Microsoft really wants to take on Perplexity Comet, and we’re going to see several powerful AI features coming to Edge on Windows 11. Yesterday, Windows Latest spotted a toggle that sends tabs to Copilot, and now we’ve spotted references to deeper Copilot and Edge integration. Copilot on web will soon get access to the Edge profile.
As you can see in the screenshot below, Copilot web (copilot.microsoft.com) is testing a toggle called “Browser Actions,” which, if turned on, will give Copilot access to the Edge profile. Now, that’s where things get interesting. Edge profile has all your details, including your passwords, signed-in sites, browsing history and more.
Copilot already comes with “Copilot Actions,” which is an agent that uses ChatGPT’s in-house models to navigate the web.
Right now, Copilot on Edge uses a Linux terminal and a vanilla instance of Edge on Azure Linux virtual machine to navigate the web for you. You can use Copilot to find tickets, but the catch is that Copilot Agent doesn’t know anything about you.
I’m not 100% sure about how the toggle really works, but it looks like when you turn on the switch, Copilot Agent will browse the web in your current Edge profile. It can open pages, read them, click buttons, follow links, and fill forms, using the sign-in state that your Edge profile already has.
“Copilot can browse the web and complete tasks using your Edge profile into,” a description within Copilot for Edge reads.
Based on the description and my understanding of how Copilot works, Copilot browses “as you,” so sites where you are logged in will open already signed in. Given the privacy controls, these AI Actions are tied to the chat where you asked for them. It does not roam your device outside the browser.
Copilot via Edge cannot control native Windows features or bypass passwords/ MFA. If a site needs a login or a code, you need to step in. Also, Copilot cannot read your tabs unless you send tabs to Copilot from the New Tab Page or within Copilot. You can tag tabs in the conversation, and Copilot will read them for you.
Our findings align with previous reporting. According to The Verge’s Tom Warren, Microsoft Edge is supposed to allow Copilot takeover of the browser, where Copilot will click tabs for you.
It is worth noting that there are a couple of other Copilot features that will also need access to the Edge profile.
Copilot will also get access to your browsing history
While testing Microsoft Edge, we’ve also spotted the Journeys feature, which, as the above screenshot shows, gives Copilot access to your browsing history.
“On first use, Microsoft may use your past 7 days of browsing activity (excluding page content) to jumpstart your Journeys experience,” Microsoft noted in a now-deleted documentation.
When you select “Yes, I’m in,” Microsoft Copilot requests access to your Edge profile, but it must not be a work or school account.
With Journeys, Copilot will summarise your browsing history and display it as cards on the New Tab Page.
Microsoft insists everything stays on your device, and it’ll never use your personal browsing data for AI training or advertising.
