Microsoft Test Adds Curated AI Hub To The Windows 11 App Store

Microsoft is bringing AI to its Windows app store and in a rather in-your-face fashion. The latest Canary test build of Windows 11 adds a feature called AI Hub to the store, which is essentially a dedicated section for apps that deliver any kind of AI-assisted experiences. It can be games, productivity apps, or just your regular AI chatbot.

In an official Windows Blog post, the company says its AI Hub "will promote the best AI experiences built by the developer community and Microsoft." Or, to put it simply, the company really wants you to experience the next-gen AI-assisted tools, of which there are many from within Microsoft's own stable courtesy of its partnership with OpenAI.

For example, Edge browser with Bing Chat integration is featured in the AI Hub. Third-party options include Descript, Luminar Neo, Podcastle, and Krisp. Microsoft hasn't offered any detailed insights into the AI Hub, but Windows Latest claims it's apparently limited to the U.S. market for now.

The AI Hub is apparently just the beginning of AI creeping its way into the Windows Store. It's hard to quantify exactly how much value it is going to add for an average Windows user's computing routine, but it at least sounds like a convenient way to discover AI apps that just might prove to be useful.

It's also another avenue for Microsoft to push its own Office suite of productivity apps, which are getting supercharged with AI tools. In March 2023, the company introduced Microsoft 365 Copilot, which essentially brings AI-assisted tricks to apps like Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and PowerPoint, among others. In Word, the copilot feature can write idea drafts, while in PowerPoint, it can make detailed presentations with a short text prompt.

But it appears that more AI-fueled features are in the pipeline for the Windows Store. Microsoft recently detailed a feature called "AI-Generated Review Summary" that will summarize an app's description and reviews so that users quickly grasp what an app is all about and whether users are happy with the experience it offers.