Windows 11 semantic search without a Copilot+ PC
Updated 20 October 2026
Windows 11’s built-in semantic file search only works on Copilot+ PCs, the machines with an NPU rated above 40 trillion operations per second, so a PC without one does not get it. To search your files by meaning on any other Windows 10 or 11 PC, you need a separate tool that runs the AI on your processor or graphics card. BeaconFind does that, entirely on your own machine, with no NPU required.
Which PCs get Microsoft’s semantic search
Microsoft calls it improved Windows Search. According to its documentation, Copilot+ PCs perform semantic indexing alongside traditional indexing, and it works in File Explorer, in the search box on the taskbar and in Settings. You type what is on your mind, such as “bridge at sunset” for an image or “Europe trip budget” for a document, and you no longer need the file name or the exact words. Microsoft says the improvements work even when you are not connected to the internet, and that the data from semantic indexing stays on your PC and is not stored by Microsoft or used to train AI models.
The catch is the hardware. Copilot+ is not a Windows version or an update you can install. Microsoft describes Copilot+ PCs as a class of Windows 11 hardware powered by a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that can perform more than 40 trillion operations per second. The chips Microsoft names include Snapdragon X, AMD Ryzen AI 300 series and Intel Core Ultra 200V series. Because the test is the NPU, raw power does not substitute for one: a desktop with a sixteen-core processor and a high-end graphics card is not a Copilot+ PC unless it also carries a qualifying NPU. Windows 10 is out too, since Copilot+ is a Windows 11 class of hardware.
Here is what Microsoft documents for the feature, and what you get without it:
| Your PC | What you get for searching by meaning |
|---|---|
| Copilot+ PC (Windows 11) | Microsoft’s semantic indexing, built in and on by default |
| Windows 11 without a qualifying NPU | Traditional keyword search only; a third-party tool for meaning |
| Windows 10 | Traditional keyword search only; a third-party tool for meaning |
Microsoft limits the semantic part to specific formats and languages. Its support page lists .txt, .pdf, .docx, .doc, .rtf, .pptx, .ppt, .xls and .xlsx for documents and .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .bmp and .ico for images, with the improved search optimised for English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Simplified Chinese. Other languages fall back to traditional keyword matching.
How to check whether your PC qualifies
- Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and click Performance. Microsoft’s developer documentation says Task Manager shows NPU activity, so if there is an NPU entry in the left-hand list, alongside CPU, Memory and GPU, your PC has one.
- Or check Settings → System → About and compare the processor name against the chip families above.
- No NPU listed means no Microsoft semantic search, whatever your processor or graphics card. It is worth knowing before you spend an afternoon hunting through settings.
What about “Copilot file search” and the new Windows Search?
Two other Microsoft developments come up in the same searches. First, the Copilot app: when Microsoft announced semantic file search for it in August 2025, the announcement described the feature as available on Copilot+ PCs, so it follows the same hardware rule. Second, on 7 October 2026 Microsoft began rolling out a new Windows Search experience to Windows Insiders in the Experimental channel, built on WinUI 3, with inline actions and, in Microsoft’s words, better matching for typos and synonyms. English is the only supported language for that first release. The post does not state a hardware requirement and does not describe indexing the meaning of your files, so treat it as a preview of where Windows Search is heading, not as a replacement for what is described here. Check Microsoft’s documentation again before you rely on it.
Option 1: Enhanced indexing (free, already on your PC)
Every Windows 11 machine can widen what the normal search box covers. Go to Settings → Privacy & security → Searching Windows and switch from “Classic” to “Enhanced”. Classic indexes your Documents, Pictures and Music folders plus the desktop. Enhanced indexes your entire PC, and Microsoft warns it may use more system resources.
What this does and does not fix:
- Does fix: files outside your user folders becoming findable at all.
- Does not fix: the matching itself. It is still literal keyword search. Ask for “salary” and a payslip that says “compensation” will not come up. Ask in one language and documents written in another stay invisible.
- Does not fix: scanned documents and screenshots, where the text is really a picture of text. There is nothing there for a keyword index to read.
- The first pass can take up to a couple of hours by Microsoft’s own estimate, and is noticeable on battery.
Worth doing regardless, it costs nothing. Just do not expect it to be the feature you came looking for. More detail in our guide on searching inside files on Windows, and if results are missing even after that, why Windows Search is not finding files.
Option 2: Search by meaning on the hardware you already have
Microsoft’s developer documentation presents the NPU as the efficient place to run AI work, with longer battery life as the benefit. Searching by meaning itself does not need special hardware. The models behind it are small by modern standards: BeaconFind runs a multilingual text model on an ordinary processor, and an NVIDIA graphics card speeds up indexing when you have one.
BeaconFind does this kind of search on any 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 machine, with no NPU required, and on Apple Silicon Macs too. You press Ctrl+K, describe what you are after, and it searches the contents of your files. Ask for “the apartment contract with the deposit amount” and it finds the document even when the file is called scan0047.pdf and never uses the word “deposit”. The idea behind it is explained in what semantic file search is.
| Microsoft semantic search (Copilot+ PC) | BeaconFind | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | NPU above 40 TOPS | Any 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 PC; a graphics card helps, not required |
| Languages | Six, per Microsoft’s list | 50+ |
| File types | The text, Office, PDF and image formats Microsoft lists | 70+, including PDF, Office, email, code and plain text |
| Text in scans and screenshots | Not described in Microsoft’s documentation | OCR on scanned PDFs and on screenshots saved as PNG, WebP, BMP or TIFF |
| Where you use it | File Explorer, taskbar search, Settings, Photos | Its own search window on Ctrl+K |
| Cost | Part of a Copilot+ PC | 14-day free trial, then paid |
| Where your data lives | Stored locally on your PC, per Microsoft | Stored locally on your PC, index encrypted |
- Reads text out of screenshots and scanned PDFs using OCR, so documents that keyword search cannot see become findable. See searching scanned documents.
- Understands 50+ languages, including across languages, so a query in one language can surface a document written in another.
- Finds photos by description, which is the other half of what Microsoft’s version offers Copilot+ owners.
- For a wider look at your options, read our guide to Windows Search alternatives.
On the privacy question, which matters more here than usual because this is your entire disk: your files, their contents, your searches and the index stay on your own machine. There is no cloud processing and no telemetry, and the index is encrypted on disk. The app reaches the internet only to verify your licence and to check for updates, and you can block both at your firewall without stopping search from working.
No NPU, no problem. Free for 14 days, no card needed. Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit, and macOS 12 or later on Apple Silicon.
Download BeaconFindThe honest tradeoff
Running this on hardware that was not designed for it is not free, and you should know the cost before you download anything.
- First run downloads the AI models once, roughly 0.8 GB on the lightest tier and up to about 6 GB on the highest. You pick the tier during setup.
- Indexing takes longer without a graphics card. An NVIDIA GPU is used automatically if you have one and makes a large difference. On the processor alone it still works, it just takes longer to get through a big library the first time.
- Background indexing backs off while you are using the PC and can be paused entirely. That is the problem an NPU solves in hardware, solved here by scheduling instead.
- It is a separate app. Microsoft’s version lives inside File Explorer and the taskbar search box. BeaconFind opens in its own window, so it is one more thing to install and one more shortcut to learn.
So which should you use?
- You have a Copilot+ PC: use what Microsoft built. It is included and it is well integrated.
- You do not, and you mostly remember exact filenames: turn on Enhanced indexing and stop there.
- You do not, and you remember what a document was about rather than what it was called: that gap is exactly what meaning-based search closes, and it does not need an NPU to do it.
Frequently asked questions
Does Windows 11 have semantic search for files?
Yes, but only on Copilot+ PCs. Microsoft's documentation says Copilot+ PCs perform semantic indexing along with traditional indexing, so a description like bridge at sunset can find an image and Europe trip budget can find a document. PCs without a qualifying NPU keep the traditional keyword search.
Can I get Copilot+ semantic search on a PC without an NPU?
Microsoft documents it as a Copilot+ PC feature and defines those PCs by an NPU rated above 40 trillion operations per second, so on a PC without one it is not offered. To search by meaning there, use a third-party tool that runs the AI model on the processor or graphics card, such as BeaconFind.
Does a powerful graphics card make my PC a Copilot+ PC?
No. Microsoft defines a Copilot+ PC by its NPU, not by the CPU or graphics card. A desktop with a fast processor and a high-end graphics card is not a Copilot+ PC unless it also has a qualifying NPU.
Is the new Windows Search that Microsoft is testing semantic?
Microsoft's 7 October 2026 Windows Insider post describes a new search experience with better matching for typos and synonyms, rolling out to Experimental channel Insiders in English first. It does not state a hardware requirement or describe indexing the meaning of your files, and it is not yet available to most people, so treat it as a preview.
What is a free alternative to Copilot+ file search?
Switching Windows Search from Classic to Enhanced indexing is free and covers your whole PC, but it is still literal keyword matching. For meaning-based search without a Copilot+ PC you need a separate tool; BeaconFind is paid software after a 14-day free trial.
Does BeaconFind send my files to the cloud?
No. Your files, their contents, your searches and the index stay on your PC, and the index is encrypted on disk. The app contacts our servers only for a licence check and an update check, and both can be blocked at your firewall without stopping search.