Voice commands are finally intuitive in Windows 11, but only on Snapdragon-powered PCs

Microsoft has rolled out Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3576 to the Beta and Dev Channels, introducing significant changes aimed at refining the user experience and system performance. A big focus with KB5053650 is making voice commands more user-friendly and intuitive.

While the build includes some known issues, it seems that this time, there are no major issues like the deletion of Copilot in Windows 11 that we reported earlier.

Copilot+ PCs get improved voice commands

The update also includes enhancements to voice command functions for Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ PCs, enabling users to engage with the system more naturally. Such features allow smoother navigation and control through natural language, promising more convenience and accessibility for users.

Traditionally, voice commands in voice access would require you to follow a fixed syntax, making interactions rigid and sometimes frustrating. For example, if you said “Can you Open Edge application” instead of “Open Edge” which is the actual command, it wouldn’t work. With this improvement to voice access, you can now say “Can you open Edge application”, or “Switch to Microsoft Edge”, or “Please open the Edge browser”. Voice access understands your intent and executes the right action for the voice command you speak. This means that you no longer need to pause and remember the exact phrasing of a command, just say what feels most intuitive.

Rollout of the ‘Actions’ menu

• [UPDATED 3/17] The intelligent text actions are now locally moderated to ensure the safety of prompts and responses and has replaced the cloud endpoint. Now that these intelligent text actions are fully local, they are also available in Click to Do in Recall.
• [REMINDER] If any of your actions on image entities are no longer appearing, please ensure you have the latest updates for the Photos and Paint app from the Microsoft Store.

One of the largest additions in this build is the new ‘Actions’ menu in the Settings application. This feature lets users dictate which apps can provide suggested actions across the operating system. Paint and Photos use this feature, offering capabilities like object removal and background removal. Users can enable or disable these suggestions, making the ‘Click To Do’ experience fit their needs.