Build 2025: Microsoft Edge is Getting PDF Translation, AI APIs for Web Apps

Microsoft detailed a couple of upcoming features for its Edge browser at its Build 2025 conference this morning. The first one is built-in PDF translation, which is currently available in the Canary Channel and will become generally available next month.

Microsoft Edge is the default PDF reader on Windows PCs, and PDF Translation will support more than 70 languages at launch. Canary testers can now try it by clicking the Translate icon in the Edge address bar, which will create a new PDF fully translated into the language of choice.

For web developers interested in integrating AI features into their apps without relying on cloud-based models, new AI APIs are now available in the Edge Canary and Dev channels. These APIs can make web apps leverage AI models built into the browser and give sites and Edge extensions access to Microsoft’s Phi-4-mini model. This can benefit web apps providing writing assistance and translation features, which can tap into local AI models without any of the privacy risks associated with cloud-based AI. Microsoft would like these experimental APIs to evolve into web standards, and they will also support other browsers and AI models that Phi-4-mini.

Microsoft 365 Copilot is a big theme at Build this year, and Edge users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license can now summarize online Microsoft 365 Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents right from the Edge sidebar. AI Agents will also become available through Copilot Chat in the Microsoft Edge for Business sidebar in early June.

Lastly, Microsoft is bringing a new web content filtering feature to Edge for Business. It’s currently available in preview, and it lets IT admins block millions of inappropriate sites by selecting intelligent block lists in the Microsoft 365 admin center. Web content filtering will be included with Microsoft 365 Education or Business Premium licenses at no additional cost.