How to enable agentic AI features on Windows 11

• Microsoft turns Windows 11 into an agentic OS, and you can test the experience with the latest preview of the operating system in the Dev and Beta Channels.
• To enable agentic AI features on Windows 11, open Settings > System > AI components, and turn on “Experimental agentic features.”

Windows 11 now comes with AI agentic features for Copilot+ PCs as well as for traditional devices without a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), and in this guide, I’ll outline the steps to enable the experience on your computer.

Starting with build 26220.7262, the operating system introduces AI agentic features, new system-level experimental capabilities that let AI models perform actions on your computer, not just generate text or suggestions. They allow AI to click, type, scroll, open apps, manage files, and complete multi-step tasks on your behalf, operating in a secure, isolated environment.

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Should I enable agentic AI features on Windows 11? No, it’s a security risk, here’s why

The goal is to let the AI do the work for you, safely and with user oversight. For example, these new capabilities allow the AI to open apps and navigate interfaces, organize files across your folders, schedule or send messages, and perform multi-step workflows.

These features use vision, reasoning, and system-level permissions so the AI can interact with the operating system in a way similar to how a human would, but within an isolated “agent workspace” that limits access and keeps actions in a controlled environment.

This feature is off by default, so you have to enable it manually before you can start using this experience. However, you also need to understand that agentic AI introduces new security risks, such as cross-prompt injection (XPIA), unwanted file access, hallucinated actions, UI-level attacks, misuse of agent accounts, background actions without user awareness, and more.

In this guide, I’ll outline the steps to enable the experimental agentic features on Windows 11.

• Enable agentic features on Windows 11
• Disable agentic features on Windows 11

Enable agentic features on Windows 11

To enable the AI agentic capabilities, enroll your PC in the Dev or Beta Channels, and follow these steps:

1. Open Settings on Windows 11.

2. Click on System.

3. Click on AI components.

4. Turn on the “Experimental agentic features” toggle switch.

   

5. Click the Turn on button.

   

Once you complete the steps, the agentic experience will be enabled for all users on your computer. However, you won’t interact with the agent workspace directly. Instead, you would use AI-powered apps that support agentic actions, and Windows 11 automatically launches the isolated workspace in the background when needed.

If you’re planning to test this experience, I recommend using a virtual machine that doesn’t contain any sensitive information.

Disable agentic features on Windows 11

To disable the agentic capabilities on your computer, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on System.

3. Click on AI components.

4. Turn off the “Experimental agentic features” toggle switch.

   

After you complete the steps, the agentic experience will be disabled on your computer.