Ignite 2025: Windows 11 is Getting Agents on the Taskbar and More AI Features

Microsoft wants to turn Windows 11 into an “agentic” OS, and we’re starting to see how this is going to happen at the company’s Ignite conference in San Francisco. This morning, the company detailed new agentic experiences on Windows 11, including the integration of AI agents into the Windows taskbar.

“By putting Microsoft 365 Copilot, AI agents, and search on the taskbar—in your flow of work—Windows makes AI assistance easier than ever to use,” explained Pavan Davuluri, President, Windows + Devices. “You can invoke any agents your organization makes available to you – 1 st or 3rd party, with a quick prompt and then monitor their progress using familiar UX patterns like hover, badges and notifications, allowing you to move on to other tasks while your agents are working for you.”

AI Agents on the Windows taskbar will soon launch in preview alongside the new Ask Copilot experience that was announced last month. Ask Copilot will also let users access AI agents directly from the composer.

Microsoft previously explained how AI agents will operate on Windows 11, with distinct agent accounts and minimal permissions. With the new Model Context Protocol (MCP) on Windows, the company also announced today a standardized framework allowing AI agents to connect with third-party apps and tools to perform various tasks. Microsoft is also launching a new Agent workspace in private preview, which will offer an isolated and controlled environment where agents can complete tasks without disrupting your work.

In addition to these agentic features, Microsoft has started previewing new AI capabilities, including the new “Hey Copilot” voice command to summon the assistant on all Windows 11 PCs. Copilot+ PCs users are also getting access to system-wide Writing Assistance, an improved Windows search with Microsoft 365 federation, and a new ‘Ask Microsoft 365 Copilot’ action in Click to Do.

Lastly, Microsoft is releasing new Windows AI APIs allowing developers to enable local AI features in their apps running on Copilot+ PCs. Video Super Resolution (VSR) is now available as an API to enhance local video playback as well as low-resolution streams. The Stable Diffusion XL (SDXL) API is also available for enabling high-quality image generation on Copilot+ PCs.