Windows 11 is about to support content search in local video and audio files

The Windows ecosystem has a large user base around the world, including many IT professionals and those who are really passionate about the operating system from a technical perspective. When they analyze preview builds of Windows, many interesting information is revealed, including changes and additions that Microsoft has not mentioned publicly. Recently, a feature called "Intelligent media search" was discovered hidden in a build, allowing users to search for specific content and phrases in local audio and video files on the system.

This is what tech blogger @XenoPanther discovered in Windows 11 build 27695. Let's say you have a two-hour video lecture and want to find a specific piece of information within it, Microsoft will soon give you that ability in Windows 11. The system will index your local files, set up an AI model, and copy all your media files. You will then get a notification that the system is ready for "content-based" search in your media files.

This feature is described as follows:

Search by spoken words in video or audio files indexed on the system. By clicking "I agree", you agree to scan the media files on your device. If necessary, the required model will be downloaded and installed in the background. Your media files will be processed after the AI ​​model is set up, it needs to transcribe your media files and index them before enabling content-based search. The system will notify you when the process is complete.

Windows 11 is about to support content search in local video and audio files Picture 1

At the moment, there's no word on whether this feature will be developed specifically for Copilot+ PCs with powerful NPUs. Windows 11 already has a number of AI-based features available on "traditional" systems with Intel and AMD processors, so we'll have to wait for Microsoft to make an official announcement explaining how this feature works and what the hardware requirements are.

Samuel Daniel

Update 04 September 2024