• 2 min read
Windows Search finally gets better at finding things
Microsoft is testing Windows Search changes that cut promotional web clutter, prioritize local results, and improve typo handling.
Image: The Register
Microsoft is testing a meaningful cleanup of Windows Search, with changes that make results clearer, reduce promotional clutter, and give users more control over what appears alongside local files and apps.
The update is currently limited to Windows Insiders in the Experimental channel. According to March Rogers, partner director for product design for Windows at Microsoft, the improvements were on the way when Microsoft announced Windows 11 26H2. The Register says the early version already feels like a substantial step up from the often unreliable, cluttered search experience Windows users have lived with for years.
Microsoft says it has lowered the chance of the service crashing, though it also acknowledged that there is “more work underway.” In the current test build, web results no longer lead with related products and promotions. Instead, as Microsoft puts it, “Web results show the most relevant answer, instead of first showing related products and promotions.”
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There are also new settings in Settings > Privacy & Security > Search that let users decide whether web results and Microsoft Store results should appear alongside local results. Search now prioritizes local matches when they are more relevant, handles typos better — Microsoft gave “utlook” finding Outlook as an example — and supports two-character file searches.
That last point matters because Microsoft previously pushed Windows Search improvements in 2025, but those features required a Copilot+ PC. This Experimental channel update, The Register notes, notably contains no mention of Copilot.
The backdrop is a long history of Windows Search frustrations, including the high-CPU usage incident of 2019 and the empty results page of 2020. The Register says that after enabling a feature flag on an Experimental channel PC, the new version felt noticeably snappier and easier to use. Microsoft has not said when the changes will ship broadly, but Windows 11 26H2 — or possibly earlier — appears to be the likely target.
Computing Editor
Tomas lives in the terminal. He covers chips, laptops, and operating systems with a focus on performance and efficiency. He reads kernel changelogs the way other people read fiction, and he's always on the hunt for the perfect mechanical keyboard switch. If it processes data, Tomas has an opinion on it.
via The Register
