Microsoft's Notepad is getting generative AI to rewrite text

Microsoft is one of the biggest names in the AI segment. The company has its own AI-powered assistant, Copilot, and has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT. The Redmond giant has been implementing the technology in multiple services and apps. The classic Microsoft’s Notepad is the latest one to get some AI love.

Writing assistant tools are among the main forms of AI implementation in mass-use services. Whether for simple grammar correction or completely rewriting parts of text in different tones, artificial intelligence usually offers high-quality outputs.

Microsoft’s Notepad gets an update with AI-powered text rewriting

If you have used Windows, you surely know Notepad, as the tool has been present in Microsoft’s desktop OS since 1983. For a long time, the Notepad app remained unchanged. It was useful, but the lack of improvements or new features made it obsolete and even annoying to use. Microsoft took note and finally sent an update to the app this year with slight cosmetic tweaks and the integration of two useful tools: spell check and autocorrect.

Now, Notepad will be much more powerful thanks to the integration of “Rewrite.” As its name suggests, this AI-powered tool will offer alternative versions of text written in Notepad. To use Rewrite, you simply need to highlight the section of text you want and right-click on it. When you click on “Rewrite,” you’ll see options to choose how you want the text rewritten.

You can ask the AI ​​to make the text longer or shorter, or to apply a different tone, for example. Then, Rewrite will show you three alternatives depending on the option you chose. Finally, you just need to select any of the three options (or none if you’re not happy with it).

Rewrite turns to AI processing in the cloud

It’s noteworthy that the feature requires you to log in with a Microsoft account. This is because it does not work with on-device AI processing but relies entirely on the cloud. This is useful for its availability on as many devices as possible but could alienate those concerned about their privacy.

Currently, Rewrite for Notepad is available for users enrolled in the Windows Insider program. The feature should arrive in the stable branch in the next few weeks.