Have you ever wished your operating system vendor would introduce AI with direct access to the files on your device? Probably not—but newly discovered code elements in Windows 11 preview builds suggest that users may soon see a “Chat with Copilot” button inside File Explorer, allowing them to interact with AI while browsing files and folders.
In current versions of Windows 11, Copilot can be launched from the context menu by right-clicking a file, which opens the separate Copilot app to handle queries. The newly discovered button is said to open a Copilot chat interface directly within File Explorer itself, likely as a side panel. This would enable a more seamless experience, in which the AI could answer questions about files, their locations, or even their contents without requiring users to switch between applications.
This deeper integration of Copilot aligns with Microsoft’s broader strategy of making Windows 11 an “AI-first” operating system, where artificial intelligence assists users with a wide range of everyday tasks. The company has already expanded Copilot’s presence across the system and Microsoft 365 apps, and analysis of preview build code points to further moves toward embedding AI in areas such as content management and contextual assistance.
While such an “intelligent” way of searching and interacting with files could improve usability and reduce the time needed to find the right documents or photos, placing advanced AI directly inside File Explorer also raises privacy concerns. To provide accurate answers about file contents, Copilot would need the ability to analyze users’ local data, which—depending on how the feature is implemented and how data is processed—could involve additional data transfers and potential risks. Existing information about Copilot indicates that it can already search for and open files and respond to questions about local content, which in the context of File Explorer integration could require broader access to user data.
The feature is still in testing within preview builds and may change before any wider rollout in stable versions of Windows 11. Microsoft has not yet officially confirmed plans to release this specific integration, nor has it provided details on how permissions and user privacy would be managed.