Recently, Microsoft revealed that its Copilot feature, available on both Windows 11 and Windows 10, has seen remarkable growth, now operating on nearly 225 million PCs—an impressive 200% increase from the previous quarter. However, with over 1.4 billion active Windows devices worldwide, Copilot is currently only accessible on approximately 16% of these devices.

This cloud-based feature functions as an Edge tab, marking the debut of generative AI being “natively” integrated into Windows. Looking ahead, the upcoming Windows 11 version 24H2 is set to introduce an innovative AI Explorer feature, but with a catch—it will exclusively function on new “AI PCs” equipped with a neural processing unit (NPU).

The Windows 11 24H2 preview build 26100 includes concealed code that suggests “AI Explorer” may be limited to devices running on Qualcomm‘s new ARM-based Snapdragon X Elite CPU. However, Microsoft may seek to avoid fragmentation within this emerging “AI PC” category.

Microsoft is anticipated to provide further insights into the AI Explorer during its forthcoming Surface and AI event scheduled for May 20. However, Windows Central’s Zac Bowden has already provided a sneak peek into this groundbreaking feature.

Unlike the cloud-dependent Copilot, AI Explorer is reportedly designed to operate locally, necessitating the presence of an NPU. This feature is touted to continuously run in the background, documenting and cataloging every user activity on their “AI PCs.”

Bowden elaborated, “AI Explorer will run in the background, capturing and sorting everything you do on your computer—regardless of the apps or interfaces you engage with—transforming these actions into retrievable memories.”

A mock-up shared by Windows Central envisions AI Explorer as an integrated search bar at the top of the screen. Here, users can search for past activities on their PCs using natural language, such as revisiting specific websites from a particular day, retrieving chat conversations, or accessing local files.

Sources familiar with AI Explorer describe it as a transformative AI experience that seamlessly enhances user workflows while leveraging the capabilities of a Windows PC. The report also highlights that AI Explorer can analyze and interact with content displayed on the screen, allowing users to perform tasks like document comparison, email drafting, image editing, and more.

The concept of a built-in feature recording every user action on a PC, even if it’s done locally, may raise concerns. However, Bowden assures that AI Explorer will offer granular controls, allowing users to exclude specific apps from recording. Users will also have the option to disable the feature entirely.

Microsoft is reportedly developing other AI features expected to launch alongside Windows 11 version 24H2 later this year. Bowden hinted at advanced Windows Studio effects for video conferencing apps, real-time translation capabilities for Live Captions, image generation within Paint, and several more innovations.