Key Takeaways
- Windows 11’s Start menu ads are coming, but can be easily turned off in settings to avoid unwanted recommendations.
- Windows Spotlight now allows users to customize desktop backgrounds by liking/disliking images and requesting changes.
- Copilot in Windows 11 can now be popped out into its own window for better flexibility and usability, with improvements made.
Windows 11’s Start menu has a lot of potential, but it still isn’t quite there yet. Recently, an ex-Microsoft employee called the Start menu’s performance “comically bad,” which became popular enough to prompt people within Microsoft to reach out. Now there will be another pain point with this controversial menu as Microsoft begins rolling out ads in the beta platform.
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As announced on the Windows Insider Blog, the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3495 (KB5037000) is now live on the beta channel. Microsoft lists all of the changes on its website, and some of them are a little more worrying than others. Fortunately, Microsoft isn’t one to sneak these unpopular changes past people, as proven by the fact that it leads the patch notes with its declaration of ads in the Start menu.
To Microsoft’s credit, they don’t explicitly state that they’re ads; the company instead uses the term “recommendations” for relevant apps that you can conveniently find on the Microsoft Store. However, if you’re not keen to be “recommended” things, the Redmond giant has added a way out:
This can be turned off by going to Settings > Personalization > Start and turning off the toggle for “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more”.
Windows 11’s Spotlight feature is getting more useful
Fortunately, it’s not all doom and gloom for this build. The update will also make it easier for you to sculpt what you see via Windows Spotlight, which automatically curates desktop backgrounds. Now, you can tell Windows Spotlight to change the image if you’re not keen on the one it has served up for you. You can also like and dislike the images shown to you, so Windows Spotlight has a better idea of what you want in the future.
Copilot can now break out into its own window
Finally, if you like using Copilot but hate having it cling to the side of your screen, this new build has something just for you. Now you can pop Copilot out of its sidebar position and enter its own window. Once it’s popped out, you can move it, resize it, and treat it like any other window. Microsoft also states that Copilot has received some “under-the-hood improvements,” but didn’t elaborate on what.
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