Microsoft PowerToys is expanding its AI capabilities by adding support for Phi Silica, a small language model (SLM) that already powers key features on Copilot+ PCs. The latest preview release includes on-device support for Phi Silica in the Advanced Paste utility, marking a significant step toward bringing enterprise-grade AI processing to everyday Windows power users without requiring cloud connectivity or paid API subscriptions.

What Is Phi Silica and Why Should You Care?

Phi Silica is a compact AI model that Microsoft described as "small but mighty" when it was first announced in 2024. Unlike larger language models that require significant computing resources, Phi Silica is designed to run directly on your device's neural processing unit (NPU), a specialized chip built into modern laptops and PCs specifically for handling AI workloads efficiently.

If you own a Copilot+ PC, you've already benefited from Phi Silica without knowing it. The model powers several Windows features, including Click to Do, which lets you select text and perform actions on it, and on-device rewriting capabilities in Microsoft Word and Outlook. By bringing Phi Silica to PowerToys, Microsoft is extending these same capabilities to a broader audience of Windows users who want to experiment with local AI processing.

How Does Advanced Paste Work With Phi Silica?

Advanced Paste is a PowerToys utility that formats content from your clipboard in various ways. Previously, it required users to connect to cloud-based AI services like OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Google Gemini, or Mistral to access AI-powered features. The latest preview now offers Phi Silica as a local alternative, meaning the AI processing happens entirely on your device without sending data to external servers.

The Advanced Paste feature supports multiple formatting options and AI-powered tasks, including converting text between formats like plain text, markdown, and JSON; extracting text from images using optical character recognition (OCR); and transcoding audio and video files. With Phi Silica integration, users can now perform these tasks locally while maintaining complete privacy over their data.

Steps to Access Phi Silica in PowerToys

• Update PowerToys: Download the latest preview version from GitHub or the Microsoft Store to access the new Phi Silica provider option.
• Open Advanced Paste Settings: Navigate to the Advanced Paste utility within PowerToys and configure your preferred AI model provider.
• Select Phi Silica as Your Provider: Choose Phi Silica from the available options to enable on-device AI processing for clipboard formatting and text manipulation tasks.
• Customize Per-Action Settings: The latest preview includes expanded customization options, allowing you to configure AI behavior for individual actions within Advanced Paste.

What Other Updates Come With This PowerToys Release?

The Phi Silica addition is just one part of a broader update to PowerToys. The latest preview includes improvements across multiple utilities designed to enhance the Windows experience for power users.

• Command Palette Enhancements: Improved dialog handling, faster icon loading, better memory cleanup, and improved theme behavior and dock performance monitoring.
• Window Management Improvements: Enhanced shutdown behavior across FancyZones, Grab and Move, and Always On Top utilities, plus solid rendering of Always On Top borders at full opacity.
• Mouse Jump Modernization: The Mouse Jump utility has been moved to the newer WinUI app architecture, aligning with Microsoft's broader push to modernize Windows components.
• Settings and Preview Release Updates: New update channel selector, guided bug report flow with progress tracking, and dedicated preview-release versioning for independent testing.

Why Local AI Processing Matters for Windows Users

The shift toward on-device AI processing represents a meaningful change in how Windows users can interact with artificial intelligence. Running AI models locally on your NPU offers several practical advantages over relying on cloud services. Your data never leaves your device, eliminating privacy concerns about sending clipboard contents or document text to external servers. There's no need for API keys or paid subscriptions to cloud AI services. Processing happens faster because data doesn't need to travel to a remote server and back. And your AI tools continue working even without an internet connection.

For enterprise users and IT departments, this shift is particularly significant. Organizations can now deploy AI-powered productivity tools to employees without managing API keys, cloud service subscriptions, or worrying about data residency compliance issues. PowerToys is free and open-source, making it an accessible option for businesses looking to experiment with AI without major capital investment.

The Broader Context: Copilot+ PCs and AI Hardware Requirements

The expansion of Phi Silica support in PowerToys comes as Microsoft continues to define what qualifies as a Copilot+ PC. Microsoft's official requirements specify that Copilot+ PCs must include an NPU capable of delivering more than 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS), at least 16 gigabytes of RAM, 256 gigabytes of storage, and Windows 11 version 24H2 or later.

However, not all modern processors meet these requirements. AMD recently introduced the Ryzen 7 449 and Ryzen 5 439 processors, which are based on the same Gorgon Point architecture as AMD's Ryzen AI 400 mobile chips but notably lack a listed NPU. These processors cannot qualify as Copilot+ PCs because they don't meet Microsoft's NPU requirement, even though they retain current Windows 11 compatibility and integrated graphics.

This segmentation creates a practical distinction for buyers and IT departments. Systems built with the Ryzen 7 449 or Ryzen 5 439 will function as conventional Windows 11 PCs with modern integrated graphics, but they won't have access to Copilot+ specific features like Windows Recall, Click to Do, or Windows Studio Effects that rely on NPU acceleration. For organizations that have standardized on NPU-backed Windows features, these processors represent the wrong baseline unless the final device documentation indicates otherwise.

What This Means for the Future of Windows AI Tools

The addition of Phi Silica to PowerToys signals Microsoft's commitment to making on-device AI processing accessible beyond the premium Copilot+ PC segment. As more users gain access to local AI capabilities through tools like PowerToys, the distinction between cloud-dependent and device-native AI features will likely become increasingly important in how Windows users choose and configure their systems.

The preview release also demonstrates Microsoft's willingness to iterate on AI features in real-time through preview builds, allowing developers and power users to test new capabilities before they reach stable releases. This approach gives the company valuable feedback on how users interact with on-device AI while maintaining the flexibility to adjust features based on real-world usage patterns.