Microsoft Starts Testing App Recommendations in the Windows 11 Start Menu

Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 preview build for the Beta Channel is introducing something that many Insiders probably won’t like. With today’s build 22635.3495, Microsoft is now testing new app recommendations in the “Recommended” section of the Start Menu.

“Building on top of recent improvements like grouping recently installed apps and showing your frequently used apps, we are now trying out recommendations to help you discover great apps from the Microsoft Store under Recommended on the Start menu,” the Windows Insider team explained today. “This will appear only for Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel in the U.S. and will not apply to commercial devices ”

Fortunately, you can still turn these app suggestions off by disabling “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more” in Settings > Personalization > Start. The Windows Insider team also reiterated today that new experiences that are being tested with Insiders may not eventually roll out to all users. However, there’s a precedent here.

You may remember that the Windows 10 Start Menu has similar app recommendations. They can be seen at the top of the all apps list on the left, and they can also be disabled. Microsoft rebuilt the Start Menu from scratch on Windows 11, so in a way, the company is just rebuilding a missing “feature.”

These new app recommendations in Start Menu will only roll out to a subset of Beta Channel testers who have enabled the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” toggle in Windows Update. Insiders in that group may also start seeing different treatments for the Windows Spotlight experience on the desktop, as Microsoft is now testing different ways to change images, like or dislike an image, and more.

Another notable change that’s now rolling out to all Insiders in the Beta channel is an updated Copilot experience. The Copilot window can now be undocked and resized, the AI assistant is also getting under-the-hood improvements. This new experience previously rolled out to testers on the Dev Channel.

How do you feel about Microsoft bringing app recommendations to the Windows 11 Start Menu? Do you think the company risks alienating users with all these “ads?” Sound off in the comments below.