Copilot may soon assist in diagnosing problems with your PC.

      A new feature called PC Insights will assist you in identifying what’s causing your PC to slow down, although Copilot might itself be one of the primary culprits.

      Microsoft's Copilot is set to diagnose issues with your PC, but the problem is that the diagnosing assistant may actually contribute to the slowdown. Windows Latest reports that Microsoft is piloting a new feature, PC Insights, which allows users to ask natural language questions regarding their computer’s hardware and storage, eliminating the need to sift through the Task Manager or Settings. Users will be able to inquire about storage availability for tasks like installing a 100GB game, and Copilot will check the available space to provide an answer. Additionally, users can ask about CPU usage, battery health, and other diagnostics.

      What Copilot can monitor

      As indicated in a Microsoft support document referenced by Windows Latest, PC Insights is expected to assess CPU, RAM, and GPU utilization, calculate available storage, and review folder sizes in locations like Downloads or Documents. It will also detect connected USB devices, external drives, printers, webcams, and the status of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections.

      According to reports, the feature will be opt-in, asking users for permission each time they pose a hardware-related question, unless they choose the “Always allow” option. However, Microsoft’s AI assistant won’t be able to open specific files and appears to be limited to identifying problems rather than resolving them.

      Copilot’s resource consumption undermines its purpose

      While the PC Insights feature may appear beneficial, it has a significant drawback. Specifically, the application that intends to flag issues slowing down your computer has been shown to consume a lot of resources. In its assessment, Windows Latest found that the current Copilot app can utilize up to 1GB of RAM even when idle and occupies considerable storage space due to its inclusion of a private instance of Microsoft Edge.

      PC Insights could be genuinely advantageous for those who aren't very tech-savvy. However, it's challenging to place complete trust in a tool meant to identify resource issues when it is contributing to those problems itself.