Microsoft is improving search in Windows 11 by reducing clutter and ads

Microsoft has heard the complaints about search in Windows 11, and the company is acting to make things better. The way Microsoft pitches it is that the changes are about giving users more control and reducing the clutter – but there are other ways of looking at it. Yes, there is a cleaner, less cluttered look (or the “calmer home screen” Microsoft describes), but there is the important option of being able to get rid of web results completely. This is something people have been begging for for quite some time, but it is far from being the end of... [Continue Reading]

Microsoft is improving search in Windows 11 by reducing clutter and ads Microsoft has heard the complaints about search in Windows 11, and the company is acting to make things better. The way Microsoft pitches it is that the changes are about giving users more control and reducing the clutter – but there are other ways of looking at it. Yes, there is a cleaner, less cluttered look (or the “calmer home screen” Microsoft describes), but there is the important option of being able to get rid of web results completely.

This is something people have been begging for for quite some time, but it is far from being the end of the story. The number of changes being introduced really amounts to a complete overhaul of Windows 11 search – there is little that is being left untouched. One of the most popular changes is likely to be the removal of ads – or the “promotional content” Microsoft refers to.

The full list of changes rolling out is as follows: - A calmer home screen. Search home has been simplified to reduce visual clutter and make it easier to get back to recent searches quickly. - Clearer results.

Search does a better job showing where a result comes from—app, setting, file, web result, or Store suggestion—so it’s easier to tell what you’re looking at and where you will go before you click. - Promotional content has been removed from web results. Web results show the most relevant answer, instead of first showing related products and promotions, helping search feel more focused and less distracting.

- You’re in control of web and Microsoft Store results. A new setting in Settings > Privacy & Security > Search lets you choose whether web and Microsoft Store suggestions appear alongside local results. - Local results prioritized when they’re the better match.

Apps, settings, and files more reliably appear ahead of web and Store suggestions when your content is the stronger match. System items like This PC and Recycle Bin are easier to discover. - Finding apps is more forgiving.

Search is better at handling typos, dropped letters, extra letters, and partial words for apps. Queries like “utlook” can still find Outlook. - Settings results are improving.

We’ve made a first round of ranking improvements to help more relevant settings appear higher in results, with more tuning planned in the coming months. - Finding files is improving. Search is better at surfacing the right local files with added support for two-character file searches.

We’ve also made improvements to show cloud and connected files in results when they’re the stronger match. These changes help you get to the document, download, or folder you are looking for faster. - Reliability is improving.

Improved search reliability, including reducing likelihood of crashing and loading issue, with more work underway. The changes are rolling out on a gradual basis to Windows Insiders signed up to the Experimental channel. Microsoft stresses that not everyone will see the changes straight away due to the nature of the rollout, but that they are also available via feature flags.