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- New Windows 11 Search is cleaner, clearer, and smarter.
- The new search is available in the latest Windows Insider builds.
- It could reach all Windows 11 users in the next few months.
The built-in Windows 11 search tool is key to helping you track down files, apps, settings, and other things when you’re not sure where to look. But the current design of the Search window throws a lot of things at you, making it feel cluttered and cluttered. Now Microsoft has finally redesigned the Search window to be cleaner, clearer, and more useful.
Currently being poured into the Test channel for the latest Windows 11 Internal Build, the new Search window is marked down surprisingly. Instead of showing trending searches and other useless information, it now shows you just a list of suggested searches. Each item is identified by name and category, so you can easily identify whether it is an application or a setting. Selecting one item opens the application directly or takes you to a specific setting.
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Run a few searches, and the next time you open the Search window, you’ll see a list of your most recent searches so you can quickly return to any of them. But the layout itself remains minimal, keeping you focused on the search or results you need.
Thankfully, Microsoft has also cut back on its regular sales. The current search window is often filled with hooks for high-end apps, AI tools, and other promotions. A new window removes all that. Even better, you should now see the most relevant answers to your search before any related products and promotions.
You can even adjust the results to remove certain items. Go to Settings, select Privacy & Security, and click Search. Here, you can choose to include web results and Microsoft Store suggestions alongside results for local files, folders, apps, and settings.
Even if you choose to include web searches with Microsoft Store suggestions, local results will be higher if they are more relevant. But you don’t really want to limit the results to local content only. In those cases, Search will show cloud-based and linked files when it shows strong matches.
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Getting the right results also promises to be easy. Accidentally enter your search term with a typo, a missed letter, or another letter, and Windows should still be able to find it for you. Type a word like “utlook,” and Search will see that you meant to type “Outlook.” Even just searching for two characters will dig up relevant results. Type in characters like “zo,” for example, and Search will display the zoom settings for the built-in magnifier tool.
I took the new Search for a spin and found it to be a refreshing change from the current look and feel. Search also feels fast and smart, helping me find what I need quickly.
How to try the new Search
To test the new Search, you must be running Windows 11 Internal Build with the channel set to Experimental. Even then, the new Search may not appear. In my Insider build, I had to enable the feature flag for this one. To do that, go to Settings, select Windows Update, and then click Windows Insider Program. Select the feature flags, check “Fixed Windows Search,” and set it to Enabled.
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“You’ve been asking for faster, more relevant, and easier-to-use search — whether you’re opening an app, finding a file, or changing settings,” Microsoft said in its Monday blog post. “Because the Windows Search Box is where most people start, we focused first on making results more reliable, easier to scan, and clearer before you click.”
With the new search in the test channel, when will it come to all Windows 11 users? It’s hard to say that. But if the feature is very successful after Insider’s testing, we may see it released within the next few months.
