Here's how the new icon for the AI Explorer in Windows 11 looks like

After months of speculations and clues here and there, it seems that Microsoft is now finally giving Windows users a sneak peek of the upcoming AI Explorer, which will most likely be officially unveiled at this year’s Microsoft Build conference, which will take place later this month.

As you may (or may not) know, the AI Explorer is an upcoming capability similar to Copilot, which uses advanced AI technologies to search everything Windows 11 users tell it to, using natural language.

Since it was unveiled, many Windows enthusiasts have been searching for clues about it in Insider builds, and thanks to them, we now have a pretty definitive idea about the AI Explorer. Microsoft will demand users to upgrade their devices, as the tool requires a lot of resources to run properly.

But it’s worth it, though: Microsoft will also enhance AI Explorer with dozens of useful features.

Of course, all these were taken with a pinch of salt: Microsoft hasn’t said anything official about it. However, with the latest Insider build to the Dev Channel, Windows enthusiast, @PhantomOfEarth, discovered that Microsoft has placed the icon for this tool in it, along with the text ‘Pre’ (similar to how Copilot is currently displayed).

Albacore, another software enthusiast, previously discovered the icon for the AI Explorer, a couple of weeks ago, but it didn’t show the additional text back then. However, with the addition of the new text, it seems the Redmond-based tech giant is finally just weeks ahead of introducing the new feature on Insider channels.

We speculated that Microsoft might introduce the AI Explorer with the Windows 11 2024 Update (also known as the 24H2 Update), coming later this year, but insiders should get it earlier than that, with a possible preview coming this summer, although we don’t know exactly when.

It will be nonetheless interesting to see if the general public will love this new tool or not. You can also read the official changelog for the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.461 (KB5037009) to the Dev Channel here.