- Windows 11 has a new preview build
- It fully removes AI actions if you have disabled them all in File Explorer
- This means that there will no longer be an empty folder in the right-click menu for AI actions that have been turned off
Windows 11 just got a change for the better in terms of AI – although only in testing for now – which removes some clutter related to the AI action feature.
This functionality relates to File Explorer’s right-click context menu, but it’s more of a refinement of existing options than anything else (and I’ll get back to why later). Still, it will be well received; you can count on that.
Windows Central reported that Microsoft announced a simple but functional change in a new Windows 11 preview (build 26220.7344): “If no AI actions are available or enabled, this section will no longer appear in the context menu.”
This means that if there are no AI actions possible with a given file that you have right-clicked on, you will no longer see the (empty) folder relating to said actions (or lack thereof).
AI actions include things like asking Copilot to summarize a document or perform image editing tricks on your photos (like deleting an object using AI).
Analysis: a mystifying omission
Essentially, this avoids the weird situation where you’ve gone into Settings and disabled all AI actions, and yet the AI actions option still appears in the right-click menu – even though it’s empty when you hover over it. Which of course made no sense whatsoever, and really this is more of a fix than a feature.
You could previously disable these AI actions if you were wondering, so it’s not a new feature, although it’s a relatively new addition. The change here is Microsoft’s removal of the AI action entry in the right-click menu if there are no AI shortcuts available, as mentioned.
This is all part of Microsoft’s broader push to clean up File Explorer’s right-click menu, which is a welcome initiative.
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