Microsoft mentioned 2024 was going to be “the year of the AI PC,” and it seems to be like that’s ringing true already. Microsoft seems to be readying a brand new generative AI characteristic for its Notepad utility that’s constructed into Home windows. Whereas the software program large hasn’t formally introduced it, eagle-eyed Home windows watchers have discovered code in Microsoft’s newest check builds of Home windows 11 that point out a brand new “Cowriter” characteristic may very well be on the best way quickly.
It seems to be prefer it has the identical credit system that Microsoft makes use of in its Cocreator feature in Paint to let Home windows customers know what number of extra instances they’ll use these AI-powered options. Microsoft hasn’t introduced pricing for these credit but, however one can assume the corporate will finally begin charging when you run out of them. Bing makes use of an identical system, however when you run out of “each day boosts,” the picture creation via DALL-E merely slows down.
Different Home windows testers have even found references to a waitlist for the characteristic and a hero picture that Microsoft might use to market its new Notepad Cowriter. The model of the picture is an identical to how Microsoft markets its Copilot options inside Workplace apps like Outlook, Phrase, and PowerPoint.
This might point out that Microsoft is near formally saying the Cowriter characteristic for beta testing, in the identical manner that it examined the Paint generative picture characteristic for months earlier than it was rolled out to all Home windows 11 customers.
Now, I’m sufficiently old to recollect a time when Notepad was however a mere easy Home windows app that had barely been touched for greater than three a long time. Microsoft has been vastly bettering Notepad on Home windows 11 in recent times, including a dark mode, tabs, character count, options like autosave and automated restoration of tabs, and even a virtual fidget spinner.
I don’t assume I’m alone in not wanting these type of AI options constructed instantly into Home windows apps as a way to upsell customers into shopping for AI credit. I’d relatively see Microsoft proceed on its path of bettering Notepad in significant methods, particularly because it’s removing WordPad from Windows after almost 30 years. If Notepad goes to get one other new characteristic, please let it’s an non-compulsory spellcheck as an alternative of a pc hallucinating into my textual content editor.