Microsoft is quietly testing a new Copilot capability called “PC Insights” that lets the AI assistant analyze your Windows 11 machine’s hardware and pinpoint exactly what’s causing slowdowns. The feature is currently rolling out slowly in the United States and isn’t yet available to all users.

PC Insights is an optional Copilot feature that answers real-time questions about your PC’s current hardware state rather than giving generic troubleshooting advice.

Once enabled, Copilot taps into Windows APIs to read system resources including CPU, RAM, and GPU usage, plus available and total storage capacity.

It can calculate whether you have enough free space to install a new app or game, and it breaks down folder sizes for locations like Downloads and Documents without accessing individual file contents unless you grant explicit permission.

The feature spotted first by windowslatest also monitors connected hardware such as USB devices, external drives, printers, and webcams, along with their current status.

On the connectivity side, it reads Bluetooth and Wi-Fi states, and it can report on battery health, antivirus status, system specifications, and BIOS information.

Microsoft Testing Copilot Feature Windows 11

The practical value here is conversational troubleshooting. Instead of digging through Task Manager or Resource Monitor, users could simply ask Copilot why their PC feels sluggish and get a contextual answer based on live data. For example, if you ask how much storage is free and Copilot reports 87GB, you could immediately follow up by asking whether that’s enough to install a specific game.

This fits into Microsoft’s broader effort to make Windows 11 feel faster and more responsive. Windows chief Pavan Davuluri recently outlined plans to lower Windows’ baseline memory footprint and improve performance consistency under load.

However, Microsoft has also signaled it wants to reduce Copilot’s footprint elsewhere, pulling back unnecessary entry points from apps like Snipping Tool, Photos, Widgets, and Notepad after user pushback.

There’s a notable contradiction baked into this rollout: Copilot for Windows ships with its own private copy of Microsoft Edge, functions as a full web app, and can consume up to 1GB of RAM even while sitting idle.

That means the very tool meant to diagnose what’s slowing down your PC is itself a known resource hog, a criticism echoed in independent testing where Copilot regularly appears among the top memory-consuming processes alongside apps like Excel.

Aspect	Details
Feature name	PC Insights
Availability	Rolling out slowly in the US, not yet widespread
Data accessed	CPU/RAM/GPU usage, storage, USB devices, network, battery, BIOS
File access	Folder/file sizes only, not file contents (unless permitted)
Known drawback	Copilot itself uses up to 1GB RAM via embedded Edge web app

Microsoft appears to be walking a tightrope between adding genuinely useful AI diagnostics and avoiding further bloat complaints that have already prompted a scaled-back Copilot strategy across Windows 11. Since PC Insights hasn’t hit general availability yet, its final feature set, resource cost, and rollout timeline could still change before a wider release.

Strengthen Your SOC by Accelerating Threat Detection & Rapid Investigations. -> Integrate ANY.RUN With Your SOC Now.

The post Microsoft Testing Copilot Feature That Shows What’s Slowing Down Your Windows 11 PC appeared first on Cyber Security News.