- Microsoft is implementing Copilot prompts on Edge’s New Tab Page
- It’s also rolling out an ability to trigger a web search to happen with Copilot rather than Bing
- Moves in testing to have Copilot take over the New Tab Page still appear to be in the pipeline
Microsoft Edge is getting more Copilot, with the AI assistant coming to the New Tab Page (or NTP) in a more prominent way.
The NTP is what you see in the web browser when you open up a new tab, serving as a place to start for exploring what you might want to do in Edge – which will usually, but not always, be a web search.
However, rather than that traditional query in the search box (which fires up a Bing search, unsurprisingly), Microsoft would prefer you to use Copilot, as there’s an icon for the AI assistant right next to said web search option.
Clicking that icon brings up Copilot on the web, ready for your query, but with the latest update for Edge version 136 (which was deployed earlier this month), Microsoft is rolling out a fuller integration of the AI in the NTP.
Windows Latest reports that Microsoft explains in the release notes for the update to Edge that: “Starting at the end of May 2025, users may see suggested work and productivity-related Copilot prompts by their search box on the NTP page.”
Those suggested prompts are efforts along the lines of ‘get advice’ or ‘write a first draft’ which invoke Copilot to achieve the indicated task.
Microsoft further notes that some Edge users may also see the Copilot icon in the search box, and when clicked this triggers the current search query, but sends it to Copilot rather than having Bing resolve it.
Analysis: Copilot context
In short, Copilot is slowly gaining a grip on the New Tab Page, although the mentioned capabilities are part of what Microsoft calls a “controlled feature rollout,” and I’d imagine this will be a fairly slow and tentative affair. I don’t have this feature yet on my Edge browser, and neither does Windows Latest.
The company will likely want to conduct this deployment at a leisurely pace because there are some Windows 11 users who are wary of seeing AI creep into more corners of the OS and its various apps, which is certainly a goal Microsoft’s intent on pursuing. So, moving slowly and regularly taking the temperature of feedback is likely to be the way forward for Microsoft.
More AI is likely coming to Microsoft’s browser, though, in the form of the Edge Copilot Mode spotted by Windows Latest (hidden in the flags menu, as an experimental feature in Edge).
This appears to be Microsoft’s plan that’s already been seen in testing, whereby the New Tab Page becomes far more Copilot-focused – read more about that here (and see the above screenshot for a glimpse of what this might look like). It also dumps the MSN feed in favor of Copilot, which I feel is a good trade-off (though your opinion on that may vary, of course).
A second part of this Copilot Mode may be a less popular addition, namely so-called ‘context clues’ that tap into the web page you’re visiting, and your web history, to allow the AI to provide better and more personal responses.
A fair few privacy red flags are appearing at this point, but we don’t know how (or even if) this feature will be implemented – though it certainly appears to be allowing Copilot to access your browsing history. As such, it’s surely going to be an optional (and opt-in) capability, if any of this is realized with Edge.
Remember, all this is still in testing, save for the changes to the NTP that Microsoft has confirmed are now rolling out with Edge v136.
