The Software King of the World, Microsoft, has unveiled a sizeable Windows 11 search overhaul. The update is aimed at making results clearer, more local and less stuffed with the sort of web cruft nobody asked for.
According to Windows Central Vole said that it wants Windows Search to be faster, more relevant and easier to use. That means better results when users open an app, find a file or change a setting.
Writing in its blog, a spokesperson said: “You’ve been asking for search that is faster, more relevant, and easier to use—whether you’re opening an app, finding a file, or changing a setting. Because the Windows Search Box is where many people start, we focused first on making results more dependable, easier to scan, and clearer before you click.”
The update gives search a calmer home screen with less visual clutter. It should make recent searches easier to reach without having to wade through MSN nonsense.
Microsoft says results will be clearer about where they come from. Apps, settings, files, web results and Store suggestions should be easier to tell apart before users click.
Promotional content is being yanked from web results, which means fewer shopping suggestions and related product plugs. For anyone who used Windows search to find a local file and got Bing drivel instead, this is progress.
A new setting in Settings, Privacy and security, Search will let users decide whether web and Microsoft Store suggestions appear beside local results. That sounds suspiciously like giving people the control they should have had years ago.
Local results will be prioritised when they are a better match. Apps, settings, and files should appear before web and Store suggestions when the machine already has the answer.
System items such as This PC and Recycle Bin should be easier to find. Search will be more forgiving with app names, so mangled queries such as “utlook” can still find Outlook.
Settings results are getting an early round of ranking improvements. Microsoft says more tuning is planned in the coming months, which means the old mess won’t be fixed in one swing.
File search is getting support for two-character searches and better local file surfacing. Cloud and connected files should appear when they are the stronger match, rather than being buried behind whatever Bing fancies that day.
Reliability is improving too, with fewer crashes and loading failures.The changes are rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Experimental Channel. They are expected to reach all Windows 11 users later this year, although Insiders may not see them straight away because the rollout is staggered.
The work is part of Microsoft’s wider Windows K2 effort to fix Windows 11’s most irritating problems. The Vole wants to make the platform look less shabby beside macOS and Linux.
