoft account linked to your other devices, such as your smartphone, tablet, or laptop. Then, follow these steps:

1. Open the Settings app on your Windows 11 device and go to Personalization.
2. Scroll down and click on the taskbar.
3. Expand the Taskbar items.
4. Toggle Copilot in Windows to On.

At this point, you should see the Copilot icon in your taskbar now.

How to Use Microsoft Copilot

Once you have enabled Microsoft Copilot, you can access your information and tasks across your devices and accounts. Here are some ways to use Microsoft Copilot:

• To use Copilot, press the Windows + C keys on your keyboard or click the Copilot icon on your taskbar. A panel will appear on the right side of your screen with various options and suggestions based on your context and activity.
• You can browse the Copilot options and select the ones that are relevant to you. For example, you can open a file that you recently worked on, resume a web page that you visited on another device, reply to an email that you received, or launch an app that you frequently use.
• You can also use the search bar at the top of the Copilot panel to find anything you need, such as a document, a contact, a setting, or a web result. Copilot will show you the best matches from your local and online sources and let you open them with one click or tap.
• You can also interact with Copilot using voice commands. Just say, "Hey, Copilot," and then ask for what you want, such as "Show me my photos from last week" or "Send an email to [NAME]." Copilot will respond to your voice and perform the action for you.

Microsoft Copilot is an innovative and convenient way to boost your productivity and efficiency on Windows 11. Enabling it allows you to access your information and tasks across your devices and accounts and enjoy a personalized and seamless experience.

Common Use-Case Scenarios

• Changing Windows settings without having to navigate through the Settings menu.
• “Change my resolution to 125% instead of 100%.”
• Setting a focus period or time to get more work done.
• “I do not want to be disrupted by notifications for the next hour.”
• Summarizing or writing content.
• “Can you summarize this text into three sentences?”
• “Can you help me write a paragraph on how to use Copilot?”
• Summarizing or writing an email.
• “I need to write an email to my client list letting them know of the cool new features within Copilot for Windows.”
• Generating custom images using DALL-E.
• “Can you create a basic logo for me with the words “Intrada Technologies.”
• Have a conversation on a topic you are researching.  Instead of endlessly searching on Bing or Google, Copilot can assist with nailing down answers for a research topic.
• “Where should I travel if I really like food?”
• “What flights are available in the summer to this place?”
• “What looks like the best flight deal?”
• “Can you create an itinerary for me?”
• Upload and analyze an image.

Security Concerns

Most of the queries that Copilot is referencing are related to web searches, PC settings, or recent documents accessed.  These specific items are already secured by default.  However, Microsoft released a “Recall” feature in Windows 11.   This recall feature was designed to help you quickly access anything you had previously worked on.  For example, if you have been working on a logo design or Word document and would like Copilot to find it and bring it up quickly, the recall feature would be used to access that file faster than finding it in your File Explorer.   This feature works by taking screenshots of everything you are working on and analyzing that information.  This would allow Copilot to integrate with everything you are working on. 

To keep this feature quick, Copilot stored all this information (screenshots) on your computer unencrypted, meaning in plaintext. Cybercriminals quickly worked on methods to access this database and potentially steal information from PCs that were infected with virus packages.

Fortunately, Microsoft has fixed the security concern by encrypting these screenshots.  When queried, they are quickly decrypted and then re-encrypted when stored again on the local computer.

Conclusion

With any new Large Language Model (LLM) technology comes security and accuracy concerns.  Copilot is a phenomenal tool for increasing productivity; however, it should still be taken with a grain of salt.  While the current iterations of GPT (Backend tech making this work) are very powerful, they still need to be fact-checked.  It often happens that the content produced may not be accurate, the images produced may have spelling errors, and the data accessed lacks security.  Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, has told all employees to make sure that security remains the top priority.  As a precaution, before experimenting with the features, we would encourage all users to wait until Copilot functions are out of “Preview” and have been deployed to all endpoints.

Intrada Technologies is a Microsoft Partner and can assist in the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Please get in touch with James Haywood for more information.