Microsoft has quietly dropped its planned AI-powered History search feature for Edge, according to an update on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap. The company now says it has “decided not to move forward with this change at this time,” but it hasn’t explained why.
The feature first appeared on the roadmap in June last year under Roadmap ID 495834. Microsoft then started rolling it out in August 2025 as part of Edge’s general availability releases. Instead of requiring exact keywords, History search would have understood phrases, synonyms, and even typos to help users find websites they’d previously visited.
Microsoft described it as an on-device feature from the start. The model would learn from a user’s browsing history without sending that data to Microsoft’s servers. Enterprise administrators would also have been able to disable it using the EdgeHistoryAISearchEnabled policy.
Surprisingly, there wasn’t much chatter or backlash around the feature. It seems to have slipped under the radar, which could explain why Microsoft eventually decided to cancel it, because hardly anyone knew about it in the first place.
Still, it was a general quality-of-life improvement that made the search experience better for users. For example, someone looking for a recipe they had opened a few days earlier could have searched for something like “pasta with mushrooms” even if those exact words never appeared in the page title. The feature was also meant to handle spelling mistakes and similar terms without requiring users to remember the precise wording.
Privacy was one of the main points Microsoft highlighted when it announced the feature. The company said the AI model would run locally and that browsing data would stay on the device. That distinguished it from many cloud-based AI features Microsoft has introduced over the past two years.
The decision also comes as Microsoft continues trimming other parts of the browser. Earlier this month, we reported that Microsoft is retiring the Drop feature from Edge, removing its built-in cross-device file and note sharing tool as part of a broader effort to simplify the browser. Before that, the company confirmed it was also removing the sidebar app list and Collections in Edge 149, with Copilot remaining at the center of its browser strategy.
Microsoft hasn’t said whether AI-powered History search could return in another form. The roadmap entry now simply states that the company has decided not to move forward with the feature.
Dwayne Cubbins
2753 Posts
I cover fast-moving stories across apps, online platforms, and everyday tech — phones, wearables, consoles, and whatever else people are fighting with this week. Bugs, rollouts, scams, policy enforcement, and the occasional internet-culture rabbit hole are all fair game. My goal is simple — make confusing tech news readable. When I'm not working, I'm working out or chilling with my dog. Got a tip? You can find me on X @dcubbins.