Microsoft debuts its next big high-stakes AI feature in Windows - can you trust it?

The last time Microsoft rolled out a major AI feature with this level of access to your personal data, it ... didn't go well. 

ZDNET's key takeaways

•   Windows 11 is adding agents that can take actions on your behalf.
•   Copilot agents represent potential security and privacy risks.
•   Expect testing and more security controls before the feature goes public.

Every computer security decision ultimately comes down to a question of trust. Should you install this program you're about to download from an unfamiliar website? Are you certain that your email messages are going directly to their recipient without being intercepted? Is it safe to provide that merchant with your credit card details?

Soon, owners of PCs running Windows 11 will have another question to add to that list: Should you trust this Copilot agent to poke around in your files and interact with apps on your behalf?

Here's how Microsoft describes the Copilot Actions feature, which is rolling out for testing by members of the Windows Insider Program:

Copilot Actions is an AI agent that completes tasks for you by interacting with your apps and files, using vision and advanced reasoning to click, type, and scroll like a human would.

This transforms agents from passive assistants into active digital collaborators that can carry out complex tasks for you to enhance efficiency and productivity -- like updating documents, organizing files, booking tickets, or sending emails. After you've granted the agent access, when integrated with Windows, the agent can take advantage of what you already have on your PC, like your apps and data, to complete tasks for you.

These are pretty big trust decisions. Allowing an agent to interact with your personal files requires a leap of faith. So does the idea of letting an agent act on your behalf in apps -- where, presumably, you are signed in using some sort of secure credentials.

Learning from the past

The last time Microsoft rolled out a major AI feature with this level of access to your personal data, it ... didn't go well. The Windows Recall feature was slammed by security researchers, delayed for months, and finally relaunched with major privacy and security changes. Ultimately, it was nearly a year before the feature made it to public builds.

This time around, Microsoft is taking no such chances. In a pair of on-the-record briefings ahead of the public debut of the Copilot Actions feature, executives at the company went to great pains to emphasize its commitment to privacy and security controls.

For starters, the feature is rolling out as a preview, in "experimental mode," exclusively for customers who've opted into the Windows Insider Program for pre-release builds of Windows.

The feature will be disabled by default and will only be enabled when the user flips the "Experimental agentic features" switch in Windows Settings > System > AI components > Agent tools.

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