- Windows 11 has a new preview version
- Completely removes AI actions if you have disabled them all in File Explorer
- This means that there will no longer be an empty folder in the context menu for AI actions that have been disabled.
Windows 11 just got a change for the better in terms of AI, although only in testing for now, which removes some of the clutter around the AI Actions feature.
That functionality belongs in File Explorer's right-click context menu, but it's more of a refinement of the existing options than anything else (and I'll come back to explain why later). Still, it will be well received; you can count on that.
Windows Central reported that Microsoft announced a simple but functional change in a new preview of Windows 11 (build 26220.7344): “If no AI actions are available or enabled, this section will no longer be displayed in the context menu.”
This means that if there are no possible AI actions with any given file you right-clicked, you will no longer see the (empty) folder related to those actions (or lack thereof).
AI actions include things like asking Copilot to summarize a document or performing image editing tricks on your photos (like deleting an object using AI).
Analysis: a puzzling omission
This basically avoids the weird situation where you went into Settings and disabled all AI actions, and yet the AI actions option still appears in the context menu, even though when you mouse over it, it's empty. Which of course didn't make any sense and is actually more of a workaround than a feature.
Previously you could disable these AI actions, in case you were wondering, so it's not a new feature, although it is a relatively recent addition. The change here is Microsoft's removal of the AI actions entry in the context menu if there are no AI shortcuts available, as noted.
This is all part of Microsoft's broader push to tidy up the File Explorer context menu, which is a welcome initiative.
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