Share with Copilot: New Taskbar Preview Button in Windows 11 Insider Builds

Microsoft’s latest Insider experiments tuck yet another Copilot shortcut into Windows 11: a floating “Share with Copilot” button that appears in the taskbar window preview and lets Copilot Vision instantly scan and analyze the visible contents of a chosen app window.

Background​

Microsoft’s Copilot strategy has evolved from a single sidebar assistant into a dense web of entry points across the OS — taskbar icons, app toolbars, dedicated keyboard keys, and contextual actions in selection menus. Over 2025 the company expanded Copilot Vision (the visual analysis capability) from browser experiments into multi‑app and full‑desktop share flows, added Highlights (visual coaching), and began rolling desktop sharing through Copilot app updates on the Windows Insider channels.
This most recent experiment places a one‑click share affordance directly in the familiar taskbar window preview pop‑over so users can hand Copilot a focused visual context without manually opening the Copilot app first. The change has appeared in Insider flights identified by Microsoft and seen by community trackers; Microsoft explicitly describes the taskbar share option in the Insider release notes.

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What Microsoft is testing: the “Share with Copilot” taskbar button​

The visible behavior​

• Hover over an app icon on the taskbar to open its window preview.
• A new option labelled Share with Copilot appears alongside the normal preview UI.
• Clicking that option launches a Copilot Vision session scoped to the selected window; Copilot scans the visible contents and opens a chat pane for follow‑ups, translations, summaries, or guided highlights.

Microsoft’s documentation and example screenshots show the option appearing in the preview for Microsoft Edge, but the underlying flow is intended to work with other desktop applications as well. The Copilot Vision composition UI — the same glasses‑icon entry used elsewhere — is used to confirm and stop sharing, preserving an explicit opt‑in model.

What Copilot Vision can do once you share a window​

• Recognize and describe visible images, text, and UI elements.
• Summarize documents, spreadsheets, or web pages shown inside the window.
• Translate selected on‑screen text using the Copilot translation features.
• Guide users via Highlights — Copilot can visually indicate where to click inside the shared window and explain multi‑step tasks.

These are the same capabilities Microsoft rolled out earlier in the Copilot Vision updates; the taskbar button is an additional, lower‑friction entry point to those flows.

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Verification: builds, rollouts, and gating​

Build numbers and release channels​

Microsoft lists the taskbar share trial in its Insider release notes for recent September flights. The Beta Channel announcement explicitly mentions the “share with Copilot” option in the taskbar preview for Build 26120.6690. Community and forum reporting also references a Dev Channel build (noted as Build 26220.6690) surfaced under the same KB package (KB5065786) used for targeted Insider updates. These artifacts corroborate that the feature is currently experimental and being gate‑rolled to Insiders.

Copilot app versions and dependencies​

Copilot Vision and desktop‑share functionality are delivered via the Microsoft Store Copilot app; earlier rollouts required specific minimum Copilot app versions (for example, versions in the 1.250xx family for Vision and desktop share). Simply being on an Insider build is not always enough — the Copilot app version and Microsoft’s server‑side toggles determine availability. Test devices must also be enrolled in the Insider Program and subject to Microsoft’s staged distribution.

Geographic and hardware gating​

Microsoft has been explicit that Vision features are staged and initially U.S.‑centric; hardware gating (Copilot+ PC feature differences) also affects availability. In short: not every Insider will see the taskbar affordance immediately.

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Why this matters: convenience vs. control​

The new taskbar button is an elegant product move: it reduces friction between what a user sees and the assistant that can interpret it. For many workflows — debugging a settings dialog, summarizing a spreadsheet, translating text inside a web page — shaving off steps can be a tangible time saver.

• Productivity gains: Shorter paths to context-aware help can speed common tasks.
• Accessibility benefits: Visual explanations and highlights can help users with cognitive or motor challenges navigate dense UIs.
• Discovery: Adding Copilot to high‑frequency surfaces increases the chance users will try visual assistance.

But the same convenience intensifies familiar trade‑offs: accidental data sharing, inconsistent availability across managed devices, and the normalization of sending on‑screen content to cloud services. Microsoft documents the opt‑in mechanics, but the UX emphasis on discoverability raises the likelihood that users might click before thinking, particularly when the control sits adjacent to the already crowded taskbar preview.

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Privacy, security, and enterprise governance​

What gets transmitted​

Sharing a window with Copilot Vision sends visual data (essentially screenshots or a live frame stream) to Copilot backend services for analysis. That enables rich responses but means anything visible in the shared region — including private chats, credentials, or proprietary documents — may be transmitted for processing. Microsoft frames Vision as user‑initiated and provides explicit stop controls; nevertheless, organizations must treat this flow as data egress that may require controls.

Practical mitigations for IT and admins​

• Treat Copilot Vision like any cloud processing service: assess, test, and control.
• Use tenant policies, AppLocker, or endpoint management to block or restrict Copilot apps where necessary.
• Add Copilot Vision to DLP (Data Loss Prevention) playbooks and conduct network telemetry to identify endpoints and payloads in test labs before mass deployment.
• Educate end users: make clear what “Share with Copilot” means and when it is appropriate to use.

Microsoft’s enterprise documentation covers tenant/Group Policy controls for Copilot, but at the time of writing, robust, image‑level DLP integrations for Vision features are still maturing; aggressive data governance remains the safer posture for regulated environments.

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UX critique: more buttons, more friction (or less)​

The reaction from the community has been mixed. A steady stream of Copilot entry points — Copilot app, taskbar button, Copilot keys on keyboards, Copilot UI in Paint/Notepad/File Explorer, and now a taskbar hover share — leaves designers with a fundamental question: when does discoverability become clutter?

• Pro: Low friction encourages experimentation and can lower the barrier for users who benefit from visual help.
• Con: Repeated, visible shortcuts risk normalizing data sharing and increase cognitive load; they can also fragment support experiences when availability varies by device and region.

A memorable community quip quoted by a recent news item described the proliferation wryly — but that comment was relayed via press coverage rather than an original source link in public feeds, so the exact tweet or post could not be located for independent verification at the time of writing. Treat such pithy reactions as illustrative of public sentiment rather than definitive attribution unless the original is found.

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Longer‑term product strategy: Copilot as ambient assistant​

This taskbar experiment is consistent with Microsoft’s broader roadmap: make Copilot an ambient layer woven into the OS and app surface area so that assistance is as close as any other contextual action. Copilot Vision, Highlights, desktop share, and Click‑to‑Do translations show the company is betting on a unified model where visual and textual context converge into a single assistant.
That strategy can pay off when integration yields measurable efficiencies — for help desks, learners, creators, and power users — but it also increases the stakes for governance, transparency, and performance. Users and admins will judge the feature set not solely on novelty but on whether Microsoft provides clear, usable controls, enterprise protections, and predictable behavior across updates.

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How to try it (Insider checklist) — safe steps​

1. Join the Windows Insider Program and enroll a non‑critical test device in the Dev or Beta Channel.
2. In Settings > Windows Update, enable “Get the latest updates as soon as available” to increase chances of receiving controlled feature rollouts.
3. Update the Copilot app from the Microsoft Store and confirm you have a Copilot app version that supports Vision/desktop share (Microsoft’s posts reference minimums in the 1.250xx family for various Vision features).
4. When on a preview build (for example, Insiders reporting the changes referenced Build 26120.6690 and community mentions of Dev build 26220.6690), hover a running app on the taskbar to look for the Share with Copilot option.
5. Test only on non‑sensitive windows, use the Stop control to end sessions immediately, and watch network activity for verification of endpoints if your compliance posture requires it.

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Risks to watch and how Microsoft can mitigate them​

• Accidental disclosure: Make the sharing flow deliberately deliberative — e.g., add an explicit confirmation dialog listing what will be shared, overlay redaction hints for common sensitive fields, and provide an immediate visual indicator when Vision is active.
• Fragmented availability: Publish a clear compatibility matrix (builds, Copilot app versions, Copilot+ SKUs, and regional availability) so IT teams can plan rollouts reliably.
• Enterprise auditability: Offer per‑tenant retention policies, audit logs for Vision sessions, and native DLP hooks for visual content to reach enterprise acceptance more quickly.
• User education: Ship contextual UX copy and in‑flow tutorials that explain implications, privacy, and how to stop sharing.

These are practical product and policy moves that would reduce the immediate concerns highlighted by early testers and reviewers.

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Independent confirmation and reporting​

Multiple independent outlets and Microsoft’s own Insider posts describe the same taskbar behavior and Vision capabilities. Microsoft’s Windows Insider blog lists the taskbar share trial in the September preview notes, and major Windows coverage — including Windows Central and The Verge — have written explanatory pieces about Copilot Vision’s desktop and window sharing features and the broader pattern of Copilot proliferation across Windows surfaces. These independent reports align on the experimental nature of the taskbar affordance and on Microsoft’s staged rollout approach.

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Final analysis: useful, but watchful​

The “Share with Copilot” taskbar button is a textbook convenience feature: short, contextual actions that lower the activation cost of an assistant deliver frequent micro‑value. For users who want rapid, visual help — students, IT support staff, creative professionals — the affordance is a clear win when properly constrained.
However, the broader context matters. Microsoft is adding Copilot hooks everywhere, and that ubiquity raises real questions about control, consent, and enterprise readiness. The technical underpinnings (Copilot app versions, build numbers, region/hardware gating) are straightforward and verifiable in Microsoft’s Insider posts and community reporting, but governance tooling lags behind the feature set. Until per‑tenant controls, DLP integrations, and auditability are first‑class, rolling this kind of sharing flow into managed fleets should be done cautiously.

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Practical recommendations (quick reference)​

• For everyday users: treat the new taskbar option as an explicit data‑sharing action; only use it on windows that contain non‑sensitive content and learn how to stop a Vision session.
• For power users: test Copilot Vision in a disposable environment to understand how it interprets UI elements and where it exposes data.
• For IT administrators: block or stage Copilot app installations by policy until DLP and audit controls are validated; update acceptable‑use policies and train users on Vision’s implications.
• For product teams: prioritize enterprise audit logs, explicit consent flows, and image‑level DLP integrations to enable responsible expansion of Vision features.

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Microsoft’s experiment with a “Share with Copilot” taskbar button is small in code but large in implication: a compact UX change that makes AI assistance ever easier to summon, and therefore ever more likely to be used — intentionally or otherwise. The feature is clearly useful in the right scenarios, but its success will be judged not only by how well it helps users, but by how transparently and safely Microsoft operationalizes the trade‑offs it creates.

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Source: The Hans India Windows 11 Tests New Copilot Taskbar Button for Screen Sharing