Microsoft has started seeding an optional Release Preview update — KB5065789 — that previews key parts of the upcoming Windows 11 25H2 enablement package, bringing early access to AI-powered productivity features, accessibility upgrades, new emoji, and a handful of desktop and gaming refinements for Insiders and early testers. (blogs.windows.com)
Windows 11’s 25H2 release is being delivered as an enablement package layered over the existing servicing branch, rather than a full OS rebase. That means most binaries are already present on Windows 11 24H2 systems and activating 25H2 is typically a small download plus a single restart. Microsoft has used this model to accelerate validation while reducing upgrade downtime for users and IT administrators. The Release Preview channel is the official near‑final test bed; KB5065789 is the optional preview package published there on September 12, 2025, covering builds 26100.6713 (24H2) and 26200.6713 (25H2). (blogs.windows.com)
This preview is explicitly a validation window: features are rolled out under a staged model where some experiences are gated by region, hardware entitlement (for example, Copilot+ devices), and licensing (Microsoft 365 / Copilot subscriptions). Administrators and power users are advised to treat Release Preview builds as a testing environment, while average users should wait for the general availability wave that Microsoft is expected to broaden in October 2025. (tomshardware.com)
Meanwhile, Microsoft has continued migrating legacy Control Panel surfaces into the modern Settings app. Time, language, and keyboard settings — long housed in Control Panel — are being ported to Settings, and Advanced Settings have been reorganized to group developer options and version control features more logically. The update also deepens passkey integration and introduces a plugin manager and a just‑in‑time privilege escalation model for administrators. (blogs.windows.com)
The Notebookcheck summary that prompted this update overview matches the same feature highlights and the Release Preview positioning described above; it’s a useful, concise read if you want another independent perspective on the changes.
Conclusion
KB5065789 gives a clear preview of where Windows is going: AI actions that meet users where they work, accessibility improvements that matter in daily document workflows, and small but meaningful shell refinements that reduce friction. The tradeoffs are apparent — licensing gates, cloud processing, and regional differences — but the technical direction is consistent: integrate Copilot capabilities into the shell while protecting manageability and reducing upgrade friction through an enablement package model. For IT leaders and advanced users, this Release Preview is a practical opportunity to validate licensing, governance, and assistive technology compatibility ahead of the broader October 2025 rollout. (blogs.windows.com)
Source: Notebookcheck Windows 11 25H2 feature update: First optional preview update with new AI features and emojis
Windows 11’s 25H2 release is being delivered as an enablement package layered over the existing servicing branch, rather than a full OS rebase. That means most binaries are already present on Windows 11 24H2 systems and activating 25H2 is typically a small download plus a single restart. Microsoft has used this model to accelerate validation while reducing upgrade downtime for users and IT administrators. The Release Preview channel is the official near‑final test bed; KB5065789 is the optional preview package published there on September 12, 2025, covering builds 26100.6713 (24H2) and 26200.6713 (25H2). (blogs.windows.com)This preview is explicitly a validation window: features are rolled out under a staged model where some experiences are gated by region, hardware entitlement (for example, Copilot+ devices), and licensing (Microsoft 365 / Copilot subscriptions). Administrators and power users are advised to treat Release Preview builds as a testing environment, while average users should wait for the general availability wave that Microsoft is expected to broaden in October 2025. (tomshardware.com)
Overview: what KB5065789 brings to the table
The KB5065789 preview collects refinements across productivity, accessibility, Shell integration, and gaming. The most visible items are:- Expanded Click to Do capabilities, including table recognition and a “Convert to table with Excel” flow.
- AI actions in File Explorer, surfacing image edits and Copilot-powered summarization in the right‑click menu.
- Desktop UI polish: movable hardware indicator popups (volume, brightness, airplane mode), easier pinning of apps to the taskbar without restarting Explorer, and Windows Share improvements.
- Accessibility upgrades, notably a Braille Viewer for Narrator and smoother reading/navigation in Word tables and lists.
- Gaming improvements, including Auto Super Resolution (Auto SR) prompts on Copilot+ Snapdragon PCs and Game Bar / multi‑monitor fixes.
- Emoji support updated to Emoji 16.0 with a curated set of new glyphs.
- Advanced Settings reorganization, deeper passkey integration, a plugin manager, and a “just-in-time” administrator protection model. (blogs.windows.com)
Click to Do: from selection to spreadsheet
What’s changed
Click to Do — Microsoft’s system-wide selection tooling that surfaces Copilot prompts — now recognizes simple on‑screen tables and offers an explicit action to convert detected tables into an Excel spreadsheet. The flow supports exporting, copying, or sharing selected table content directly to Excel, streamlining the common analyst workflow of extracting tabular data from screenshots or documents. Some actions, such as converting to an actual Excel file, require a Microsoft 365 subscription and Copilot licensing. (blogs.windows.com)Why it matters
- Real-world productivity: Many workflows still require manual copy/paste from images or PDFs into spreadsheets. Automating table detection saves time and reduces human error.
- Enterprise alignment: Tying the export flow to Microsoft 365 and Copilot licensing aligns Windows-level productivity hooks with the Microsoft cloud ecosystem — beneficial for organizations that subscribe, but a gating factor for those who don't.
- Privacy & governance: Microsoft’s staged rollout indicates that some prompt suggestions are generated locally (on‑device models) while summarization and advanced transforms may call cloud services. IT teams should map these operations against corporate data governance rules before enabling the features broadly. (blogs.windows.com)
AI actions in File Explorer: desktop AI where files live
What to expect
File Explorer’s context menu now includes a new AI actions entry. The initial set focuses on images (.jpg/.jpeg/.png) and offers:- Visual Search (image-based web lookup)
- Blur Background (Photos app)
- Erase Objects (generative erase)
- Remove Background (Paint subject cutout)
Limitations and gating
- Initial image actions are local to common raster formats; document summarization is a cloud-enabled capability and is being rolled out gradually.
- Some AI actions are not available in the European Economic Area (EEA) at this stage due to regulatory or policy considerations.
- Hardware and license gates: Copilot+ devices (with on‑device neural hardware) may get enhanced, lower-latency experiences first. (windowscentral.com)
Practical implications
- Users who do not carry a Microsoft 365 / Copilot license will see a subset of functionality.
- Enterprises should audit the data flows that Feed Copilot summarization to ensure compliance with internal retention and logging policies.
- For users who prefer to avoid server-side processing, image edits that invoke Photos or Paint may run locally, but any visual search that reaches out to the web will call external services.
Desktop, Share, and taskbar UX tweaks
KB5065789 includes several quality-of-life and discoverability improvements aimed at smoothing daily use:- Movable hardware indicators: System popups for volume, brightness, airplane mode, and virtual desktops can be repositioned on the screen via Settings → System → Notifications, which reduces overlay occlusion on multi‑monitor setups.
- Pin apps to taskbar without Explorer restart: You can now pin applications to the taskbar without restarting Explorer, lowering friction for customization workflows.
- Windows Share improvements: Favorite share targets can be pinned to the Share dialog for faster, repeatable sharing.
Accessibility: Narrator and Braille Viewer
Narrator improvements
Narrator receives a focused set of improvements aimed at making document consumption more natural. The update smooths continuous reading in Microsoft Word, improves table and list navigation, and offers more reliable handling of footnotes and comments — an important set of refinements for screen‑reader users who work with long, complex documents.Braille Viewer
A notable accessibility addition is the Braille Viewer, which displays screen content in Braille, making complex documents considerably more accessible to blind or low‑vision users who rely on refreshable Braille displays or software braille output. This strengthens Windows’ assistive toolkit and will be meaningful to agencies, educational institutions, and enterprises with accessibility compliance obligations.Why enterprise IT should pay attention
- Accessibility fixes often interact with document rendering and third‑party apps; IT teams should pilot these updates with assistive tech vendors to ensure compatibility.
- Braille Viewer adoption can reduce barriers for employees who use Braille, improving workplace inclusivity.
Gaming: Auto Super Resolution and controller tweaks
Auto Super Resolution (Auto SR)
On Copilot+ PCs — notably Snapdragon-powered systems that include Hexagon NPUs — the update surfaces an Auto Super Resolution prompt that can upscale supported games using on‑device super‑resolution algorithms. Auto SR is intended to improve perceived image quality and performance by upscaling internal frames while maintaining or improving frame rates. Microsoft is surfacing the option when a supported game launches and exposes controls in Graphics settings. (tomshardware.com)Controller and Game Bar polish
- Xbox controller behavior is refined: a short press of the Xbox button opens Game Bar; a long press opens Task View; holding the button powers off the controller. This dual‑action mapping improves quick access during gaming and multitasking.
- Multi‑monitor Game Bar and overlay performance improvements were included to stabilize game streaming and multi-display captures.
Emoji 16.0 and Settings modernization
KB5065789 adds a curated subset of Emoji 16.0 glyphs to Windows 11, including items like a face with bags under the eyes, a fingerprint, a bare/leafless tree, and a harp. This is a selective deployment rather than a wholesale Unicode dump, aiming for cross‑platform compatibility and timely UX updates.Meanwhile, Microsoft has continued migrating legacy Control Panel surfaces into the modern Settings app. Time, language, and keyboard settings — long housed in Control Panel — are being ported to Settings, and Advanced Settings have been reorganized to group developer options and version control features more logically. The update also deepens passkey integration and introduces a plugin manager and a just‑in‑time privilege escalation model for administrators. (blogs.windows.com)
Security, privacy, and enterprise considerations
Copilot / Microsoft 365 dependency
A central theme is that many of the most productive AI flows — document summarization, certain Click to Do conversions, and agent-like Copilot integrations — require a Microsoft 365 subscription and Copilot licensing. Organizations should inventory license coverage and determine whether Copilot features are permitted by policy before enabling them across endpoints. (theverge.com)Data paths and auditing
- Summarization and other Copilot operations are processed through Microsoft services; administrators must verify how these operations are logged, where they run (tenant restrictions), and what retention policies govern the generated artifacts.
- Visual Search or other features that perform web lookups will call external endpoints; corporations with strict egress or DLP requirements must evaluate whether these calls comply with policy.
Regional and regulatory gating
Certain AI capabilities are not available in the EEA at launch, reflecting Microsoft’s staged approach to regulatory and policy differences across regions. IT teams operating in those regions should expect a different feature set and plan pilot scopes accordingly. (elevenforum.com)How to get KB5065789 and practical rollout steps
- Enroll eligible devices in the Windows Insider Program using the Release Preview channel.
- Settings → Windows Update → Windows Insider Program → choose Release Preview.
- From Windows Update, enable the seeker ("Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available") and click Check for updates.
- If eligible, an optional preview offering for Windows 11, version 25H2 (KB5065789) will appear; choose Download & install.
- Restart when prompted and verify build number via winver or Settings → System → About (25H2 devices should report build 26200.6713 for the preview). (blogs.windows.com)
- Pilot on non‑critical hardware first and validate drivers, management agents, and imaging.
- Use staged rings (pilot → broader pilot → general deployment) rather than an organization-wide push from Release Preview.
- Confirm any vendor support statements (AV, EDR, imaging) before rolling out in production.
Strengths: what Microsoft did well
- Low-impact enablement model: Delivering 25H2 as an enablement package reduces bandwidth and downtime compared with a full rebase, which eases enterprise validation cycles.
- Practical productivity integrations: Click to Do table extraction and File Explorer AI actions bring AI value directly into existing desktop workflows, minimizing app switching.
- Accessibility focus: Narrator improvements plus a Braille Viewer show clear attention to assistive features, which is an often-underserved area in major releases.
- Incremental UX polish: Movable hardware indicators, improved Share pinning, and easier taskbar pinning are small changes that improve day‑to‑day usability.
- Staged rollouts: The gradual activation model lets Microsoft monitor telemetry and remediate before broad exposure, which should reduce large-scale regressions. (blogs.windows.com)
Risks and open questions
- Licensing lock-in: Key AI features require Microsoft 365 and Copilot licenses, which constrains real-world availability and could deepen Microsoft cloud dependency for organizations that want local-first workflows. (theverge.com)
- Data governance complexity: Cloud processing for summarization and Copilot interactions raises compliance questions for regulated industries; organizations must confirm where processing occurs and how artifacts are stored and audited.
- Regional fragmentation: The EEA exclusion for some features creates inconsistent user experiences and complicates global rollouts for enterprises.
- Feature gating vs. transparency: Staged server-side toggles and device entitlements can make it hard to predict which endpoints will receive which features and when — this complicates testing and user training plans.
- Driver and third‑party compatibility: Even with an enablement package, UI and accessibility changes can surface incompatibilities with legacy apps and assistive technologies; comprehensive pilot testing remains necessary. (windowscentral.com)
How to evaluate KB5065789 in your environment (checklist)
- Backup and snapshot test systems before applying the preview.
- Confirm Microsoft 365 / Copilot licensing where Copilot features are required.
- Test summarization and table export flows with representative corporate documents to validate telemetry and retention.
- Validate assistive technology workflows (screen readers, Braille displays).
- Test imaging and management tool compatibility (WSUS, WUfB, SCCM, Intune).
- Verify driver and peripheral behavior in multi‑monitor and gaming scenarios.
- Move a small pilot cohort (5–10 devices) to Release Preview.
- Expand to a targeted pilot with representative hardware (including Copilot+ machines).
- If results are acceptable, stage the rollout in production rings.
Early verdict: practical preview, not a must‑install
KB5065789 is a pragmatic Release Preview update: it exposes practical AI ties into familiar desktop surfaces and makes meaningful accessibility improvements while preserving Microsoft’s enablement-first servicing model. For power users and pilot testers, the update is worth trying on spare or test hardware to validate workflows and to evaluate Copilot integration readiness. For the majority of production users, waiting for the general availability rollout (anticipated October 2025) remains the safest path. Independent coverage and Microsoft’s own Release Preview notes confirm the featureset and the staged gating approach. (blogs.windows.com)Final notes and verification
This article’s summary of KB5065789 is grounded in Microsoft’s Windows Insider release notes for the Release Preview builds (26100.6713 and 26200.6713) and corroborated by independent reporting that details File Explorer AI actions, Click to Do table recognition, Emoji 16.0 additions, Narrator improvements, and Auto Super Resolution prompts for Copilot+ devices. Readers evaluating the preview should consult the Release Preview blog post for official build numbers and the staged‑rollout caveats, and plan pilots that reflect the organization’s licensing and compliance posture. (blogs.windows.com)The Notebookcheck summary that prompted this update overview matches the same feature highlights and the Release Preview positioning described above; it’s a useful, concise read if you want another independent perspective on the changes.
Conclusion
KB5065789 gives a clear preview of where Windows is going: AI actions that meet users where they work, accessibility improvements that matter in daily document workflows, and small but meaningful shell refinements that reduce friction. The tradeoffs are apparent — licensing gates, cloud processing, and regional differences — but the technical direction is consistent: integrate Copilot capabilities into the shell while protecting manageability and reducing upgrade friction through an enablement package model. For IT leaders and advanced users, this Release Preview is a practical opportunity to validate licensing, governance, and assistive technology compatibility ahead of the broader October 2025 rollout. (blogs.windows.com)
Source: Notebookcheck Windows 11 25H2 feature update: First optional preview update with new AI features and emojis