Microsoft Edge adds Copilot feature to analyze content across all open browser tabs
Microsoft is updating Edge to let Copilot read and analyze content across all open browser tabs simultaneously. The update includes AI-generated podcasts from tabs, study mode with quizzes, and long-term conversation memory.
Microsoft Edge adds Copilot feature to analyze content across all open browser tabs
Microsoft announced an update to Edge that allows its Copilot AI assistant to access and analyze information from all open tabs simultaneously. Users can ask the chatbot to compare products across tabs, summarize multiple articles, or answer questions about content spread across their browsing session.
The feature replaces the previous Copilot Mode, which offered similar multi-tab access but included agentic capabilities like making reservations. Microsoft has moved these agentic features into a separate "Browse with Copilot" tool. According to Microsoft, users can "select which experiences you want or leave off the ones you don't."
New AI features
The update introduces several additional AI capabilities:
- Study and Learn mode: Converts articles into interactive study sessions or quizzes
- AI podcast generation: Transforms tab content into audio podcasts, similar to Google's NotebookLM feature
- Writing assistant: Automatically appears when users begin typing text on webpages
- Long-term memory: Tailors responses based on previous conversations with Copilot
- Browsing history access: Optional permission for Copilot to access history for "more relevant, high-quality answers," according to Microsoft
The mobile Edge app will support screen sharing with Copilot, allowing users to discuss what they're viewing. Microsoft says "clear visual cues" will indicate when Copilot is active, helping, listening, or viewing content.
A redesigned new tab page combines chat, search, and web navigation with the Journeys feature, which uses AI to organize browsing history into revisitable categories.
What this means
Microsoft is positioning Edge as an AI-native browser by giving Copilot deeper access to user data across the browsing session. The shift from Copilot Mode to more granular feature toggles suggests Microsoft is responding to privacy concerns while maintaining the multi-tab analysis capability. The addition of podcast generation and study modes puts Edge in direct competition with standalone AI tools like NotebookLM, attempting to keep users within Microsoft's ecosystem rather than copying content to external AI services.
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