Microsoft Edge’s new Copilot Mode turns on more AI features
Microsoft is joining the AI browser wave with the official launch of a new “Copilot Mode” in Edge. The option, first announced in July, turns Copilot into your portal to the web, with each new tab opening a chat window where you can either ask a question, conduct a search, or enter a URL.
Copilot Mode ties Microsoft’s AI assistant more closely to Edge, as it combines AI-generated responses, search results, and navigation into one window. It also draws from all of your tabs — not just the one you’re on — allowing you to ask Copilot to summarize the information in all of your open windows or compare products in each one.
Though Microsoft previously launched Copilot Mode as an experimental feature, it’s now available for everyone to try, alongside a few new features available in a limited preview. That includes an agentic Copilot Actions feature that can do things like unsubscribe from marketing emails or book a reservation on your behalf.
Just like the other AI browsers out there, Copilot’s agentic features just aren’t totally reliable yet. Copilot displays a warning before taking action that says the tool is “intended for research and evaluation purposes” and “can make mistakes.” When I asked it to delete an email, for example, Copilot said it deleted it, but failed to actually do so. It also lied about sending an email that it composed directly in Gmail. The assistant did, however, successfully unsubscribe from a mailing list.
Outside of my email inbox, Copilot struggled to make a reservation for me at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City. I asked it to book a slot on November 26th, and even though it told me it selected a reservation for that date, the AI tool chose October 26th instead.
Copilot Mode in Edge can now use your browsing history to provide better responses — but only if you give it permission. Microsoft is launching Journeys in preview as well. Journeys is an AI-powered feature that organizes your browsing history into topics and makes suggestions about what to search for next. I didn’t browse enough using the new experience to see my own Journeys, but it seems like it might help you quickly dive back into a topic you frequently revisit.
You can turn on Copilot Mode by downloading Edge and toggling on the switch on Microsoft’s website. If you’re based in the US, you can also scroll down to enable Copilot Actions and Copilot Journeys in preview.