Microsoft regularly adds new features to Edge, and its latest obsession with Copilot means that its time to bring some of it capabilities to its browser too. We already got a taste of this back in July when the Redmond tech giant introduced Copilot Mode on an experimental basis, but now, it is ready to make it generally available for enterprise customers.
While it has not named competitors explicitly, it says that the competition has raced towards releasing AI browsers without focusing on security fundamentals, which forces customers to choose between productivity and safety. This is not the right way to market, which is why it has touted Edge for Business as the "world"s first secure enterprise AI browser". It basically emphasizes three functionalities: AI through Copilot, Microsoft Graph for grounding, and Edge"s strong security baselines. Microsoft has emphasized an agentic browsing experience and a "new standard in intelligent browsing" that does not require any compromises.
This is where Copilot Mode comes into play as it offers contextual AI features that are more precise since they are grounded in your company"s data. Microsoft has noted that the feedback from early adopters had been very positive, and it offers organizations full control over AI features by providing a toggle that allows them to enable or disable these capabilities.
For now, Copilot Mode offers two experiences. One is Agent Mode, which allows you to automate multi-step workflows for approved sites. The other is a Copilot-based New Tab page which offers quick access to work items and a Daily Briefing view. That said, it is important to note that both these capabilities are locked behind a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Other smaller upgrades include searching your browsing history via natural language and summarizing video content on YouTube.
Microsoft has touted tons of other features that are available in Edge for Business too, including:
- Secure AI browsing controls through Enterprise Data Protection
- Protected browsing for contractors
- Protected copy/paste actions
- Unified policy management across platforms
- Simplified prerelease testing with built-in flexibility
- More control over browser extensions
You can find out more about all these new features here. The new Copilot Mode and other AI features will likely be welcomed by enterprise customers utlizing Edge; Microsoft claims that 60% of its customer rely on Edge for enterprise browsing needs.