Microsoft Garage project Journal is now Microsoft Journal, becoming an official project

Microsoft Garage, a programme that allows Microsoft employees to work on projects unrelated to their primary work, has seen the Journal project graduate to become an official Microsoft project and get the new name of Microsoft Journal. To celebrate its new status, the Microsoft Journal team has updated the app with the Windows 11 look and feel with additional colours and materials.

For those not familiar with Microsoft Journal, the app is a digital ink solution that allows you to write down your ideas, draw, and even annotate your PDFs. In fact, from usage data, the team were able to see that 59% of documents edited in Microsoft Journal were PDF files while the other 41% were blank documents. The team also noted that while it does collect usage data, it does not know the contents of your journals; this allows it to put work into the features that people care about most.

To quicken up the software and enhance privacy, Microsoft Journal uses artificial intelligence to recognise editing and semantic gestures on the device. Commenting on the usage of AI in the program, Stevie Bathiche, Technical Fellow and leader of Microsoft’s Applies Sciences, said:

“We are entering an age of computer-aided reasoning, where AI accelerates the tasks that people do, and makes us all more productive. Journal shows just how powerful an experience can be when software anticipates your intentions. This is just the beginning.”

If you use Microsoft Journal, you should receive the latest update in the next couple of days. Alternatively, can head to the Microsoft Store and grab it right away, that goes for new users too.

Microsoft Garage project Journal is now Microsoft Journal, becoming an official project