Build 26220.7523 (KB5072043) for Windows 11 replaces Search with Copilot and brings Taskbar Agents (Dev, Beta)

The Windows 11 build 26220.7523 (KB5072043) replaces Windows Search with Ask Copilot and introduces AI agents in the Taskbar and Agent Launcher.
This update also pushes improvements for existing features, such as Touch Keyboard, new Voice Typing animation, new Discover Windows widget, File Explorer people context details, and more.
Microsoft has noted that this is the last preview build of 2025, but the program will resume in January 2026.

Microsoft has released Windows 11 build 26220.7523 as the update KB5072043 for version 25H2 through the Dev and Beta Channels of the Windows Insider Program. This preview replaces the Windows Search experience in the Taskbar with “Ask Copilot,” introduces Agents in the Taskbar, brings Voice Typing to the touch keyboard, and adds a new Discover widget in the “Widgets” board.

In addition, the Windows 11 Insider Preview Quality Update (26220.7523) introduces improvements to Click to Do, input, Voice Access, Taskbar, File Explorer, and more.

As usual, this release includes fixes and improvements for the Taskbar, File Explorer, Lock Screen, Graphics, Windows Update, and more.

It’s worth noting that the Beta Channel has been updated from version 24H2 to 25H2, meaning the builds available in the Dev and Beta Channels are now identical.

What’s new on Windows 11 KB5072043 for version 25H2

These are the latest changes that Microsoft has been working on for Windows 11 25H2.

Ask Copilot replaces Windows Search

Microsoft is testing a new “Ask Copilot” experience that replaces the Windows Search experience in the Taskbar with Copilot on Windows 11, which allows you to use AI for searching files, settings, and apps, as well as virtually anything else, and you can also access Copilot Vision and Voice.

Currently, this is an opt-in feature, meaning that the company will continue to offer the same Windows Search box experience in the Taskbar. However, you can turn on the new Ask Copilot feature to replace the existing feature from Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Ask Copilot.

Ask Copilot enable option for Taskbar / Image: Mauro Huculak

It’s important to note that the company is also bringing the “Resume” option to this page.

According to the company, the “Ask Copilot” feature offers “a unified entry point that fluidly connects Microsoft 365 Copilot, agents, and search.”

The experience works exactly like Windows Search, but it’s powered by AI. However, you can invoke agents using “@” or the tools button in the Ask Copilot box in the Taskbar.

Taskbar with Ask Copilot / Image: Mauro Huculak

The company notes that this feature can search and find apps, files, and settings, but it doesn’t have access to your personal content.

Agents on the Taskbar

On build 26220.7523, Windows 11 is also bringing AI agents directly to the Taskbar, marking one of the biggest steps yet in the company’s push to make the system an “agentic OS.” The new capability allows AI agents to appear as Taskbar icons, provide glanceable updates, and run tasks in a secure workspace in the background.

Taskbar AI agent in progress / Image: Microsoft

In this first public preview, Microsoft is making available the Researcher in Microsoft 365 Copilot, an agent that can perform research and build a detailed report with the ability to track its progress without breaking your flow by hovering over the Copilot or Researcher button in the Taskbar.

Once the process is complete, the agent will send a notification and set the Taskbar to the “Completed” state.

Microsoft notes that this experience will be rolling out in the coming weeks to commercial customers in the United States with a Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription.

Agent Launcher for Windows 11

As part of the update KB5072043, the software giant is also introducing “Agent Launchers,” a framework that enables apps to register AI agents and make them available across the operating system and across experiences.

Agent Launcher on Windows 11 / Image: Microsoft

For example, after an app registers, it’ll become available to Ask Copilot and other installed applications.

Narrator improvements

Windows 11 now lets you fully customize how Narrator speaks information when navigating apps. You can choose which properties (such as labels, roles, states, or values) are announced and in what order, giving you control over the sequence of information for buttons, checkboxes, sliders, links, and text fields.

For instance, you can have a “Submit” button announced as “Button, Submit” instead of the default “Submit, button,” or omit the state of a checkbox entirely.

To personalize announcements, press the “Narrator key + Ctrl + P” shortcut, then select, deselect, or reorder the properties for each control type. On Copilot+ PCs, a natural language box allows faster adjustments, such as typing “Don’t announce selection or position info.”

You can preview your changes before saving and revert to defaults at any time. These settings apply to the selected control type across the app, helping make Narrator clearer, more predictable, and aligned with your navigation preferences.

Touch Keyboard with Voice Typing changes

The operating system offers a more intuitive Voice Typing experience on the Touch Keyboard. The previous full-screen overlay has been removed, and now, a new Voice Typing animation appears directly on the dictation key.

Voice Typing new animation in Touch Keyboard / Image: Microsoft

Discover Windows new widget

The Windows 11 Insider Preview Quality Update (26220.7523) introduces the “Discover Windows” widget, providing quick, actionable tips to help you get the most from your computer. It provides brief guidance on shortcuts, productivity tips, and security reminders, updating automatically throughout the day to reflect common usage scenarios.

You can add the widget to the Widgets Board or Lock Screen. It’s optional, easy to remove, and designed to provide helpful insights without interrupting your workflow.

AI agent for the Settings app

Microsoft is expanding the Settings AI agent to support more languages and locales. Previously available in English and French, it now adds support for German, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Hindi, Italian, and Simplified Chinese.

Click to Do changes

Click to Do now integrates Microsoft 365 Copilot. You can type a custom prompt directly into the Copilot text box, which sends your query along with the selected screen content to Microsoft 365 Copilot for context-aware assistance.

Input improvements

Windows 11 now enables the AltGr layer on the Arabic 101 keyboard, letting the right Alt key act as a modifier to access additional symbols. The first added symbol is the Saudi Riyal (₷), typed with AltGr + S.

The left Alt key retains its standard behavior, and users switching languages can continue using Alt + Shift, Left Alt + Shift, or “Windows key + Space.” Similar updates apply to the Arabic 102 and Arabic 102 AZERTY layouts.

Voice Access setup flow

Windows 11 introduces a streamlined setup for Voice Access, making it easier to get started. The new flow guides you to download the correct speech model for your language, select your preferred microphone, and highlights what Voice Access can do on your computer.

File Explorer with people context details

Users with a Microsoft account (consumer cloud) will notice that File Explorer now displays people icons in the Activity column of Home, Recommended, Favorites, and Recent. If you hover over or click an icon, it opens the Windows People Card (WPC), providing context on recent interactions and quick actions, such as starting a chat or call via your preferred apps.

File Explorer Windows People Card / Image: Microsoft

Other fixes and changes

In addition to the new features and improvements, Windows 11 build 26220.7523 ships various fixes, including:

Taskbar: Improved behavior when the Taskbar is set to uncombined so that only windows without available space move into the overflow area (preventing the overflow from appearing empty), and fixed an issue where taskbar labels might display incorrectly when an app had multiple windows open.
File Explorer: Resolved a white‑flash navigation issue, improved search performance by removing duplicate indexing, enhanced search accuracy across system and secondary drives, fixed OneDrive file‑opening failures in RemoteApp sessions (0x80070057), and improved Voice Access in Gallery so photos can be opened with “click (number)” instead of requiring “double click.”
Lock Screen: Fixed several issues that could cause the login screen to stop responding or fail to render.
Graphics: Resolve an issue that could prevent Adaptive Brightness from working immediately after reboot.
Windows Update: Fixed an issue that caused error 0x800F0922 during installation of recent updates.
Other: Resolved incorrect text rendering in Windows Recovery when using Japanese, resolved activation failure, fixed a problem where external virtual switches lost NIC bindings after host restart and reverted to internal mode, corrected the “Share” dialog showing Shell Experience Host as a share target, updated the “Change Account Type” dialog for consistency with modern style, and fixed an issue where the Settings app incorrectly reported that a newer build was available.

Microsoft also notes known issues with these updates, including:

Taskbar Agent: The Researcher may appear unresponsive when clicking the Taskbar icon or status card during an active task.
Xbox Full Screen Experience for PC: Some apps may behave unexpectedly when using FSE, especially those designed to stay fixed at a specific size or that open additional windows.
Taskbar: The Start menu may not open on click, apps may fail to appear in the System Tray, and in recent builds, the autohide Taskbar may invoke early when interacting with the bottom of the screen, blocking access to apps.
File Explorer: In the dark mode copy dialog with text scaling enabled, the scrollbar and footer may be missing and replaced by a white block, and opening the context menu may cause explorer.exe to crash after the previous flight.
Bluetooth: Battery levels on Bluetooth devices may not be displayed due to a known issue being fixed.
Click to Do: The Microsoft 365 Copilot prompt may not appear on selected images if the Microsoft 365 Copilot app is not running.

Download Windows 11 update KB5072043

To download and install this Windows 11 build, enroll your devices in the Dev or Beta Channels through the “Windows Insider Program” settings from the “Update & Security” section. Once you enroll the computer in the program, you can download the build from the “Windows Update” settings by turning on the “Get the latest updates as soon as they’re available” option and clicking the “Check for Updates” button.