Subj : Microsoft nixes Windows 11s Suggested actions feature: a smart id To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Tue Jan 07 2025 13:15:05 Microsoft nixes Windows 11s Suggested actions feature: a smart idea that didnt quite work Date: Tue, 07 Jan 2025 13:02:46 +0000 Description: Microsoft is removing Windows 11s Suggested actions feature, presumably because of poor functionality and user feedback, redirecting efforts toward AI-powered tools. FULL STORY ======================================================================Microsof t is removing Windows 11s "Suggested actions," probably in light of poor performance and user frustration "Suggested actions" faced issues like inconsistency and irrelevant hints, making it more annoying than helpful Microsoft plans to focus on reliable, AI-powered features instead of improving "Suggested actions" Weve only just started 2025, but Microsoft is busy improving Windows 11 , this time by killing off the Suggested actions feature . The feature was intended to make your life as a Windows 11 user easier by recognizing details like phone numbers or dates you copied and then offering (hopefully) helpful and relevant action suggestions, like letting you create a calendar event or call the number. However, as seen in a recent Preview Build release in the Beta Channel Windows 11 Insider Program , the Suggested actions feature has now been disabled. This change will likely be implemented in a future Windows 11 update soon. Windows Latest predicts that this will take three to four weeks and that well see Suggested actions totally removed from the operating system (OS) by February 2025. The feature debuted in a Windows 11 Preview Build in 2022 and became widely available for users in 2023, so it hasnt had the longest run. Still, I appreciate that Microsoft tried to add something designed to help people get more out of how they use Windows 11. (Image credit: Shutterstock) Why "Suggested actions" are leaving Windows 11 Unfortunately, Suggested actions just didnt work all that well. Sometimes it wouldnt show up when it was supposed to. Even when it would, it would feel inconsistent and more annoying than helpful. Windows Latest reports that one user posted to Microsofts Feedback Hub, writing that Suggested actions failed to copy a phone number after supposedly suggesting it could. On the flip side, a different user brought up that Suggested actions would appear when they were working with dates in Excel and they didnt need help as they were already in an appropriate app for using that information. It looks like a combination of repeated instances of the feature simply not working as intended (and, in fact, in the opposite way sometimes), and Windows 11 users not being all that enthusiastic about it, were the reasons for it getting the chop. Windows Latest suggests that Microsoft was looking to improve Suggested actions with the help of AI , but it seems that the company instead decided to cut it completely. So, it seems Suggested actions is heading to the Microsoft Graveyard , while Microsoft is pushing forward with features that are explicitly AI-powered and hopefully more reliable and actually feel smarter (or at least thats how theyre presented). Ive personally never felt any enormous benefit from this feature, and I imagine this will be a similar experience to many of you, probably not missing it much once its gone for good. I appreciate that Microsoft is redirecting its efforts to its AI-powered assistant features, but the jury is still very much out on those as well. So far, it seems that most people (myself included), have yet to feel a substantial benefit from AI when it comes to how we engage with Windows 11. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE... Windows 11 might soon be more helpful in letting you know how powerful your PC actually is I just hope this planned feature is better than Microsofts past efforts Microsoft embarrasses itself with Windows 10 pop-up that hogs the desktop urging an upgrade to Windows 11 then promptly crashes I love the look of these dynamic wallpapers that were supposedly for Windows 11 but the idea has been scrapped ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/microsoft-nixes-windows-11s-sugges ted-actions-feature-a-smart-idea-that-didnt-quite-work --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .