Microsoft deployed two innovative features in beta tests in June 2025: an “improved search” fueled by AI for navigation history and a media control center designed to rationalize audio and video playback.
These additions, unveiled in early June, are aimed at treating user’s pain points and raising Edge’s attraction in a fiercely competitive browser market where Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and even the opera contain commanding prospects.
In this context, many see this as more than a simple update of features – it is a calculated effort of Microsoft to reverse Edge’s fortune after years of struggle to gain ground, a challenge rooted in the long shadow cast by its failed predecessor, Internet Explorer.
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The improved search function marks a leap forward in the way users interact with their navigation history. Unveiled in Edge’s beta versions last week, it allows users to locate websites previously visited using natural language requests, even if these requests include sentences, synonyms or typographic errors.
A user looking for a site on “artificial intelligence” could find it by typing “automatic learning” or even “artificial integance”. This flexibility is fueled by a disk AI model that treats locally navigation, ensuring that sensitive data never leave the user’s device or reach Microsoft servers.
Microsoft bypassing the confidentiality traps that tormented its controversial recall function for PCS Copilot, which captures screenshots of almost all that a user does to allow content available on applications, documents and websites, by confining the processing of data to the device. Improved research, on the other hand, is closely focused on navigation history, offering a less invasive approach that aligns with the growing user demand for technology concerned with confidentiality.
The technical foundations of functionality are also convincing. Taking advantage of natural language treatment, AI interprets requests by recognizing semantic relationships and correcting common spelling mistakes, which makes it intuitive for users of all technical skills. It is an opt-in function, forcing users to activate it manually, a nod to the awareness of Microsoft to confidentiality problems after the recall.
The disk model is designed to effectively manage large navigation stories, indexing data locally to provide rapid responses even on devices with modest processing power. For users, this results in a transparent experience: more scrolling in endless history newspapers or difficulty recalling the exact URLs. It is a small but significant improvement that could make Edge a more attractive option for those who frustrated by the limits of traditional tools in the history of the browser.
The new EDGE media control center is supplemented by research on AI, a functionality adapted to the growing number of users that count on browsers for media consumption. Whether streaming music on Spotify, watching videos on YouTube or catching podcasts, users can now manage all active multimedia flows from a single centralized interface.
They should no longer hunt through several tabs to hang a video or adjust the volume of a song. The Control Center also improves the image-in-in-ancanist of Edge, allowing users to watch videos in a floating window while multitasking. This mode, now equipped with intuitive orders for resizing and repositioning, facilitates the search for a video in sight during navigation or work.
The functionality supports a wide range of media sources, guaranteeing compatibility with popular streaming platforms and web players. For heavy media users, it is a polite addition that rationalizes the navigation experience and positions Edge as a viable alternative to competitors.
Edge on the verge of competition
These features arrive at a critical moment for Microsoft, while Edge continues to languish in the shade of his rivals. Despite its modern architecture and its integration with Microsoft’s ecosystem, Edge only commands 4 to 5% of the world market for browsers, a part far from 65% dominant of Chrome and the 7 to 8% of Firefox, according to recent estimates of web analysis platforms.
The roots of Edge’s difficulties date back to his predecessor, Internet Explorer, a browser that once directed the Internet but has finally become a edifying story of missed opportunities.
Launched in 1995 with Windows 95, the Internet Explorer quickly got importance, culminating more than 90% market share in the early 2000s. Its domination was fueled by its tight integration with Windows, the world’s leading operating system at the time. But success has raised complacency. In the mid -2000s, the Internet Explorer was plagued by slow performance, frequent accidents and poor management of emerging web standards like CSS3 and HTML5.
Security vulnerabilities have made it a privileged target for malware, eroding user confidence and frustrating developers who have had trouble creating modern websites compatible with its quirks.
The arrival of Mozilla Firefox in 2004 and Google Chrome in 2008 marked a turning point. Firefox offered an open source alternative with robust customization, while Chrome combined the outbreak with Google’s ecosystem, quickly capturing market share. In the mid -2010s, the Internet Explorer share fell less than 20%, and its reputation as an obsolete relic was cemented.
Microsoft responded in 2015 with Edge, a new browser built from zero to replace the tarnished in the Internet Explorer. In 2020, the company doubled, the transition from the edge to the chromium engine – the same open source platform fueling Chrome – to improve performance and compatibility.
However, despite these efforts, Edge failed to trigger a generalized adoption. Microsoft officially removed the Internet Explorer in June 2022, redirecting users to Edge, but the stigmatization of its predecessor seems to linger. Many users always see Microsoft browsers with skepticism, associating them with slow and unaware days of the Internet Explorer.
Microsoft’s wider IA strategy provides a critical context for Edge’s latest push. The company has made AI a cornerstone of its product portfolio, investing billions to integrate it into its software and services.
Although these initiatives underline Microsoft’s leadership in the AI company, Edge operates in a different arena. The browser market is a battlefield where the choice of users is shaped by the habit, the loyalty of ecosystems and perceptions of performance. Unlike Microsoft 365 or Azure, where Microsoft has a strong position, Edge faces competitors rooted with loyal user bases.
