Latest reports indicate that Microsoft is testing a new AI-powered feature – summary generation – within its Notepad app for Windows. This update, currently available in the Canary and Dev channels of the Windows Insider Program, aims to help users understand text content more quickly.
According to the information released, users can simply select the text they want summarized in Notepad, right-click, and choose the "Summarize" option to activate the AI summarization feature. Notepad will then automatically generate a brief overview of the selected paragraph.
Besides the right-click menu, Microsoft also provides alternative ways to trigger the summarization. Users can select text and press Ctrl + M. Additionally, a "Summarize" option will be available in Notepad's Copilot menu.
It's worth noting that this AI summarization feature also allows users to adjust the length of the summary to meet their reading needs. However, similar to other AI features in Windows 11, using Notepad's AI summarization requires users to be logged into a Microsoft account. Users can also disable the AI functionality entirely in the app's settings menu.
In fact, this isn't the first time Microsoft has experimented with AI in Notepad. Last year, Microsoft began testing an AI-powered rewriting tool.
In addition to the AI summarization feature, this test update also includes the ability to view recently closed files in Notepad. Furthermore, Microsoft is introducing a feature called "Draw & Hold" to the Snipping Tool. This feature allows users to automatically straighten lines, arrows, rectangles, or ellipses drawn by holding down the cursor while marking screenshots, with subsequent adjustments possible. This functionality is reportedly similar to a feature offered by Apple.
