In our first 4 years in market, we focused on optimizing the Cloud PC experience for our customers and end users. Now, we have exciting news to share at the intersection of cloud and AI — Windows 365 AI-enabled Cloud PCs are combining the power of Windows 365 with AI acceleration to help users boost productivity, discover information faster, and streamline workflows, all while maintaining enterprise-level security and compliance. AI-enabled Cloud PCs deliver integrated Windows AI experiences to any device in any location, and are now available through the Microsoft Frontier Program.
Frontier is an early-access initiative designed to accelerate AI innovation by giving select customers, partners, and influencers hands-on access to experimental features before they reach general availability. It is not just a beta program — it’s also about co-creation. Participants explore cutting-edge AI capabilities, provide feedback, and influence Microsoft’s roadmap. Availability and specifications are subject to change without notice. Learn more about Frontier.
Disclaimer: Productivity improvements may vary based on configuration and usage.
How are Windows 365 AI-enabled Cloud PCs different from Copilot+ PCs?
Copilot+ PCs are physical devices with local 40+ TOPS NPUs that deliver AI features directly on the device. Windows 365 AI-enabled Cloud PCs, by contrast, run in the Microsoft Cloud and stream AI-powered Windows to any device and platform.
With AI-enabled Cloud PCs, customers can count on:
- Windows AI access anywhere:
o Experience high-performance Windows AI on any device with Cloud PCs that dynamically adapt compute power for more on-demand performance, streamed securely from the Microsoft Cloud.
- Effortless productivity
o With improved Windows search and Click to Do, quickly find and act on files, images, and data with AI-powered search and context-aware answers — no app switching, just streamlined workflows.
- Enterprise-grade security
o All data remains within your trusted Cloud PC environment, honoring regional compliance boundaries (European Database - EUDB). IT admins retain full control over enabling AI features for specific users.
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Note: AI-enabled Cloud PCs are available on all 8 vCPU Cloud PCs in the following Azure datacenter regions: West US 2, West US 3, East US, East US 2, Central India, Central US, South East Asia, Australia East, UK South, North Europe, and West Europe. They will be coming to Japan East soon. Regional availability subject to change; check documentation for the latest updates. |
A new AI-enabled end-user experience
AI-enabled Cloud PCs are identified by an “AI-enabled” label displayed on the device card within the Windows App.
Windows App — logon experience for WindowsThe AI-enabled end-user experience also works on other platforms such as Apple iOS Mac devices.
To use the new AI capabilities, improved Windows search and Click to Do, follow the instructions below.
Cloud PC — desktop experienceSupported Windows AI features in Windows 365
AI-enabled Cloud PCs offer the following features:
- Improved Windows search (including OneDrive federated files support)
- Click to Do
AI-enabled Cloud PCs are marked by a magnifying glass with a sparkle icon within the search box on the taskbar.
Improved Windows search
With improved Windows search, users can locate files using descriptive queries, leveraging AI to interpret intent and deliver relevant results within the Windows search box in the taskbar and in File Explorer. For example, if you have a picture of a rugby game titled “Picture3.jpg”, and you search “rugby”, the correct file should appear. Accuracy of results may vary based on file content and indexing.
Improved search experience in File ExplorerUsers can also search across multiple sources (local files and cloud storage through OneDrive) in a unified experience based on the content of the files rather than just metadata such as the title. This experience works within the Windows search box in the taskbar and in File Explorer.
Improved search Start menu experience|
Note: Users can search for OneDrive files that haven’t been downloaded yet by entering keywords found inside the file’s text. |
To learn more about improved Windows search, see Find files fast with improved Windows search .
Click to Do and Microsoft 365 Copilot & AI actions
Click to Do simplifies the steps necessary to perform common actions on highlighted text or images on the screen. To activate this feature, press Windows key + Q or hold down the Windows key while clicking left on an element on your screen to export directly into Microsoft 365 Copilot for deeper integration, summarization, and other actions.
Disclaimer: Feature requires Windows Insider Beta enrollment; functionality may change before general availability.
Click to Do experienceMicrosoft 365 Copilot shows the prompt in a simple view to adjust the action, add your own AI agents to it, or simply click on the blue arrow button to push the prompt forward.
Microsoft 365 Copilot — message boxAsk Microsoft 365 Copilot — summarizing and taking action.
Microsoft 365 Copilot — app experience for summarizing data via Click to DoNew AI actions are ready at your fingertips as new File Explorer context menu options.
To learn more about Click to Do, see Click to Do: Do more with what's on your screen
How to enable access to AI-enabled Cloud PCs
IT admin controls
By default, AI features are disabled on Cloud PCs, putting IT admins fully in control of when and for whom these capabilities are enabled — a key benefit for enterprise security and compliance.
IT admins can enable AI-enabled Cloud PCs via a newly introduced policy setting within the Devices – Onboarding: Windows 365 > User Settings blade, and further filter access based on Microsoft Entra ID group access.
How to join Frontier and access Windows 365 AI-enabled PCs
To participate in our Frontier public release, you must meet the user and Cloud PC specifications, assign AI-enablement to Cloud PCs in Microsoft Intune, and enroll in the Windows Insider Program’s Beta channel.
To enroll your Cloud PC in the Windows Insider Program, you must go to Windows Settings, followed by Windows Insider Program.
Once ready, be sure to enroll in the Windows Insider Program with your Microsoft account or Microsoft Entra ID account and opt into the Beta Channel (Recommended) option.
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Note: We’re working on getting these features available outside of the Windows Insider Program. We will update this blog once it is ready. |
Windows Insider Preview
Setup instructions for bulk Cloud PCs enrollment with Intune
Here are step-by-step setup instructions for enrolling endpoints in the Windows Insider Program at scale using Intune, with pre-release builds enabled and the Beta Channel selected:
- Sign into the Microsoft Intune admin center.
- Navigate to: Devices > Windows > Update rings for Windows 10 and later
- Create or edit an update ring policy:
- Click + Create profile or select an existing policy to edit.
- Configure Insider Builds:
- Under Settings, find the section for Windows Insider build.
- Set Enable pre-release builds to Yes.
- In the same policy, locate the Pre-release channel setting.
- Select Beta Channel from the dropdown menu.
- Under Assignments, choose the groups containing the devices you want to enroll.
For more details, see Managing preview builds across your organization - Windows Insider Program.
Health monitoring and analytics
IT admins can also check whether a Cloud PC is AI-enabled or not via the Cloud PC overview Reports dashboard.
Review information about AI-enabled features for Cloud PCs, including status and date created.
Microsoft Intune — AI-enabled Cloud PC monitoringOr from the Essentials tab of the Intune Devices page.
Microsoft Intune — AI-enabled Cloud PC monitoringCloud PC licenses and regional support specifications
To use AI-enabled features, your Cloud PC must meet the following requirements:
- Have a Windows 365 Enterprise SKU that has at least 8vCPU, 32GB of RAM and 256GB of total disk storage.
o Note: final licensing with minimum requirements and other license options are subject to change.
- Be deployed in one of the following supported regions:
o West US 2
o West US 3
o East US
o East US 2
o Central India
o Central US
o South East Asia
o Australia East
o UK South
o West Europe
o North Europe,
- Coming soon (not yet supported):
o Japan East
- Where to find the AI-enabled Cloud PC Windows Cloud AI wallpaper
o Go to C:\Windows\Web\Wallpaper\Windows\ as part of 24H2 and 25H2 Windows 11 images in your Cloud PCs provisioned in November ’25 or later.
Regional availability subject to change; check documentation for latest updates. For more detailed documentation and requirements, please go to our documentation at aka.ms/AICloudPCsLearn
Reporting feedback on this Frontier release
We’d love to hear from you — please use the following channels to provide feedback on our Frontier preview:
- Feedback Hub (please report that you are using an AI-enabled Cloud PC.)
- Windows 365 Tech Community
Important note: Feedback may inform future development but does not guarantee implementation.
Windows — Feedback HubWatch our Windows in the Cloud podcast
Watch the podcast below to learn more about the announcements today, the people who build the features, more real demos, and other behind the scenes information.
Continue the conversation. Find best practices. Bookmark the Windows Tech Community, then follow us on LinkedIn or @MSWindowsITPro for updates. Looking for support? Visit Windows on Microsoft Q&A.
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