Microsoft shows off new Windows software, revamped for agentic AI

Microsoft’s Windows operating system, the long-standing flagship of the company’s software empire, is getting a revamp for the AI age.

The company unveiled a variety of updates to Windows on Wednesday, including incorporating AI agents and other AI tools directly into the PC software, as Microsoft seeks to ensure that its products remain at the center of a rapidly changing tech industry.

Speaking at San Francisco’s Dogpatch Studios, chief executive Satya Nadella said Windows is becoming a “hybrid intelligence” system, meaning there will be capabilities for cloud-based AI, as well as AI that runs locally through products like the coding tool GitHub.

“Just having the [AI] model doesn’t do much for anything,” Nadella said, explaining that Microsoft is bringing together local AI, AI-powered software, and devices built natively for AI, such as the new Surface Laptop Ultra, which the company unveiled at the event. “Some of the things you’ve been using all click together.”

Microsoft was one of the first Big Tech companies to recognize the importance of generative AI, investing $13 billion in OpenAI and partnering with the company years ago. But the alliance between the two companies weakened, and Microsoft is now trying to find its lane in a crowded AI landscape as competitors like Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic take the lead........

© Fortune