Microsoft tests AI-powered editing in Notepad

Microsoft is adding AI-powered text editing to Notepad, the stripped-down text editor originally introduced in 1983. The feature, called Rewrite, is rolling out in preview to Windows Insiders and will let you use AI to “rephrase sentences, adjust tone, and modify the length of your content,” according to the Windows Insider Blog.

If you’re a Windows Insider with early access to the feature, you can try it by highlighting the text you want to adjust in Notepad, right-clicking it, and choosing Rewrite. Notepad will then display a dialogue box where you can decide how they want to change their text — for example, if it needs to be longer or shorter. Rewrite will then offer three rewritten versions that you can replace your work with.

It’s worth noting that you’ll have to sign in to your Microsoft account to use Rewrite, as it’s “powered by a cloud-based service that requires authentication and authorization.” Microsoft is launching this feature in preview on Windows 11 in the US, France, UK, Canada, Italy, and Germany. In July, Microsoft finally upgraded Notepad with spell check and autocorrect.

Along with bringing Rewrite to Notepad, Microsoft will let Insiders start testing the new AI image editing tools in Paint previewed last month. The Generative Fill feature allows you to make additions to an image based on a prompt, while the Generative Erase can remove part of an image and blend in the empty space left behind.

Generative Fill will “initially” roll out to testers with Copilot Plus PCs, but Generative Erase will be available to all Insiders on Windows 11.