Microsoft Edge Update Allows Copilot to Access Open Tabs; Journeys Mode Introduced in English

Microsoft has introduced the Copilot's agentic AI capabilities to the Edge mobile app. Now, users will be able to ask queries to Microsoft's AI agent, which will access information for them from active tabs to generate answers. The company is also rolling out the AI-backed Journeys tool for the Edge mobile app, which will organise the user's browsing history into different topics, allowing users to pick up browsing from where they left off. Microsoft recently redesigned the new tab page for the Edge desktop app. It is now bringing the same design to its mobile browser, where users will be able to directly ask questions to Copilot.

Microsoft Edge New Copilot AI Feature on Mobile and Desktop

In a blog post on Wednesday, the US-based tech giant announced that, for the first time, it is bringing agentic capabilities with Copilot in Edge on phones. On top of this, the company has introduced new AI-backed features for the desktop version of the browser. With Copilot in Edge, users will be able to ask queries on their handsets without leaving the browser, and Microsoft's AI assistant will be able to generate answers by retrieving context and information from various open tabs.

Similar to Gemini in Chrome on desktops, Microsoft Edge, with Copilot, will be able to compare texts and details from different tabs, too, eliminating the need for users to move between tabs repeatedly. Apart from this, to offer a more consistent experience across platforms, the company is also bringing the same redesigned “new tab page” as seen on the desktop version of the browser, where users will be able to directly ask questions to Copilot from the search bar.

When reading from an open tab, users will be able to click the Copilot icon in the top right corner to ask Copilot to summarise the information or find a particular piece of information. It can also retrieve information from multiple active tabs. For example, users can ask Copilot to plan a holiday based on the information from the tabs that are already open in Edge on their phone.

Copilot in Edge can summarise tabs on phones
Photo Credit: Microsoft

Additionally, with the new AI-backed Vision and Voice tool, available for all desktop and mobile Edge users, users share their device's screen and ask Copilot to generate answers based on what is being displayed. However, users will have to grant permission to the AI agent to let it view the screen. Microsoft claims that when Copilot is at work, users will be shown “clear visual cues”, regarding whether the AI agent is generating an answer, listening to what the user has to say, or viewing the screen.

Similarly, users can grant permission to Copilot to access their browsing history on Edge to generate answers. The company says that Copilot will be able to pull relevant information from the previously visited tabs to “finish up your shopping, returning to a thread you were following, or picking up research you started days ago”. In addition to this, the company has introduced long-term memory for Copilot in Edge, allowing it to remember past conversations and use them as context. Both features are available on Edge desktop and mobile versions.

Apart from this, Microsoft is also bringing Journeys to Edge on phone, a functionality that was already available on the desktop version of the browser. With the user's permission, the Journeys tool organises their browsing history “into meaningful topics”, along with summaries and suggested next steps, allowing users to pick up work and projects from where they left off.

New Productivity Tools in Microsoft Edge on Desktop

Microsoft has also introduced new productivity tools for the desktop version of Edge. The new Study and Learn mode will allow users to ask breakdowns for complex topics and organise them into guided study sessions and interactive quizzes, similar to Google's NotebookLM. Users can ask Copilot in Edge to quiz them on a particular topic after selecting the Study and Learn mode from the bottom-left corner of the screen.

The tech giant has also introduced a new Writing Assistant tool, which lets users generate, rewrite for clarity, and adjust the tone of drafts with Copilot's help. Moreover, Copilot is now capable of turning tabs into podcasts, which users can listen to on the go. However, this tool is only available for English-speaking markets.