June 19, 2025
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Searching your computer for files shouldn’t feel like a scavenger hunt. But sometimes it does. You vaguely remember saving a file, but not what it was called. Or you’re trying to find that presentation you tweaked last month but can’t remember exactly where it lives. With improved Windows search on Copilot+ PCs, you can skip the scramble and simply describe what you’re looking for. Windows will interpret, understand and find it for you. Think: “that photo from the lake last summer” or “presentation with Q2 numbers”—no perfect phrasing required.
How improved Windows search works
Improved Windows search is built into File Explorer, the taskbar’s Windows Search box, and Settings. It doesn’t rely on exact matches, perfect phrasing, or even correct spelling. Instead, it uses AI to understand your intent. So, whether you search for “budget slides” or “photos from the trip,” it gets what you mean—even when file names don’t.1 It also makes smart associations, so something like “budget deck” might surface a file titled “Q2_financial_review.pptx.”
And it’s not just for files. You can search for system settings, too. Type in what you want to do, “connect a device” or an issue you want to address “screen is too dark” and Windows will offer you the right setting.
That’s possible thanks to the neural processing unit (NPU) inside Copilot+ PCs, which can handle over 40 trillion operations per second. It’s not just scanning text—it’s connecting the dots, filling in gaps, and surfacing the files you actually want. That’s especially helpful when filenames are vague, or when you remember the content but not where you saved it.
How to manage what is indexed in improved Windows search
Improved Windows search will index and support your searches automatically. You can manage what is indexed and included using the following steps:
For improved Windows Search on Copilot+ PCs, it is recommended that you plug in your Copilot+ PC for the initial search indexing to get completed.
What you can search
Improved Windows search supports all the usual file types:
And it is optimized for six languages: Chinese (simplified), English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish.
Smarter search, powered by a faster PC
With improved Windows search, you don’t need perfect file names, exact folders, or even correct spelling. Just type what you remember—whether it’s a file, a photo, or even a setting—and your PC will find it. Describe it. Find it, like magic.
Give it a try on a Copilot+ PC and see how much easier finding things can be.
