Windows 11 KB5065789 Preview: AI Actions in File Explorer and Passkey Support

Windows 11’s September preview update KB5065789 (OS Build 26100.6725 for 24H2) rolls several AI-driven productivity hooks and practical UI simplifications into the operating system, most visibly adding AI Actions in File Explorer, improved passkey support with third‑party manager integration, and a raft of reliability and usability fixes that aim to reduce friction for both consumers and enterprise administrators.

Background​

Windows 11’s servicing model in 2025 continues to use targeted cumulative updates and enablement packages: code for new capabilities is often shipped in preview cumulative updates while feature activation is staged server‑side, gated by hardware, licensing, or region. KB5065789 is an optional preview (non‑security) package published in late September 2025 that raises 24H2 devices to build 26100.6725 (and the related 25H2 builds to the 26200.6725 series). The update is intended as a validation flight for Release Preview setups, not an immediate production push.
This release continues Microsoft’s dual-track approach: embed AI where users already work (the shell and File Explorer), while preserving enterprise controls and staged rollouts so organizations can pilot and evaluate before broad deployment. That means two machines on the same build may show different features depending on device entitlement, tenant licensing, or geography.

---

What’s new at a glance​

• AI Actions in File Explorer: Contextual right‑click AI tools for common image edits and Copilot‑powered summarization of cloud documents.
• Click to Do improvements: Table detection and a “Convert to table with Excel” flow; crisper Summarize outputs for faster triage.
• Passkey plugin support: Third‑party credential managers can register as system passkey providers.
• Advanced Settings redesign: “For Developers” reworked into an Advanced page with Git metadata surfaced for repo folders.
• UI simplifications and small polish: Moveable on‑screen hardware indicators (volume/brightness), taskbar pinning without restarting Explorer, refined Share dialog, and curated Emoji 16.0 glyphs.
• Gaming and performance fixes: Improvements to Game Bar overlay performance and multi‑monitor behavior; some users reported game regressions with previews (community reports).

---

File Explorer: AI Actions — what changes and why it matters​

New right‑click capabilities​

File Explorer now exposes an AI Actions entry in the context menu for supported files. The initial image-focused actions include:

• Visual Search — use an image as a query for visual lookup.
• Blur Background — open Photos with a preloaded background blur.
• Erase Objects — invoke Photos’ generative erase to remove unwanted elements.
• Remove Background — launch Paint to isolate a subject and export a cutout.

For Microsoft 365 files stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, a Summarize action invokes Copilot to return short, scannable summaries without opening the file. That Summarize flow is a cloud service and requires Microsoft 365 + Copilot entitlements.

Practical behavior and limits​

The implementation acts primarily as a convenience launcher: selecting an AI edit opens the appropriate app (Photos or Paint) preloaded with the requested operation rather than performing destructive edits invisibly in the shell. Image actions are limited to common raster formats (.jpg/.jpeg/.png), and document summarization works only for cloud‑stored Microsoft 365 files. Availability is staged by Microsoft and initially excludes some regions.

Why this matters for everyday workflows​

• Reduces app switching: quickly triage photos and documents directly where they live.
• Speeds routine edits: batch tidying or quick summaries save time for users handling large folders.
• Enterprise productivity alignment: ties desktop workflows to Microsoft 365 cloud capabilities — valuable for organizations invested in Microsoft’s ecosystem.

---

Click to Do and Copilot agents in Settings​

Smarter selection tooling​

Click to Do (the selection‑based Copilot surface) now recognizes simple on‑screen tables and offers a Convert to table with Excel flow that exports captured tables directly into Excel or the clipboard. Summarize actions have been tightened to deliver shorter, more useful digests for rapid triage. These flows improve the “capture → action” loop for analysts and knowledge workers who frequently move tabular data from images or PDFs into spreadsheets.

Agents and Settings integration​

Copilot‑style agents inside Settings produce search results that include direct links to the right Settings page, improving discoverability for configuration items. Some of these agent experiences are gated to Copilot+ hardware initially, but Microsoft is expanding availability over time.

---

Passkeys, Windows Hello, and third‑party credential providers​

Windows 11’s passkey story takes a practical step forward: the system now supports integration with third‑party credential managers (e.g., 1Password‑style vaults) that can register as a system passkey provider. Once a plugin is registered, users can create, save, and use passkeys through their chosen manager while validating actions with Windows Hello. The UI centralizes passkey management under Settings → Accounts → Passkeys → Advanced options and requires Windows Hello verification to enable operations.
Why this is significant:

• Moves passwordless adoption forward by enabling vendor choice and cross‑platform workflows.
• Lets organizations standardize on an enterprise vault while keeping native Windows authentication prompts.
• Raises audit and policy questions for IT: where are passkeys stored, how are backups handled, and which providers meet enterprise compliance?

---

Settings modernization and Control Panel migration​

Microsoft continues migrating legacy Control Panel surfaces into a redesigned Settings app. KB5065789 updates the Advanced page (the successor to “For Developers”), centralizes time/language/keyboard preferences, and surfaces Git metadata in File Explorer for repository folders (branch name, recent commit info). This is part of a long-term plan to consolidate configuration in a single modern UI and reduce legacy plumbing for admins.
Benefits:

• Cleaner, more discoverable settings for typical users.
• Consistent UX across devices and reduced reliance on old control panel dialogs.
• Potential friction for IT scripts and automation that still rely on Control Panel or registry keys — plan audits and migration tests.

---

Accessibility: Narrator gains and Braille Viewer​

Narrator sees meaningful refinements aimed at professional document consumption: smoother continuous reading in Word, more reliable list/table navigation, and a new Braille Viewer — a floating window showing text and a Braille representation, useful for trainers, QA, and users with refreshable Braille displays. These changes strengthen Windows’ assistive toolkit and improve verification for accessibility teams.

---

Game and performance fixes (and cautionary notes)​

KB5065789 includes targeted gaming improvements: better Game Bar overlay handling and performance stabilization on multi‑display systems with mixed refresh rates. Microsoft’s notes highlight improved performance when overlays are active; however, community reports during the preview phase indicate some users experienced regressions in certain titles after preview installs. This underscores the preview nature of the package and the need for cautious pilot testing before wide deployment.

---

Enterprise and manageability updates​

Key items for IT teams:

• Taskbar rules can be applied without restarting File Explorer in many cases, reducing user disruption during customizations.
• Just‑in‑time Administrator Protection (preview): a model to avoid “free‑floating” admin tokens, off by default and enabled via Intune (OMA‑URI) or Group Policy. This is an important hardening step but should be validated in pilot groups.
• Windows Backup for Organizations: continued enterprise backup refinements that simplify device refresh and restore workflows.

Administrators must treat the Release Preview as a validation window — features are gated and behavior can vary by user entitlements and region — and test identity, backup, and passkey flows with existing enterprise SSO and device management configurations.

---

Regional, licensing, and hardware gating — the reality of staged rollouts​

Several high‑profile features in KB5065789 are gated:

• Copilot Summarize requires an active Microsoft 365 subscription and a Copilot license.
• Certain Copilot+ experiences are initially limited to PCs with on‑device NPUs and qualifying hardware.
• Regional restrictions: some AI Actions were reported as not available in the European Economic Area (EEA) at rollout; Microsoft’s staged approach and regional legal/regulatory checks influence availability. These limitations have not been explained in exhaustive detail by Microsoft, so teams in regulated regions should monitor release notes closely.

Because binaries are often present but feature flags controlled server‑side, two identical machines can show different behavior — a core reality of modern Windows feature deployment that IT must accommodate.

---

Security, privacy, and compliance considerations​

Embedding AI into shell surfaces raises several governance questions:

• Data flow and telemetry: Copilot Summarize calls cloud services for OneDrive/SharePoint documents; IT and privacy teams must verify whether prompts or extracted data are logged and how that aligns with retention policies. Microsoft documents mixed on‑device vs cloud processing for different actions; assume summarization is cloud‑backed until otherwise documented.
• Passkey lifecycle: Third‑party passkey providers introduce new integration surfaces. Validate export/import, backup, and recovery processes to avoid account lockout scenarios in enterprise contexts.
• Regulatory exposure: Regionally blocked features (EEA) indicate Microsoft is taking regulatory constraints into account; organizations in strict jurisdictions should perform localized legal and privacy reviews before enabling generative features widely.

---

Known issues and community feedback​

Preview builds, by definition, come with some instability and community‑reported regressions. During the KB5065789 Release Preview window:

• Several users reported game performance regressions tied to the preview; some reverted the update to recover framerates. This is typical for preview channels and underscores the need for pilot testing, especially for graphics‑sensitive workloads.
• Some community trackers initially reported varying micro‑revisions of the 26100 series — the Microsoft Support KB ultimately documents build 26100.6725 as the preview release; administrators should always confirm the build on target devices via Settings → Windows Update or winver.

---

Deployment guidance — a practical checklist​

• Confirm the exact build on pilot devices (Settings → Windows Update / winver) before updating documentation.
• Test identity and passkey workflows with your SSO and conditional access policies; validate third‑party passkey provider behavior.
• Pilot AI features with a small business unit to assess data flows and summary fidelity; map Copilot calls to data governance policies.
• Validate gaming and graphics‑heavy applications for performance regressions, especially on multi‑monitor setups.
• Document any locale‑specific differences and confirm whether features are blocked in your operating region (EEA or other regulated markets).

---

Strengths and risks — critical assessment​

Strengths​

• Workflow acceleration: Putting AI actions into File Explorer and adding Click to Do table exports shortens common, repetitive flows and reduces context switching for knowledge workers.
• Modern auth flexibility: Third‑party passkey integration is a practical step toward real‑world passwordless adoption and vendor choice.
• Accessibility progress: Braille Viewer and Narrator refinements materially improve document navigation for assistive technology users.

Risks and caveats​

• Fragmentation from gating: Hardware, license, and region gating can create inconsistent user experiences, complicating rollouts in enterprises.
• Privacy and compliance exposure: Cloud summarization and agent features require careful governance; organizations must validate where and how user content is processed.
• Preview instability: Community reports of game regressions with preview installs highlight the practical risk of early deployment in production environments.

Where claims were initially inconsistent in community reporting (for example, minor build number variants during preview), Microsoft’s official KB entry confirms the canonical build numbers and release notes — always rely on the Microsoft Support entry for final verification.

---

Conclusion​

KB5065789 is a clear expression of Microsoft’s current Windows strategy: integrate AI into everyday surfaces where it delivers measurable time savings, while folding in enterprise controls and staged rollouts to manage risk. The most tangible user-facing change — AI Actions in File Explorer — will be a welcome convenience for many users who prefer to triage and edit files without launching multiple apps. Meanwhile, passkey plugin support and Settings modernization are practical, non‑flashy improvements that lower long‑term friction and modernize Windows’ identity and configuration surface.
The update is not without complications: licensing gates, regional restrictions, and preview‑era regressions mean organizations must pilot carefully and map these new flows to their compliance posture. For consumers, the experience will depend on licensing and region; for IT, this is a release to test, document, and plan rather than to deploy at scale immediately. Confirm build numbers and feature availability via official Microsoft update notes and treat Release Preview packages as a validation window.

---

---

Source: myhostnews.com Windows 11 24H2: the latest update finally rolls out AI Actions and simplifies the interface