Microsoft Copilot Can Collect Data From Your Edge Browser Tabs to Get to Know You

Even as it’s backing off plans to bring Copilot AI technology to Xbox gaming platforms, Microsoft is actively integrating artificial intelligence into its Edge web browser experience.

In a Wednesday blog post, Microsoft said it’s continuing to expand the ways that Copilot, the AI technology in which Microsoft has invested billions, works with its web browser. The company was already doing this for the desktop browser, and those capabilities now extend to the mobile version of Edge as well.

Copilot is using your browsing history to provide contextual suggestions, tips and guidance. On its Copilot in Edge page, Microsoft says it can scan your open tabs to compare options, highlight key details and deliver clear answers without requiring you to switch between tools.

In screenshots and videos posted on Microsoft’s blog, examples include chat dialogue boxes that pop up with reminders of past shopping activity and even the option to turn all the activity in your browser tabs into an audio podcast. 

Microsoft says that Edge Copilot accesses user data only upon activation and that it “only collects what’s needed to improve your experience — or what you choose to provide via Personalization settings.” Yet skepticism persists about its privacy practices. While opting out of AI features is an option, some users remain distrustful of the company’s data-handling policies.

Microsoft specifically warns on its support page: “When getting started with agentic browsing, be careful to avoid using sensitive or personal information,” including financial or banking activity, Social Security identification or medical records.

What’s changing in web browsing with Copilot

These changes center on Copilot recording and building on interactions, acting as a constant, active presence during web-browsing activity, versus a pop-up you open on demand, like the company’s much-mocked old mascot Clippy. 

As Microsoft puts it, “Copilot remembers what you’ve worked on, so you don’t start over. The more you use it, the more helpful and personalized it becomes.”

Apart from interactions that occur without prompting, people using Edge can access Copilot as a chatbot via a button at the top-right of the browser window. Microsoft is retiring Copilot Mode, which could perform actions in-browser. Copilot Mode was also accessible with a Copilot button, but now it’s called Browse With Copilot.

Browse With Copilot could also create quizzes and study guides from the material you’re viewing and organize your recent browsing into categories to explore. There’s also a new landing page for the tab that more clearly integrates Copilot chat.

Is this what people want? Copilot so far has not been met with the kind of enthusiasm that greets, say, new versions of ChatGPT or Anthropic’s AI models. And as online privacy and data collection practices are paramount concerns in the era of AI, it’s unclear how popular it will be to opt into another tool that has access to browsing data.

On the other hand, people who are already using Microsoft Edge may be more likely to be peacefully coexisting with Copilot by this point and to find useful features in the AI service.