Microsoft Edge Brings AI-Powered Copilot Mode With Clippy-Like Features: Does it Know Too Much About You?

Artificial intelligence is creeping into every nook and corner of technology, and now, Microsoft Edge is the next to feature it. With version 136, Microsoft will change your browser experience with a dramatic update introducing "Copilot Mode," an AI-powered feature that has the potential to impact how you search, surf, and interact online.

However, there's a glaring feature that appears to be "invasive" for some users.

Copilot Mode Features Microsoft's Next-Gen AI Browsing Experience

Microsoft Edge Brings AI-Powered Copilot Mode with Clippy-Like Features: Does

According to Windows Latest, Microsoft Edge already has Copilot in the form of a sidebar, but the new Copilot Mode blows it away. Rather than being a hidden helper, Copilot is in your face, making your new tab page an AI-first capability.

As you open a new tab, you're presented with a Copilot interface with prompt suggestions, AI-powered search, and much less focus on conventional browsing patterns, such as suggested sites.

The Search or Bing icon is also swapped out with the Copilot logo, where each search you perform will now be directed through the Copilot engine, optimizing search queries for AI understanding.

New Tab Page with AI Search Prompts

This new tab page is no minor change. It favors engaging with AI over old-fashioned browser tools, marking a sign that Microsoft is trying to make Copilot an integral part of daily web interaction.

Users will automatically get the following:

• A Copilot-driven search box
• Prompt suggestions to interact with AI
• AI-formatted search results

The objective is obvious: Microsoft hopes Copilot becomes your go-to search companion, to consolidate all web searches into its AI ecosystem.

The AI Assistant That Knows Too Much?

Another of the more contentious additions in Copilot Mode is "Context Clues." According to How-to Geek, this is an optional feature that allows Copilot to deliver context-sensitive suggestions based on your personalized Edge preferences, your browsing history, and your active webpage.

While potentially useful, the feature is already becoming worrisome for others. It comes eerily close to recalling Clippy, Microsoft's much-maligned virtual assistant from the early 2000s—save that this incarnation reads your digital activity in real time.

Though Context Clues is disabled by default, its mere presence might be of worry to privacy-conscious users. Microsoft claims that it's optional for the time being, but its integration further into the system might make it feel more invasive down the line.

How to Turn on Copilot Mode in Microsoft Edge

The feature is now available in a staged release in version 136. You may not see it right away, but you can try turning it on manually using Edge's experimental flags:

1. Open Edge and navigate to edge://flags.
2. Look for "Copilot Mode."
3. Turn it on and close the browser.

All that said, early efforts to manually invoke it haven't succeeded reliably. Worldwide deployment might come through in a later patch, in all probability, without much input from users.

If you are all about AI-fueled productivity, Copilot Mode could be a game-changer. If, however, you like your privacy intact and good old-fashioned web surfing, it's a warning that the AI tidal wave isn't bidding goodbye anytime soon.