Microsoft is now testing an experimental feature with Windows Insiders, in the form of a widget that performs web searches.
Company describes the functionality as “lightweight, interactive content”, the first of its kind. The intention is that Windows 11 will get more of these widgets.
Not everyone who joins the Windows 11 beta will get access to the brand new search bar. But anyone who does see it and doesn’t use the new widget can disable it. You do that by right-clicking on it, selecting the extra options and unchecking the necessary checkbox (in this case it’s Show search for now).
New Kind of Widgets for Windows 11
If you’re participating in the Windows Insiders program yourself and haven’t come across the search bar yet, don’t worry. Sometimes it helps to restart the computer after updating; if all is well, the bar will appear on the screen. However, keep in mind that not everyone participates in this test.
Whether this is actually a useful addition to Windows 11 is up to the user to determine. Such a search bar for web searches can come in handy when you are in a hurry and want to do a quick search without having to launch a program.
However, there is a good chance that a large group of people always have a browser open, so that such a search bar will rarely be used. Furthermore, this is of course a nice way for Microsoft to guide users more towards the Bing search engine (and its own Edge browser).
