Microsoft has unveiled the Windows AI Explorer requirements, and they're quite demanding

Microsoft is actually thinking about introducing the new AI File Explorer to Windows 11, as the Redmond-based tech giant has hidden information on its system requirements in the latest Windows Insider builds.

According to a Windows enthusiast, Albacore, who discovered the strings revealing the information, Microsoft wants devices to have 16 GB of RAM, 225 GB free storage space, a Snapdragon X Elite NPU (HWID QCOM0D0A) processor, and ARM64 CPU, which is a relatively new and not so popular among casual Windows users.

Turns out Windows 11 build 26100 (purported 24H2 RTM) contains the AI Explorer requirements baked into the OS:

• ARM64 CPU
• 16GiB of RAM
• 225GiB system drive (total, not free space)
• Snapdragon X Elite NPU (HWID QCOM0D0A)

Albacore

The new AI File Explorer is quite demanding on Windows systems, as you can see, but it should deliver appropriate capabilities. For instance, it will have a built-in history or timeline feature capable of searching everything Windows 11 users tell it to, using natural language.

The AI File Explorer will have access to everything on Windows 11 and it will greatly ease the way users find documents, chats, or any other files on this operating system.

You can even tell it a word, for instance, summer, and the AI File Explorer will display all the documents that include or reference the word summer, and it doesn’t have to be explicit, as this feature is also capable of context. With it, the AI File Explorer automatically suggests tasks when opening up an app on Windows 11.

Prior to unveiling the requirements necessary to run the AI File Explorer on Windows 11, Microsoft also published a paper describing a patented technology strikingly similar to the tool, which means, that one way or another, the company wants to integrate AI into Windows, with experiences especially tailored for usual customers.

Considering that Windows users still don’t use Copilot very much, according to our latest survey, it will be interesting to see how is Microsoft planning to to attract people to use the new AI File Explorer. By all means, it does sound exciting, but it will be a long journey, and these system requirements don’t help either.