Microsoft has released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3585 to Windows Insiders in the beta channel using Windows 11 24H2. The update enhances Windows Search functionality for PCs powered by AMD and Intel, featuring local semantic search capabilities and support for locating cloud-stored photos. Users have the ability to utilize their own terminology to search for documents, photos, and settings throughout Windows 11, eliminating the need to recall file names, specific words within file content, or the names of settings. The 40+ TOPS NPU integrated into Copilot+ PCs enhances search functionality, ensuring it operates effectively even in offline scenarios.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3585 (Beta Channel)

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3585 (KB5053644) to the Beta Channel for Windows Insiders on Windows 11, version 24H2.

Improved Windows Search for AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs

Local Semantic Search

We are making finding your documents, photos, and settings across Windows 11 easier on AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs by introducing semantic indexing along with traditional indexing. Whether it’s searching in File Explorer, in the Windows search box on your taskbar, or in Settings – just type what’s on your mind to find it on your Copilot+ PC. You no longer need to remember file names, exact words in file content, or settings names. For example, you can use your own words to find images by typing “bridge at sunset”, documents by describing what they are about like “Europe trip budget”, or settings like “change my theme”. Thanks to the power of the 40+ TOPS NPU onboard Copilot+ PCs, these search improvements work even when you’re not connected to the internet.

You can go to Settings > Privacy & security > Searching Windows to adjust which locations are indexed on your PC or turn on “Enhanced” to index your entire PC.

Searching for settings like “change my theme” will work within the Settings app for now. In a future flight, you will be able to do this within the Windows search box on the taskbar.

These experiences are supported in select languages (Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish) and document formats. Supported file formats include .txt, .pdf, .docx, .doc, .rtf, .pptx, .ppt, .xls, .xlsx for documents and .jpg/.jpeg, .png, .gif, .bmp, .ico for images.  See here for more details.

You can learn more about semantic search on Copilot + PCs here.

Find photos saved in the cloud with improved Windows Search

We are also announcing support for also finding photos saved in the cloud with improved Windows Search for AMD and Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs. Just use your own words to find photos stored and saved in the cloud by describing what they are about like “European castles” or “summer picnics” in the search box at the top right corner of File Explorer or also in the Windows search box. In addition to photos stored locally on your Copilot+ PC, photos from the cloud will now show up in the search results together. In addition to searching for photos, exact matches for your keywords within the text of your cloud files will show in the search results.

You can try this experience out today with your personal OneDrive when signed in with your Microsoft account and connected to the internet. If you are signed into OneDrive with a work or school account (Entra ID), you will only see matches for keywords you are searching for within the text of your cloud files in the search results – not photos. Third-party cloud providers will be able to support this experience with their services as well with documentation coming soon.

We’re excited to introduce a new way to find your cloud content in Windows and will continue improving search results and capabilities over time.

These improved Windows Search experiences continue to gradually roll out to Windows Insiders on Copilot+ PCs, including finding photos saved in the cloud, so you may not see these experiences right away.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You may need to reboot 1-2 times to trigger getting these improved Windows Search experiences. 

You can learn more about semantic search on Copilot + PCs here.

FEEDBACK for File Explorer Search: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Files Folders and Online Storage > File Explorer Search.

FEEDBACK for Windows Taskbar Search: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Desktop Environment > Search.

FEEDBACK for Settings Search: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Settings > Search Settings.

Fixes gradually being rolled out to the Beta Channel with toggle on*

[File Explorer]

• Did some more work to improve the performance of extracting zipped files in File Explorer, particularly in the case where you’re unzipping a large number of small files.

[Login and Lock]

• Updated the web sign-in icon slightly to better align with the other icons when selecting a sign in option on the login screen.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue causing File Explorer to be very slow to close for some Insiders when closing using the X button. This may also have impacted the other title bar buttons.

[Settings]

• Fixed an issue causing the navigation pane entries to not be aligned correctly in the previous flight.

Fixes for everyone in the Beta Channel

[General]

• Fixed the issue causing a 0x80070005 error attempting to reinstall this build using the option to “Fix problems using Windows Update” under Settings > System > Recovery.
• Fixed the issue causing the toggle to get the latest updates as they are available via Settings > Windows Update to not render correctly and is automatically turned off by itself.

Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3585 (Beta Channel)