Microsoft’s Click to Do selection surface in Windows 11 has been upgraded into a full Copilot-enabled micro‑workflow: the latest preview flights add a Copilot prompt box with AI-suggested prompts, inline translation, table detection with a “Convert to Excel” action, unit conversion, Live Persona Cards and other productivity actions — features that push Click to Do from a convenience tool into a contextual automation gateway across the OS.
Background
Windows has been steadily folding Copilot into the operating system rather than keeping it as an optional sidebar. Click to Do — the on‑screen selection surface that appears when you select text or images — is now a clear example of that strategy: a place where contextual AI meets immediate action. Early Insider flights have been used as a laboratory for this work, with staged, server‑side rollouts and hardware/licensing gates that determine who sees which features and when.These Click to Do enhancements are distributed through Windows Insider preview packages and optional Release Preview KB updates. Reported builds and KB numbers are sometimes inconsistent between outlets and staged rollouts, so the exact KB/build identifier that delivers a feature to any given device can vary depending on channel, device entitlement, and regional gating. The feature set described in recent coverage and flight notes aligns across multiple independent summaries, even where precise package numbers differ.
What’s new in Click to Do — a feature-by-feature breakdown
Copilot prompt box and AI-suggested prompts
Click to Do now places a text entry field at the top of the selection surface so users can type a custom prompt and send it — together with the selected on‑screen content — directly to Copilot. Beneath that box, the system displays suggested prompts generated locally by Microsoft’s on‑device model stack (Phi‑Silica) for supported selections and languages. This turns Click to Do into a micro‑composer where selections and short prompts can be combined in one step for summarization, rewriting, translation or other Copilot tasks.Key points:
- The prompt box allows free‑text prompts that include selected content context.
- Suggested prompts are generated locally to reduce latency and improve privacy for short interactions where Copilot+ hardware is available.
Inline translation (English, Spanish, French at launch)
When Click to Do detects selected text in a different language than your Windows display or preferred language settings, it surfaces a translation action that sends the text to Copilot and returns the translated result inline in the Click to Do surface. Initial language support reported includes English, Spanish and French, with the translation result appearing inside the Copilot UI embedded in the selection surface rather than launching a separate app.This inline translation flow reduces the copy‑paste steps needed for quick cross‑language workflows, and it is consistent with Microsoft’s move to make Copilot a first‑class interface for short, utility-style tasks.
Tables: highlight, extract, and “Convert to Excel”
One of the most practical additions is table detection: Click to Do can now recognize simple on‑screen tables (from documents, web pages, images or PDFs) and present a Convert to Excel action. That action can copy the detected table, share it, or export it to Microsoft Excel as an editable spreadsheet — provided the recipient device has the latest Excel client and an active Microsoft 365 subscription where required.Operational notes:
- Table detection is aimed at simple, rectangular tables. Complex layouts (merged cells, nested tables, images inside cells) may not parse cleanly in this early preview.
- The export-to-Excel path is tied to Microsoft 365 entitlements; full export behavior may depend on a subscription and the local Excel install.
Unit conversions, freeform selections, and selection modes
Click to Do’s selection tooling now supports:- Unit conversions (length, area, temperature, etc.) inline without leaving the app.
- Multiple selection modes (rectangle, freeform, Ctrl+Click) enabling mixed-content captures.
- Better visual cues and drag tray improvements for moving selected content into other workflows.
Live Persona Cards and Win + Click contact previews
Click to Do also surfaces Microsoft 365 Live Persona Cards for recognized email addresses and work/school contacts. Tapping Win + Click on an email address can show a profile card (name, role, contact options) directly without switching apps, accelerating the common task of looking up who someone is and how to reach them. This integrates Windows’ selection surface with Microsoft 365 directory data when available.Copilot integration model: local suggestions, cloud reasoning
Microsoft’s design mixes local, on‑device inference with cloud-backed reasoning depending on the task:- Short prompts and suggested prompts (Phi‑Silica) are intended to run locally on Copilot+ hardware to reduce latency and avoid unnecessary cloud hops.
- Heavier transformations, document-level reasoning, or outputs that require additional knowledge may escalate to cloud Copilot services. This hybrid model is central to how these features balance speed, capability and privacy. fileciteturn0file13turn0file6
Hardware, licensing, and regional gating — practical availability constraints
These Click to Do upgrades are not universally available to all Windows 11 devices at the same time. Microsoft is using a combination of distribution controls:- Copilot+ hardware gating: some experiences are optimized for or limited to Copilot+ PCs with NPUs capable of on‑device inference. These device requirements are why certain on‑device prompt suggestions and vision flows are faster or exclusively available on NPU‑enabled machines.
- Licensing ties: features that export to Microsoft 365 apps (for example, Convert to Excel) may require an active Microsoft 365 subscription and the compatible Office clients to complete the export.
- Regional exclusions: Microsoft is deliberately staging rollouts and has excluded some regions (for example, the EEA and China in initial flights) while it evaluates regulatory and privacy implications.
Privacy, security, and enterprise governance
Click to Do makes it trivially easy to capture on‑screen content and route it to Copilot, which raises important privacy and governance questions for both individual users and organizations.Privacy model and data flow:
- Local-first processing reduces some data leaving the device for short prompts or prompt suggestions when run on Copilot+ devices. However, several transformations and deeper Copilot actions may still invoke cloud services when broader context or heavier reasoning is required. Organizations must assume that some operations could leave the device unless explicitly documented as on‑device only. fileciteturn0file13turn0file11
- Staged rollouts mean enterprise admins may not immediately have full documentation and group policy controls for these features during preview. Admins should watch Microsoft’s enterprise documentation and flight notes closely and test the features in controlled environments before broad enablement.
- Pilot Click to Do on a small set of Copilot+ endpoints and observe telemetry and data flows.
- Coordinate with legal/compliance teams to map Click to Do actions against DLP policies and regulatory obligations.
- Use MDM/GPO to disable or limit Copilot-connected actions on shared or high-risk machines until controls are available and tested.
- Train users: make clear which workflows may route content to Copilot and what constitutes sensitive content that should not be shared. fileciteturn0file11turn0file15
- Exporting or sharing table data extracted from proprietary documents.
- Inline translation or Copilot Vision sessions that may capture customer PII, financial records, or regulated content.
- Regional/legal compliance where data residency or controller obligations are strict.
Accessibility and productivity — where Click to Do helps most
These Click to Do changes are not just for power users; they also improve accessibility and daily productivity in measurable ways:- Voice and dictation improvements: Click to Do is part of a broader Copilot push that includes Fluid Dictation in Voice Access and improved Narrator behavior, making the system more usable for people who rely on speech input and screen readers. fileciteturn0file12turn0file17
- Reduced context switching: extracting a table from a PDF and sending it straight to Excel removes the manual OCR/rekeying step that often blocks non‑technical users from completing tasks quickly.
- Better document navigation for assistive tech: Narrator improvements paired with Click to Do’s extraction and summarization tools can make long documents easier to navigate and consume.
Verifying the claims and what remains unverified
Multiple independent Insider summaries and community trackers corroborate the feature set described above — Copilot prompt box, Phi‑Silica suggested prompts, inline translation, table detection with Excel export, Live Persona Cards, unit conversions and selection modes — and these appear across flight notes and third‑party coverage. fileciteturn0file13turn0file8turn0file16However, certain specific identifiers mentioned in some reports require caution:
- Some outlets and community posts reference specific KB numbers and build labels that vary between reports; this inconsistency is expected when features are delivered via staged, server‑side feature flags. The precise KB/build (for example, an exact KB ID or build patch like 26100.7015 / 26200.7015) that will enable a given feature on your machine may differ from one device or Insider channel to another and should be confirmed via the Windows Update history or Microsoft’s Flight Hub on your system. If you see a KB/build cited in a single story, cross‑check it against the official Insider release notes for confirmation. fileciteturn0file16turn0file11
- Exact KB number mappings reported in a single outlet (for instance, KB5067036 tied to builds 26100.7015 and 26200.7015) were not consistently present across the flight notes and community summaries available here. Treat such precise mappings as provisional until validated against Microsoft’s official release notes or the Windows Update history on devices seeing the feature. fileciteturn0file16turn0file19
Practical advice — how to try Click to Do Copilot features safely
If you want to experiment with these features without risking production data, follow a staged approach:- Join Windows Insider (Dev/Beta/Release Preview) on a test device that is not joined to production tenants. Use a test account for Microsoft 365 where required.
- Under Settings > Windows Update, consider toggling “Get the latest updates as soon as they are available” if you want early access via Controlled Feature Rollout. Remember: this increases exposure to preview behaviors.
- If testing table extraction to Excel, prepare a sample set of documents covering simple tables and more complex layouts. Validate the detection accuracy and the fidelity of exported spreadsheets before rolling the feature out to analysts.
- For enterprise admins: document acceptable use for Click to Do, update DLP/machine policies to block sensitive captures, and pilot functionality across different hardware classes (Copilot+ vs non-Copilot devices).
- Keep an eye on Microsoft’s enterprise communications for policy controls, group policy templates and MDM configuration guidance as they appear. These are often delayed relative to feature rollouts.
Analysis — strengths, weaknesses, and long-term implications
Strengths and clear wins
- Friction reduction: Click to Do turns multi‑step tasks (translate, copy table, export to Excel) into one‑step contextual actions. That saves time and reduces human error in heavy copy/paste workflows.
- Local-first UX: Using on‑device suggestions (Phi‑Silica) for short prompts and local processing where possible reduces latency and diminishes needless cloud round trips for routine tasks. This is a sensible performance and privacy tradeoff when hardware allows.
- Accessibility improvements: Integrated voice and vision assistance and improved Narrator behavior expand practical usability for diverse users. fileciteturn0file17turn0file12
Weaknesses, risks and open concerns
- Fragmentation and gating: Hardware and subscription gating (Copilot+ NPUs, Microsoft 365 requirements) will create inconsistent experiences across devices and organizations. Users without a Copilot+ device or an M365 subscription will not get the same value. This upsell risk is a product and policy consideration. fileciteturn0file6turn0file16
- Privacy and data governance: Even with local-first intent, many flows can still escalate to cloud services. Without robust, well-documented admin controls in the preview window, organizations need to be cautious before enabling these features broadly.
- Accuracy expectations: Table detection, OCR and suggested prompts are helpful but industry experience indicates they are rarely perfect on first release. Expect imperfect recognition for complex tables or noisy screenshots; validate outputs before relying on them for critical reporting.
- Regional and regulatory friction: Microsoft’s staged exclusions for regions like the EEA exemplify the regulatory complexity of embedding an assistant that can capture and process screen content. Enterprises in regulated sectors will need to carefully assess compliance impacts.
Long-term implications
Embedding Copilot directly into selection surfaces shifts where value is created: the OS becomes a productivity layer, not just a host for apps. This could:- Rewire small workflows so third‑party app developers must integrate with Copilot hooks rather than expecting users to copy content between apps.
- Make subscription entitlements and hardware choices more pivotal in procurement decisions.
- Force enterprises to develop new governance patterns for screen-level AI capture and processing.
Conclusion
Click to Do’s evolution into a Copilot-powered selection surface demonstrates Microsoft’s direction for Windows: AI as a native, contextual layer that reduces friction for routine tasks. The practical benefits — faster translations, table extraction to Excel, local prompt suggestions and Live Persona Cards — are real productivity gains. However, those gains come with fragmented availability, licensing and hardware gating, and nontrivial governance questions around privacy and data flows.For individuals and organizations, the sensible path is cautious, deliberate experimentation: pilot on Copilot+ hardware where available, validate detection accuracy and export behavior, and lock down DLP and MDM policies before broadly enabling Click to Do Copilot actions. Keep feature expectations pragmatic — early previews will iterate — and validate precise build or KB mappings on your devices and Microsoft’s official Insider release notes before relying on a specific package number to deliver these capabilities. fileciteturn0file16turn0file11
The new Click to Do is a glimpse of what the desktop will feel like when Copilot is the OS-level assistant: helpful, fast and sometimes invasive. The next challenge for Microsoft and IT teams will be turning that assistance into a consistent, secure and fair experience for everyone who uses Windows. fileciteturn0file13turn0file8
Source: Windows Report Click to Do Gets Copilot Powers with Translation, Tables, and AI Prompts in Latest Windows 11 Builds
