Windows 11’s new taskbar Search can now do small jobs instead of only finding them. Insiders in the Beta channel can type a phrase such as “switch to dark mode” or “turn on Bluetooth” and run the action straight from the results list, without opening the Settings app.
The feature arrived on 6 November in Windows 11 Insider Beta build 26320.9876. The same build moves the Beta channel to Windows 11 version 26H2 through a small enablement package, so Microsoft says the jump in build number brings no big change by itself.
Microsoft’s release notes list dark mode, Bluetooth, screen brightness, muting the device and arranging windows as the first actions. The search itself is rebuilt on WinUI 3, and Microsoft says it matches typos and synonyms better and will keep tuning that over the coming weeks. English is the only supported language for now.
The redesign was first handed to Insiders in the Experimental channel on 7 October, when Microsoft said early tests showed gains in speed and memory use and that results would be gathered into a single list. Phone actions through Phone Link were promised as “coming soon” at that point, and the earlier test build had already hinted at them. Searching from the Start menu still opens the old experience, and Microsoft’s Insider blog post says bringing the new one there is planned for next year.
The same Beta build carries a few smaller changes. Live captions can now follow system audio, the microphone or both. Windows Hello face sign-in can briefly brighten the screen in a dim room, with a toggle under Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options. The File Explorer address bar also accepts ~ as a shortcut to your user folder, so ~\AppData works.
More is queued for the same box. By Microsoft’s account, previews of documents and photos, extra file details and web answers (a weather check, say) are due later this year, and category filters will follow. Its reason for dropping the big preview pane: usage data showed people almost always click the list itself.
The Search cleanup began in July, when Microsoft stripped promotions out of web results and let users decide whether web and Store suggestions show up at all.
Microsoft has not set a date for any of this to reach regular Windows 11 users, and it warns that features tested with Insiders may change or never ship.
