Microsoft’s latest Copilot update does something the company frames as helpful but functions as a takeover: every link you click inside the app now opens in a Copilot side panel, powered by Edge’s rendering engine, rather than the browser you chose and set as your default.
Microsoft describes the intent as keeping content “in a sidepane next to your conversation instead of a separate browser window, so you don’t lose context.” The company hasn’t said whether any of this is opt-in.
When the OS vendor controls the platform and routes your links through its own browser engine by default, privacy concerns pile up.
For as long as anyone remembers, clicking a link has meant one thing: your default browser opens, with your settings, your extensions, your saved passwords, your chosen security configuration.
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And Microsoft is now overriding it without asking.
Users don’t get their browser. They get Microsoft’s rendering surface, wrapped in an AI assistant they may not have asked to be involved in their browsing.
The side panel is only one piece of the update. With user permission, Copilot will also have access to the context of tabs opened in a conversation, allowing it to answer questions, summarize across tabs, or help draft text based on what’s on screen. Tabs are saved with the conversation for later return. Users who choose to enable it can also sync passwords and form data.
Microsoft stated: “As part of this update, some features like Podcasts and Study and Learn mode from Copilot.com are getting added, while others may be pulled back while we iterate on the experience; we will add priority features back in before the updated app is generally available.” The rollout is currently limited to Windows Insider channels, Microsoft’s public pre-release testing program, reaching version 146.0.3856.39 and above.
The company calls it context preservation. What’s actually being preserved is your attention inside Microsoft’s ecosystem.
