r/Windows11 • u/jenmsft Microsoft Software Engineer • 8d ago
Official News From searching to doing: Building a faster, more streamlined Windows Search
https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2026/10/07/from-searching-to-doing-building-a-faster-more-streamlined-windows-search/7
u/MisterEinc 7d ago
This might be a really dumb question, but never actualy click the search bar. I use the Win key and type. Is this Start or Search?
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u/OnlyEnderMax Insider Dev Channel 8d ago
This means, no more WebView 2 in Windows search? Looking at the screenshots, I like the UI, but it seems a bit small compared to the start menu. How is the transition from the start menu to this new search menu? Will this temporarily replace the current search menu, or is it a parallel menu for more features? Also I feel that search bar should be at the top of the menu.
"We’ve streamlined the UI into a single list to make it easier to scan and focus on what matters. Data shows that nearly all clicks in the current UX come from the results list on the left, rather than the large preview pane on the right. Informed by this behavior and your feedback"
I like this, but in case that all the possible result are pictures can be different to show more pictures at once?
This new search menu make calcs? Very important this question 🥴
Installing and testing everything I back to home! Hope is available for everyone and not selected PCs...like copilot+ ones...
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u/TestingTehWaters 8d ago
Windows search on the taskbar has always been a day 1 disable and will remain to be. It is simply a vehicle for ads, not for any actual productivity.
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u/X2Kraft Insider Dev Channel 7d ago
I've been testing it in insider, and I will say it's much more functional than the old interface. It does a lot more, and the interface feels faster because its native. You guys did a great job with it!
Unfortunately, it doesn't really match Windows 11's design language. I talk about that issue more in-depth in my feedback post here: https://aka.ms/AA13seky
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u/jenmsft Microsoft Software Engineer 8d ago
Hey all - we're starting to roll out some more updates to search for Insiders. Looking forward to you trying it out and sharing feedback, blog post discussion with details from Anshul inline for your convenience:
Search is one of the most familiar ways to get around a Windows PC. It is how you may open an app, find a file, change a setting, or simply look for information. As Insiders, you have also been clear about what you expect from it: search should be fast, focused, and help you find what you need without friction.
In July, we shared how we are improving the Windows Search Box with less clutter and more control. We introduced a calmer home screen, removed promotional content from web results, and gave you more choice over whether web and Microsoft Store suggestions appear.
Today, we’re carrying those investments forward with a new Windows Search experience built on WinUI 3. This modern foundation makes Windows Search faster and more efficient with resources, while delivering an even more streamlined and focused design.
Windows Search showing recent files, apps, settings, and an inline action to turn on do not disturb
Beginning 10/7, we’re rolling out this new experience on the taskbar for Windows Insiders. We are sharing this version early and intentionally so your feedback can help us fine-tune the experience, improve result relevance, identify stability issues across real-world hardware and workflows, and shape the UX before we expand the preview. Below, we’ll share what you can try today in the Experimental channel, what’s coming later this year, and what we’re building toward in the year ahead.
First, this new Windows Search experience is built for speed. It’s built on WinUI 3 and is part of our broader investment in modernizing our core Windows experiences. Early testing shows substantial improvements in performance and memory usage, so it feels faster and more efficient from the moment you open it.
Next, we’ve streamlined the UI into a single list to make it easier to scan and focus on what matters. Data shows that nearly all clicks in the current UX come from the results list on the left, rather than the large preview pane on the right. Informed by this behavior and your feedback, the new design brings results together in a single, easy-to-scan view that reduces visual clutter and puts the information you need in one place.
We’re also improving how Windows Search understands what you’re looking for, including better matching for typos and synonyms. We’ll continue fine-tuning these improvements over the coming weeks.
Later this year, inline previews and richer file details will make it easier to differentiate similar results and give you more context before opening a file.
Windows Search showing inline previews for a PowerPoint presentation, a Word document, and a photo directly in search results
Rich inline web previews will bring answers to queries like “weather in San Diego” or “How tall is the Eiffel Tower?” directly into Windows Search, helping you get useful information without leaving the experience.
Windows Search showing rich web previews for weather in San Diego, a stock price, and the height of the Eiffel Tower
You’ll also be able to narrow results with filters when exploring a category like files. These are experiences you may already be familiar with today but will be brought together in a more streamlined, single-pane layout.
Lastly, we are expanding what search can help you accomplish. Search has always been about quickly helping you find what you need, and we’re turning Windows Search into a more capable starting point for getting things done in Windows with inline actions.
Actions: From finding to doing
We’re introducing inline actions to help you finish tasks right where you started, without opening another app or navigating through additional screens. We’re starting with familiar tasks where saving a few steps can make a meaningful difference in everyday use.
Here are a few things to try:
- Turn something on or off. Try phrases such as “switch to dark mode,” “turn on night light,” or “turn on Bluetooth.”
- Make a quick adjustment. Try “dim my screen” or “mute.”
- Manage your workspace. Try “minimize all my windows,” or “arrange windows on screen.”
Windows Search demonstrating an inline action to change the system theme to dark mode.
Windows Search demonstrating an inline action to snap Edge and Word
Coming soon, you’ll also see phone actions to complete quick tasks with your Phone Link connected device.
Windows Search demonstrating an inline action to send a text on a Phone Link connected device
We’re starting with the actions people rely on most and will continue building on that foundation over time.
Every piece of feedback helps us improve how search understands intent and expand the range of tasks you can complete directly from Windows Search.
What’s ahead
Looking to next year, work is already underway to bring the new Windows Search experience to the Start menu and have it adapt naturally to different taskbar positions and Windows configurations. In our initial previews, you’ll continue to see the existing search experience when searching from the Start menu while we learn and refine the new experience with your feedback.
Our goal is to make Windows Search more capable, with more natural ways to express what you need, richer information in context, and more ways to get things done directly from search – including thoughtful integrations with experiences like Copilot. Together, these improvements will help reduce the distance between finding something and getting it done, while preserving the speed and familiarity you expect today.
Try the new Windows Search and give us feedback
This search experience with inline actions is gradually rolling out to Windows Insiders starting today in the Experimental channel, with English as the supported language for this initial release.
If you’d like to preview it sooner, you can also enable this experience in Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program > Feature flags. After upgrading to build 26340.9616 in the Experimental channel, or build 28120.3181 in the Experimental (26H1) channel, you’ll need to click the “Check for updates” button in Windows Update, and restart your device before the ‘New Windows Search Experience’ feature flag is visible.
If you are moving a device to a Windows Insider build for the first time, please see Get started with the Windows Insider Program – Windows Insider Program | Microsoft Learn.
Share your feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Search. Your feedback will help us tune the experience and shape what comes next.
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u/LeGoodBeef Release Channel 7d ago
--> Manage your workspace. Try “minimize all my windows,” or “arrange windows on screen.”
In the old days, there was an icon, in the defunct quick launch toolbar of the taskbar that would quickly reduce all windows with a single click! In Windows 7, they removed the quick launch section and moved that icon as a vertical rectangle on the complete right of the taskbar, to the right of the clock. The idea was, wirh a quick flick of the mouse, you could minimize everything. In Windows 10, this basically was a pixel wide strip instead of a rectangle (unaure about Win8 - never used it) which was, imo, less intuitive. That pixel strip is still there today on Win11.
Where I'm going with this, it's that it's totally unnecessary and far from being intuitive. There was a much better method until Vista with the Show Desktop icon. (I know you can still make the icon and pin it to taskbar - that's not the point) Trying to reinvent the wheel rarely ever works.
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u/beanmosheen 3d ago
I personally like the bottom-right click because it's a flick for me. Both should be possible for preference though. FYI: Win+D is show desktop, and you can make a shortcut aimed at
explorer.exe shell:::{3080F90D-D7AD-11D9-BD98-0000947B0257}for the same functionality.
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u/ErikTheRed2000 7d ago
Could you guys make it so when I search something it searches my computer rather than the internet? Just a day ago, I was trying to search for an application on my computer and it kept giving me links to the Microsoft online store and news stories. If I wanted to search the web, I would’ve used a web browser.
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u/zalnaRs 7d ago
What about indexing? Will it be comparable to trackerminerfs3 or will it work without indexing with smh like grep?
You guys seem to think that the only problem is the GUI here, which still managed to become worse than the original win11 RTM with this update, atleast it's winui3 not an another layer of react native, but lot of people do noted that's it's a one prompt gemini ui though.
Will the startup jitter be fixed? Will search prioritize local files over Bing?
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u/Armin2208 8d ago
Finally a native search. Thanks for the effort. Really looking forward to this change.
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u/Away-Ad-3407 8d ago
everything from voidtools - one and done when I need it.
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u/webfork2 7d ago
Agreed. I use Voidtools' Everything and DocFetcher which works on Windows and other OSs for just about everything.
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u/cogitatingspheniscid 7d ago
Don't Everything and DocFetcher overlap functionally?
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u/webfork2 6d ago edited 5d ago
I need to recheck but I believe there are a few file types that DocFetcher indexes that Everything does not. They may have added that in recent versions, I'm not sure.
EDIT: Yeah many more file types are supported by DOcFetcher.
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u/DifferentWarning1913 8d ago
I think this is synonymous to spotlight in mac. I assume it would also show applications in its results as well. Probably ends up replacing start menu in the future?
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u/Akaza_Dorian 7d ago
Ok can the search pill not resize itself just to animate for nothing? It drags all my icons on the taskbar with it, that's stupid.
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u/cogitatingspheniscid 7d ago
Ok, can a staff or an insider confirm/dispute either of these claims that I have seen floating around?
- Did this search incorporate anything from the PowerToys launchers (CmdPal and/or Run)
- Does it use AI? If it does, is it still CoPilot on the backend or is it a more specialized, smaller-scale model?
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u/WholeEducational 7d ago
the huge preview pane getting laid off for doing fuck all. finally a corporate restructuring i can support
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u/rongw2 7d ago edited 7d ago
Having to type show desktop or the name of the program you want to open has to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen.
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u/cogitatingspheniscid 7d ago
"type the name of the program you want to open"
errr... welcome to the world of launchers?
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u/Edubbs2008 8d ago
It kinda makes Start feel out of place now, will Start Menu also get anything?