Microsoft just slipped a new button into Windows 11 taskbar previews that lets you hand an entire app window to Copilot with a single click. The experimental feature, spotted in Insider Preview Build 26220.6690 (Dev) and related Beta builds under KB5065786, launches Copilot Vision to analyze whatever’s on screen — from images and documents to UI layouts. It’s the latest in a string of Copilot entry points, but this one drops the assistant right where you’re already working.

What’s Actually New

Hover over any open app’s icon on the taskbar, and you’ll see the familiar thumbnail preview. If the experiment is enabled for your device, a new Share with Copilot option appears beside the standard close and pin controls. Click it, and the Copilot pane slides into view, initiating a Vision session scoped to that app window.

This isn’t just a shortcut to the chat interface. It calls up Copilot Vision, the assistant’s visual-analysis engine. Once the window is shared, Copilot can:
- Describe images and identify objects or people in photos
- Summarize text-heavy content like documents or articles
- Translate on-screen text — a feature also being tested in the Click to Do overlay
- Offer guided highlights that point to specific UI elements or steps, though it never takes control of your system

The session is explicitly opt-in and per-use: a clear Stop button ends sharing, and a visual cue indicates Vision is active. There’s no background monitoring.

Availability is tightly controlled. Microsoft treats this as a trial, enabled gradually via server-side toggles. Even if you’re on the right build, the option may not appear due to hardware, region, or other gating — the U.S. often gets first crack, while some markets like the EEA or China may be excluded initially.

Why You Might Want This (or Not)

For everyday users, the button removes friction. Need a quick translation of an image caption? Curious what a complex chart means? Instead of screenshotting, pasting, and prompting, you hover and click. It’s a genuine time-saver for one-off visual questions.

For power users and enthusiasts, the appeal is in streamlining workflows. Quickly summarizing a sprawling spreadsheet or getting a second opinion on a configuration screen can happen without leaving the app.

For IT administrators and security-conscious users, the calculus flips. Screen sharing — even AI-powered — is a data exposure risk. Copilot Vision sends window content to Microsoft’s cloud for processing, unless you’re on a Copilot+ PC with confirmed on-device inference. Right now, the split between local and cloud processing isn’t fully transparent, and Microsoft hasn’t published enterprise guarantees. Treat every Vision session as a potential screen share of whatever is visible, including intellectual property or personally identifiable information.

There’s also a usability tension. Copilot already appears in the taskbar, File Explorer, Paint, Notepad, keyboards, and as a physical button on newer devices. Adding a hover-activated affordance risks interface clutter and what some users decry as “AI fatigue.” Microsoft’s bet is that the convenience will outweigh the annoyance, but the Insider feedback will be the real test.

How Copilot Crept Into Every Corner of Windows

The new taskbar button didn’t appear out of nowhere. Over the past year, Microsoft has transformed Copilot from a sidebar web app into a system-level assistant woven into multiple surfaces:

  • Taskbar button and sidebar: The original entry point, offering chat and plug-in interactions.
  • File Explorer and app ribbons: Contextual actions in Office and first-party apps.
  • Click to Do: A selection surface that appears when you highlight text or images, offering inline Copilot actions.
  • Dedicated hardware keys: Surfaces like the Copilot key on new laptops provide instant access.
  • Copilot Vision and Desktop Share: Earlier this year, the Copilot app gained the ability to share individual windows, multiple windows, or the entire desktop, accessible through a glasses icon in the composer.

The taskbar preview button is the natural next step — it brings Vision sharing closer to the point of need. It’s part of a broader strategy to make Copilot ambient, always within one or two clicks. Under the hood, the feature relies on the Copilot app (distributed through the Microsoft Store) and stage-controlled rollouts that let Microsoft collect telemetry before wider deployment.

Try It Today — With These Precautions

If you’re an Insider and want to test the waters, here’s how to get started safely.

Step by step

  1. Join the Windows Insider Program and switch to the Dev or Beta channel.
  2. Update to an eligible build. Look for Dev Build 26220.6690 or Beta Channel Build 26120.6690 (both associated with KB5065786).
  3. Make sure your Copilot app is up to date via the Microsoft Store. Vision features may require a minimum version.
  4. Hover over an open app’s taskbar icon. If the experiment is active for your device, you’ll see the Share with Copilot option in the thumbnail.
  5. Click to share. Use the Stop control in the Copilot pane when you’re done.

Important caveats

  • The feature may not appear even on a qualifying build because of Microsoft’s staged rollout.
  • Never share windows that contain sensitive information — treat this like a screen-share session. Assume content could be processed in the cloud unless you have explicit documentation stating otherwise for your specific Copilot+ hardware.
  • Provide feedback via the Feedback Hub (Win+F). Microsoft is using this trial to refine the experience, and your input can influence how — or if — the feature ships.

For IT pros: a deliberate pilot

If you manage enterprise endpoints, don’t let this fly under the radar. Start with a small pilot group of non-critical machines, monitor Copilot app telemetry and network traffic, and map feature availability across hardware profiles. Block the feature via policy if necessary until Microsoft offers formal enterprise data-handling commitments.

What Microsoft’s AI Strategy Tells Us

The taskbar preview button, however minor it seems, signals a design philosophy: make AI accessible when and where you need it, not as a separate destination. If adopted broadly, it could normalize on-the-fly translation, troubleshooting, and content description across the OS.

But the approach hinges on three things: clear, auditable data practices that reassure users and enterprises; robust IT controls that let organizations align Copilot features with compliance needs; and design restraint to avoid overwhelming the interface with too many competing AI affordances. The Insider trial is a microcosm of those tensions — convenient and powerful, yes, but only truly useful if Microsoft gets the transparency and trust part right.

For now, the button sits in preview, waiting on feedback. Whether it makes the final cut or is quietly removed will depend on how users respond — and whether they find the hover-and-share convenience worth the extra pixel in the taskbar.