Microsoft Edge is quietly giving users more control over the AI-driven content that greets them on the New Tab Page: Edge Canary now includes dedicated Copilot Discover feed settings that let you tailor what appears in the Copilot-powered feed, from language and region to which channels and card types are shown. (ghacks.net)
Microsoft has been reshaping Edge around a single idea: make the browser an AI-first workspace rather than just a window to the web. That effort culminated in the company’s experimental Copilot Mode, which places a conversational Copilot prompt at the center of the New Tab Page and gives the assistant the ability—when explicitly permitted—to read and synthesize across open tabs. Microsoft’s official announcement and support documentation describe Copilot Mode as optional and opt‑in, and they emphasize user control and privacy in how Copilot accesses browser data. (blogs.windows.com)
Alongside Copilot Mode, Microsoft has been iterating on the New Tab Page experience. Early Canary builds have shown multiple experimental flags and features — including a Copilot-focused redesign of the New Tab Page and a feed integration called Copilot Discover (internally referenced with codenames in some builds). Independent testers and reporters have spotted a new flag and related controls that expose feed customization directly from the New Tab Page itself. (windowscentral.com) (ghacks.net)
Key controls exposed in the current Canary testing include:
For users who want a smarter New Tab Page with more relevant content, the feed settings provide a welcome set of tools. For privacy-minded users and IT administrators, the safest path remains cautious testing and reliance on the classic New Tab experience until the feature matures and per‑item controls become available. As Copilot Mode continues to expand — with multi‑tab summarization, Copilot themes, and additional security controls already in test — the crucial question is not whether Edge will become more AI‑centric, but whether Microsoft can keep that power transparent, controllable, and aligned with user expectations. (blogs.windows.com, ghacks.net)
Source: Windows Report Microsoft Edge Now Lets You Take Charge of Copilot’s New Tab Feed
Microsoft has been reshaping Edge around a single idea: make the browser an AI-first workspace rather than just a window to the web. That effort culminated in the company’s experimental Copilot Mode, which places a conversational Copilot prompt at the center of the New Tab Page and gives the assistant the ability—when explicitly permitted—to read and synthesize across open tabs. Microsoft’s official announcement and support documentation describe Copilot Mode as optional and opt‑in, and they emphasize user control and privacy in how Copilot accesses browser data. (blogs.windows.com)Alongside Copilot Mode, Microsoft has been iterating on the New Tab Page experience. Early Canary builds have shown multiple experimental flags and features — including a Copilot-focused redesign of the New Tab Page and a feed integration called Copilot Discover (internally referenced with codenames in some builds). Independent testers and reporters have spotted a new flag and related controls that expose feed customization directly from the New Tab Page itself. (windowscentral.com) (ghacks.net)
What is Copilot Discover?
A short definition
Copilot Discover is Microsoft’s attempt to combine an AI-curated feed with the New Tab Page experience in Edge. It’s an evolution of the old MSN/Discover feed the browser has shown for years, now labeled and driven by Copilot’s curation and ranking logic rather than only traditional editorial feeds.How it behaves in Canary
In early Canary builds the feed appears as a stream of cards and tiles on the New Tab Page, some labeled “Curated by Copilot.” The stream mixes standard news items, personality-driven suggestions, and — in some reported builds — sponsored or promoted content that appears as larger banner cards. Testers have also seen card-level controls (thumbs up / thumbs down) and a personalization option, similar to how classic feed personalization has worked. (ghacks.net)The new feed controls: what’s available and why they matter
Microsoft’s latest Canary experiments add an important usability layer: feed settings directly accessible from the New Tab Page. When enabled, the New Tab Page includes a cog wheel or “settings” icon that now contains a “Feed settings” entry with quick personalization options.Key controls exposed in the current Canary testing include:
- Region and language selection — set the preferred locale for feed content.
- Channel selection — pick channels to emphasize in your stream or hide channels you don’t want to see.
- Block/allow specific channels — granular channel-level control to remove sources or topics.
- Card prioritization — choose which types of cards appear at the top of the feed.
How to try it (Canary) — flags, steps, and practical notes
The feed controls are currently experimental in Edge Canary. If you want to test them, the general path used by early testers is:- Install or update to the latest Microsoft Edge Canary channel.
- Open edge://flags in the address bar and search for NTP/Copilot or the related CMFeature flags.
- Enable the relevant flags:
- Experimental Copilot New Tab Page flags (CMFeature / Unified Composer NTP flags in some builds).
- The specific feed-integration flag (reported as CMFeature: Copilot Discover Integration or exposed at edge://flags/#edge-ntp-composer-feed-integration in some Canary builds). (ghacks.net)
- Restart Edge and toggle Copilot Mode on if required via the user profile or the new Copilot Mode settings entry.
- Open a New Tab Page and click the cog wheel to access the Feed settings control.
- Canary is experimental: flags, names, and behaviors change frequently across builds. Some builds label the feed internally as “Ruby Feed,” and the server-side rollout may affect availability even after flags are enabled. (ghacks.net)
- You may need to sign into a Microsoft account for full functionality and server-side feature gating.
- If you don’t see the settings immediately after enabling flags, a restart of the browser or the Windows user session can help; in many Canary experiments UI assets arrive in stages. (windowscentral.com)
How to disable Copilot Discover or revert to the classic feed
Microsoft has included more than one opt-out path, because not every user wants AI curation on their New Tab Page. There are two primary controls:- Turn off Copilot Mode entirely:
- Settings > AI Innovations (or Copilot Mode) and toggle Copilot Mode off. This restores older New Tab behavior and removes the Copilot prompt and AI-centric workflows. Microsoft’s documentation emphasizes that Copilot Mode is opt‑in. (blogs.windows.com)
- Disable just the Copilot Discover feed while keeping Copilot Mode:
- Settings > Start, Home, and New Tab Page > New Tab Page and toggle off Copilot New Tab Page (or choose the “Classic / MSN” feed option). This switches you back to the classic MSN feed that Edge previously used. Third‑party how‑to guides show similar steps for hiding Discover or the Copilot button in the toolbar and sidebar. (techrepublic.com, askvg.com)
Technical anatomy: flags, codenames, and server gating
Canary builds show that the Copilot New Tab Page and discover feed are implemented across multiple layers:- Client flags (edge://flags) — toggle UI presence and local behaviors (e.g., Unified Composer NTP, Copilot Mode).
- Feed integration flag — reported in some builds as edge://flags/#edge-ntp-composer-feed-integration and described as CMFeature: Copilot Discover Integration. This flag appears to control whether the Copilot feed is visible and integrated with NTP composer code paths. (ghacks.net)
- Server-side gating — even with flags enabled, server-side configuration and account eligibility determine whether the feed shows curated content or a placeholder. This explains why some testers see the feed while others only see the Copilot prompt or the old MSN cards. (windowscentral.com)
Privacy and personalization: what the new controls actually change
The arrival of feed settings is welcome because it surfaces user agency in a feature that otherwise depends on invisible curation logic. Still, there are tradeoffs to consider:- Personalization vs. Profiling: Selecting region, language, and channels will produce a more relevant feed, but it also signals preferences that Microsoft may use to improve recommendations. Microsoft’s Copilot documentation emphasizes opt‑in controls and claims processing adheres to privacy standards; testers should verify what telemetry is enabled in their account. (blogs.windows.com)
- Sponsored content: Independent reporting and test runs have shown that some feed layouts include large sponsored banner cards and promoted content that remain integrated into the stream. The new feed settings let you hide the entire feed or tune channels, but there is not yet evidence of per‑ad opt‑out controls in current Canary builds. Exercise caution if you’re trying to avoid targeted advertising; the only surefire option currently is hiding or disabling the feed. (ghacks.net)
- Local vs. cloud processing: Copilot’s higher‑level multi‑tab operations and summarization rely on cloud services; feed curation may mix device signals and server-side models. Microsoft has experimented with on‑device models for latency-sensitive tasks, but Copilot Discover’s curation appears primarily server-driven in early builds. If you need stricter privacy boundaries, disable the feed or Copilot Mode and prefer the classic NTP. (windowscentral.com, lifewire.com)
Where this fits in Microsoft’s broader Copilot roadmap
Copilot Discover feed settings are one of several experiments Microsoft is running inside Edge to make AI behavior more predictable and discoverable. Others spotted in Canary and Beta channels include:- Copilot theme — a visual browser frame theme that signals Copilot Mode is active, intended as a clear visual cue when Copilot has broader access to your browsing session. Early toggles exist in Canary builds, though visual effects may be server‑gated. (windowsforum.com)
- Multi‑tab summarization — a feature that lets Copilot synthesize content from multiple open tabs into a single summary or comparison, useful for research and shopping comparisons. This capability is being tested behind a multi‑tab summarization flag and is a core part of Copilot Mode’s productivity pitch. (theverge.com)
- Scareware blocker controls — Microsoft is also iterating on security controls that suppress misleading alert patterns and aggressive “scareware” content; those protections are being refined in parallel with Copilot experiments. Early Canary notes and release logs mention new blocking and page‑analysis heuristics.
Practical implications: Who benefits, who should be cautious
Users who are likely to benefit
- Knowledge workers, students, and researchers who juggle many tabs and want fast, contextual summaries.
- Casual users who prefer a curated, glanceable New Tab Page and who are comfortable with personalized content.
- Testers and power users who like experimenting with Canary flags and early features.
Users who should be cautious
- Privacy-conscious people who do not want AI-curated content or targeted promotions in their browser without clear, per‑item opt‑outs.
- Enterprise administrators in regulated industries; policy control and enterprise-grade auditing for Copilot features remain a moving target and should be vetted before organization‑wide enablement. Microsoft does expose enterprise controls, but they require careful testing. (blogs.windows.com)
- Anyone who relies on consistent UI or workflow: Canary experiments can change frequently and may cause temporary regressions.
Hands‑on tips and best practices
- If you value control but want to test the feature, enable the feed and use the cog wheel’s Feed settings to restrict channels and set language/region before letting the feed run for a few days.
- Maintain a separate profile for testing Canary features; this keeps your main profile stable and prevents accidental data mixing.
- Use the disable feed option if you see sponsored content you don’t want — toggling “Show Feed” off returns the New Tab Page to a cleaner view.
- For enterprises, test Copilot Mode on non-production images and validate group policy interactions; deploy via staged rollouts only after you confirm compliance behavior. (techrepublic.com, askvg.com)
Critical analysis — strengths, risks, and unanswered questions
Strengths
- Surface-level control: Putting feed settings in the New Tab Page cog wheel is a clear UX win; it reduces friction and makes personalization immediate and discoverable. Early reporting shows the controls are simple and useful.
- Productivity gains: Copilot Mode’s multi‑tab synthesis and the ability to tune what kinds of content appear on the New Tab Page promise real time savings for research and decision workflows. (theverge.com)
- Visual cues: The Copilot theme initiative makes it easier to recognize when Copilot is active, which is an important trust and transparency affordance. (windowsforum.com)
Risks and concerns
- Ad mixing and sponsorship: Early Canary observations show large banner ads living among curated cards. The presence of prominent sponsored content in an AI-curated stream raises both trust and manipulation concerns; users may find it hard to distinguish editorial curation from paid placement. The feed settings do not yet offer ad-level opt-outs. (ghacks.net)
- Data surface creep: Copilot’s power comes from access to richer context (open tabs, optionally history/credentials). Users must be vigilant about permissions; the new settings help, but they don’t eliminate the fundamental tradeoff between convenience and data exposure. (blogs.windows.com)
- Control fragmentation: The flags-and-server gating model creates inconsistent user experiences: a toggle may appear in your UI but do nothing because the server hasn’t enabled assets for your account. That fragmentation can harm trust and complicate support. (windowscentral.com)
Unanswered questions
- Will Microsoft add per-source or per-ad opt‑outs for sponsored content inside the Copilot feed?
- How will Copilot Discover respect Do Not Track-style signals or enterprise privacy policies at scale?
- When (and if) will Copilot Mode’s free usage tiers transition to a paid model, and how will that affect feed behaviors and access?
Conclusion
The arrival of Copilot Discover feed settings in Edge Canary is a small but meaningful step toward giving users agency over AI-curated experiences in the browser. By surfacing personalization options directly on the New Tab Page, Microsoft acknowledges that AI curation must be paired with visible controls and clear opt‑outs. That said, the feature is still experimental: behavior is gated by flags, server rollouts, and codenames that change between builds.For users who want a smarter New Tab Page with more relevant content, the feed settings provide a welcome set of tools. For privacy-minded users and IT administrators, the safest path remains cautious testing and reliance on the classic New Tab experience until the feature matures and per‑item controls become available. As Copilot Mode continues to expand — with multi‑tab summarization, Copilot themes, and additional security controls already in test — the crucial question is not whether Edge will become more AI‑centric, but whether Microsoft can keep that power transparent, controllable, and aligned with user expectations. (blogs.windows.com, ghacks.net)
Source: Windows Report Microsoft Edge Now Lets You Take Charge of Copilot’s New Tab Feed