- The Recommended panel in the Start menu has been improved in testing
- Windows 11 testers now get more relevant website suggestions
- Microsoft has clarified it has no plans to remove this panel from the menu
Windows 11 is getting changes to improve the recommendations that Microsoft pushes in the Start menu, and the software giant has confirmed that these suggestions will continue to be part of the OS going forward.
Those on Windows 11 will doubtless be familiar with the ‘Recommended’ panel in the Start menu. This is where apps or files that you’ve recently used – or may need – and websites you might want to visit are flagged up (although some efforts have essentially been thinly veiled ads in the past).
The change comes with preview build 22635.4655 in the Beta channel, where Windows 11 testers are being treated to better filtering for the recommended websites in the Start menu.
In other words, the claim is that the recommendations served will be more relevant, and this move has been made based on feedback from Windows 11 testers.
In the blog post for this preview, Microsoft explains that the aim is to “show the highest quality sites based on your own browsing history.”
Elsewhere in build 22635, Microsoft Edge Game Assist has been activated so Beta channel testers can give it a whirl.
This is a feature for the browser that’s essentially a mini version of Edge running in the Game Bar overlay, allowing you to look at websites to read tips and guides while actually in-game. Therefore you avoid the need to Alt-Tab out to the desktop to get help, and the risk of dying at the hands of an enemy while you’re doing so.
If you’re curious to know more about the Game Assist feature (you can see it in action, in the below image), I’ve written about it at length elsewhere.
Analysis: Microsoft’s suggestions aren’t going anywhere
Windows Latest has tested the new spin on the Start menu’s recommendations and noted that the files and sites which Windows 11 surfaced are indeed now more relevant, as promised.
That’s a useful stride forwards, but for those who don’t like these kinds of suggestions embedded in an operating system’s interface – me included – it doubtless won’t be enough to persuade them that this is a worthwhile use of screen real-estate.
If you were harboring any hope that Microsoft might be thinking twice about the inclusion of the Recommended panel at all, then you can forget that notion. Windows Latest specifically asked on that score and says: “Microsoft also told me that it has no plans to remove the recommendations feature as it continues to work on improving its quality so you can find items that matter to you more easily.”
While I can’t say I’m surprised at that stance, it would be nice to be able to choose what content populated the Windows 11 Start menu, so every user could customize it to their liking – at least to some extent. And folks like me could dump any sign of Microsoft’s nudges to use products or sites (more broadly across the whole OS, ideally).