Microsoft shipped Windows 11 build 26100.5061 (KB5064081) to the Release Preview Channel on August 14, 2025, unleashing a wave of AI-powered features alongside enterprise-focused platform changes. The update—the final staging area before general availability—introduces Recall’s searchable snapshot timeline, Click to Do’s on-screen actions, and AI tools embedded directly into File Explorer’s context menu. It also marks the official removal of PowerShell 2.0 and launches Windows Backup for Organizations as a generally available service. For consumers and IT pros alike, this build is a preview of what’s heading to all Windows 11 24H2 devices in the coming months.

What’s in the Build—and Who Gets What

Release Preview builds are Microsoft’s last call for broad testing, but that doesn’t mean every feature lands on every machine at once. The company splits the update into two tiers: “gradual rollout” features, which appear over time and often depend on device type or licensing, and “normal rollout” fixes that apply to all devices. Many of the AI highlights—Recall, Click to Do, and File Explorer AI actions—fall into the gradual bucket and require specific Copilot+ PC hardware, a Microsoft 365 subscription, or a Copilot license. Insiders may see the features over the next few weeks, but admins managing fleets should plan pilot tests now.

AI Features Take Center Stage

Recall: Snapshot Search with Privacy Controls

Recall creates a timeline of screen snapshots, allowing users to retrace steps and search through past activity. The new build adds a personalized homepage with “Top apps and websites,” a left-hand navigation bar, and tighter integration with the system tray. Enabling snapshot collection is opt-in, and Microsoft has built in multiple privacy layers: snapshots are encrypted, tied to Windows Hello authentication, and can be filtered by app, website, or sensitive content.

The support documentation details exactly how filtering works. Users can add specific websites—like banking portals—via the Recall & snapshots settings page, and the system automatically validates addresses to prevent typos. Supported browsers include Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Google Chrome, all of which can filter specified sites and private browsing activity. Chromium-based browsers (version 124 or later) only filter private windows and can’t block individual sites. Important caveat: filtering only prevents foreground tab content from appearing in snapshots; embedded social media posts, tab headers, or browser history may still be captured.

Beyond manual website filtering, Recall ships with a sensitive information filter enabled by default. It uses the device’s NPU and the Microsoft Classification Engine—the same technology behind Purview—to detect and skip snapshots containing potential credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, or other sensitive data. Microsoft emphasizes that this processing stays entirely on-device, and snapshots are never uploaded to the cloud.

Despite these safeguards, independent testing has shown mixed results. Tests by Tom’s Guide found that Recall still captured passwords and SSNs in some scenarios, prompting browser maker Brave to automatically block the feature in its latest release. Enterprise security teams should validate Recall’s filtering against their own data sets before allowing it on managed devices, especially those handling regulated information.

Hardware restrictions further limit Reach: the full snapshot timeline requires a Copilot+ PC, a designation tied to specific AMD, Intel, or Qualcomm processors with neural processing units. Standard devices may still receive some Recall capability, but the immersive timeline is exclusive to newer hardware.

Click to Do: AI Actions on Screen

Click to Do overlays a contextual toolbar on screen content, letting users summarize text, remove image backgrounds, or perform visual searches with one click. Build 26100.5061 includes an interactive tutorial that walks first-time users through its capabilities. The feature works per-application, and its availability hinges on Microsoft’s server-side flags and your device’s Copilot+ status. Expect it to appear unevenly across Insider devices as Microsoft gathers telemetry.

File Explorer Gets AI-Powered Context Menu

Right-clicking a file in File Explorer now surfaces AI actions for compatible images and documents. For .jpg, .jpeg, and .png files, the menu offers Visual Search, Blur Background, Erase Objects, and Remove Background—tasks that previously required opening a separate editor. For files stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, a Summarize option taps Copilot to generate a text preview. This feature demands a Microsoft 365 subscription and a Copilot license, tying it firmly to Microsoft’s productivity ecosystem. For users with the right entitlements, the integration dramatically shortens common workflows.

Interface Refinements Across the OS

Beyond the AI headliners, build 26100.5061 polishes several UI elements:

  • Taskbar: The notification center now displays a larger clock with optional seconds, configurable in Settings > Time & language > Date & time. A few lingering bugs with taskbar preview behavior have been patched, improving reliability when hovering over icons.
  • Search: Taskbar search gains an image grid view to surface visual results more clearly, plus status indicators for indexing progress and cloud vs. local file location.
  • Lock screen widgets: After an initial rollout in the European Economic Area, Microsoft is extending widgets like Weather, Watchlist, Sports, and Traffic to a broader Insider audience. Users can customize which widgets appear without unlocking the PC.
  • Settings: The Settings home page now shows a Device Card (U.S. only, Microsoft account required), and on Copilot+ devices, a new “agent in Settings” provides a Copilot-powered assistant for finding and toggling system options. An updated Advanced Settings page replaces the old For Developers section, adding controls for long paths (removing MAX_PATH limits), virtual workspaces, and File Explorer Git metadata integration.
  • Task Manager: A long-standing discrepancy in CPU reporting finally gets resolved. Task Manager now uses standard metrics consistent with industry tools, though an optional “CPU Utility” column lets admins view the legacy value for comparison.

Platform Changes IT Can’t Ignore

PowerShell 2.0 is Gone

Effective August 2025, Windows 11 24H2 no longer includes PowerShell 2.0. The engine, introduced with Windows 7 and deprecated in 2017, has been a staple for legacy scripts and installers. Microsoft’s support article warns that any calls to powershell.exe -Version 2 will fail, potentially breaking automation, scheduled tasks, and third-party software that rely on the old runtime.

IT teams must inventory their environments immediately. Scripts should be migrated to PowerShell 5.1 or 7.x, and installers that force version 2 need replacing or updating. For organizations that have delayed this cleanup, the timeline is now urgent: production devices will lose the engine as soon as the 24H2 update rolls broadly.

Windows Backup for Organizations Generally Available

The same build announces general availability of Windows Backup for Organizations, a service designed to simplify device migrations and restores via Entra ID and Intune. Microsoft positions it as a way to cut the “mean time to productivity” when employees switch PCs. Admins can configure backup policies to preserve user settings, app data, and credentials, then restore them during a fresh deployment or hardware refresh. Those managing fleets should pilot the service end-to-end, paying attention to how it handles custom configurations and line-of-business apps.

Fixes That Matter Under the Hood

The normal rollout portion of KB5064081 addresses several stability issues:
- A file-sharing conflict that blocked some system recovery features is resolved.
- Backup apps working with massive files on ReFS no longer risk exhausting system memory.
- Chinese IME and touch keyboard behaviors are improved, and a crash in textinputframework.dll affecting Sticky Notes and Notepad is fixed.
- ARM64 devices see faster installer performance, reducing wait times for app installations.

These fixes may not grab headlines, but they directly improve reliability for multilingual users, developers on ARM hardware, and anyone using ReFS storage.

Privacy and Enterprise Readiness

Recall in particular demands a hard look from security and compliance teams. While Microsoft’s filtering mechanisms are robust on paper, the gap between documented behavior and real-world testing—highlighted by Tom’s Guide and Brave—means that sensitive data can still leak into snapshots. Until filters are proven airtight, organizations should consider disabling Recall via MDM or Group Policy. Microsoft provides separate policies for disallowing snapshot saving and removing the feature entirely; both should be tested in a controlled lab before production rollout.

Data residency and export controls also vary. The EEA staged rollout indicates that some snapshot export options may differ by region, so global enterprises must consult their legal teams. For now, treat Recall as a potential data capture vector and enforce opt-in strictly on managed devices.

How to Test and Deploy Build 26100.5061

For IT shops, a structured approach is non-negotiable:

  1. Lab validation: Take full images of test devices before upgrading. Scan all scripts and scheduled tasks for PowerShell 2.0 dependencies. Remediate or sandbox affected items.
  2. Recall privacy audit: On test hardware, enable Recall with sample documents and websites your users frequent. Check whether sensitive information filters work as expected, and test manual app/website exclusions. If the environment handles regulated data, block Recall until compliance signs off.
  3. Licensing check: Verify that users who might use File Explorer Summarize actually hold Microsoft 365 and Copilot licenses. Without them, the context menu option won’t appear.
  4. ReFS and backup testing: Run large-file backup and restore jobs on ReFS volumes to confirm the memory exhaustion fix holds.
  5. Pilot group: Select a representative cross-section of users, communicate the features and risks, and gather telemetry on performance and productivity. Build rollback plans in case of showstopper issues.
  6. Policy enforcement: Use Intune or Group Policy to disable Recall or PowerShell 2.0-dependent behaviors as needed.

What Comes Next

Build 26100.5061 is a classic Release Preview: a blend of excitement and caution. The AI integrations—if they work reliably and privately—could redefine how users find files and accomplish quick tasks. But the simultaneous removal of PowerShell 2.0 and the elevation of Windows Backup to GA status remind us that Windows 11 24H2 is maturing into a platform that demands modern tooling and cloud-connected management.

Microsoft hasn’t announced a final release date for these features, but Release Preview history suggests a matter of weeks to a couple of months. Enterprises that start testing now will be ready when the bits land on every 24H2 device. For everyone else, the build offers an early look at a more intelligent, if occasionally controversial, Windows experience.