Microsoft has renamed its browser for Android recently to Microsoft Edge: AI Browser. The browser is getting an infusion of Copilot and AI features. One of the latest is the Copilot Toolbar.
Available in Microsoft Edge Canary only at the time of writing, it is designed to give users even quicker access to Copilot.
Copilot is the main term that Microsoft uses for AI in its products. There is Windows Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and a large number of other Copilots. There is even a standalone Microsoft Copilot app for Android.
The mobile Edge browser supports Copilot already. Since it is the “AI browser”, it ships with Copilot included. This base version works similarly to Copilot on the web, but there are a few differences.
A tap on the prominent Copilot button opens the interface. You may use it to get a summary of the active webpage or communicate with the AI using text or voice input.
The Copilot Toolbar in Microsoft Edge: AI Browser
The Copilot Toolbar shows up at the bottom of webpages. It is placed on top of the main Edge toolbar.
It features two options currently: summarize and “ask me about this page”. Both open the main Copilot interface on selection. The first summarizes the webpage, the second offers information about the content on the page.
The toolbar feels a bit out of place. A tap on the Copilot button opens the interface of the AI as well. There you may also tap on the summary option to get it.
The toolbar saves you a single click. It is not overly useful. Microsoft, on the other hand, gets more eyes on Copilot.
The Copilot Toolbar offers some options. Tap on the three-dots next to it to get them. You may disable the toolbar “once”, “on this site” or “globally” using the menu.
Enable the Copilot Toolbar in Edge
The new toolbar is only available in Microsoft Edge Canary for Android. You need to enable it, as it is provided as an experimental flag only at this time:
- Make sure Microsoft Edge Canary is up to date.
- Load edge://flags in the browser’s address bar.
- Search for Copilot Toolbar.
- Set the status of the feature to Enabled.
- Restart Microsoft Edge.
The toolbar shows up automatically on webpages and when PDF documents are loaded.
Closing Words
Microsoft pushes AI into all of its products. Some of the integrations feel like tests, to see what works and what does not. Copilot Toolbar is one of these. It does not offer much in terms of functionality.
The summary function is supported already. Considering that it takes a few seconds or sometimes more to get the AI to generate the summary, it may sometimes be faster to read the article by yourself.
This may not be true for very long articles, but it is necessary to verify the information the AI provides anyway.