- Copilot's PC Insights lets you ask questions about your system hardware, software, and settings.
- The feature is opt-in and requires your permission to access system data.
- Copilot cannot fix problems; it only provides read-only information and explanations.
- The new web-based Copilot consumes up to 1GB of RAM and includes a private copy of Microsoft Edge.
Microsoft is rolling out a new capability for its Windows Copilot assistant called PC Insights, designed to help users understand their system without digging through menus. The feature, currently being tested in the United States, allows you to ask Copilot questions about your hardware, software, and settings, and it will analyze your PC to provide answers. According to Microsoft, the goal is to save time by giving you key information in plain language instead of forcing you to hunt through Task Manager, File Explorer, or the Settings app.
PC Insights is an optional, opt-in skill that requires your explicit permission before it can access system resources. You can grant permission for a single request, always allow it for similar queries, or deny it for the current session. Microsoft promises that Copilot will not store or use your personal files to train its AI models, and you can revoke permissions at any time through Copilot’s privacy settings. The company also states that only conversation activity—like prompts and responses—may be used to improve the experience, depending on your settings.
How PC Insights Works
To use PC Insights, you need to have the Copilot Windows app installed. Once it’s up, you can ask questions such as “How is my battery health?”, “What’s my BIOS version?”, “What’s my current CPU usage?”, or “Do I have enough storage for a large game?” Copilot then taps into Windows APIs to gather the relevant data and presents it in a conversational format. For example, if you ask about free storage space and it reports 87GB, you can follow up with “Can I install GTA V?” and Copilot will check the game’s requirements online and tell you whether you have enough room.
The feature can read system resources (CPU, RAM, GPU usage), storage capacity, connected USB devices, network information, battery health, and more. However, Copilot cannot read the contents of individual files unless you give explicit access, and it cannot fix issues or make system changes on its own. It is strictly read-only—once it identifies a potential problem, you’ll have to take action yourself.
Limitations and Privacy Concerns
While PC Insights can be a handy tool for beginners or anyone who prefers asking questions over navigating complex settings, it has clear limitations. Microsoft notes that Copilot can answer questions about your system and files, clarify technical info, and explain what’s happening on your PC, but it cannot automatically run troubleshooting steps or resolve errors. You still need to play “PC doctor” yourself.
On the privacy front, Microsoft insists that your personal files and system information are not stored or used to train models. Only the prompts and responses you exchange with Copilot may be used for improvement, and that depends on your privacy settings. The feature is opt-in by default, so Copilot won’t scan your PC in the background without permission.
The Irony of Copilot’s Own Resource Usage
There’s a notable irony in Microsoft pushing Copilot as a tool to help you understand system performance: the latest version of Copilot itself is a resource hog. According to reports, the new Copilot for Windows is a web app that includes its own private copy of Microsoft Edge, and it can consume up to 1GB of RAM even when idle. This is a significant increase from the previous native version, which was built using WinUI and performed much better.
The shift back to a web app happened after a reorganization that moved the consumer Copilot app away from Mustafa Suleyman’s leadership. Now, Copilot appears as a “browser” in Task Manager and ships with a full-blown Chromium installation. This means the very assistant meant to help you optimize your PC is itself a major contributor to memory bloat, alongside other Microsoft apps like Teams and Outlook that have faced similar criticism.
Microsoft argues that asking Copilot is faster than manually checking Task Manager or File Explorer, and provides examples like “Do I have enough space for a 100GB game?” or “What’s my current CPU usage?” But for many users, the question remains: why do we suddenly need an AI assistant to answer basic system questions when we’ve been using Task Manager for decades? And why does Copilot keep switching between web and native implementations?
Rollout and Availability
PC Insights is currently rolling out slowly in the United States. Not everyone has access yet, and Microsoft has not provided a timeline for broader availability. If you want to try it, make sure you have the latest Copilot Windows app installed. Once the feature arrives, you’ll see a prompt asking for permission the first time you ask a system-related question.
For those who find Copilot unnecessary or resource-heavy, there are still ways to disable it. Users can remove Copilot or block it using Group Policy, and the feature remains opt-in, so you won’t be forced into using it. Microsoft seems to understand that not everyone wants AI assistance baked into their operating system.
All things considered, PC Insights could be a genuinely useful addition for less technical users who want quick answers about their PC’s health and configuration. But the fact that Copilot itself uses a gigabyte of RAM while doing nothing—and relies on a hidden copy of Edge—undermines its credibility as a performance tool. If Microsoft wants users to trust Copilot to optimize their systems, it might want to start by optimizing Copilot itself.
