This Microsoft Edge update is a dream for all you clumsy typists

Typing
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Spelling errors may soon be a thing of the past for Microsoft Edge users thanks to a new update coming to the software.

The company has revealed it is working on bringing a new "text predictions" feature to its browser that uses Microsoft's own in-house AI and ML technology to offer word suggestions to users.

This feature will initially be available to Windows 10 and Windows 11 users in the Edge Canary Channel, but should be coming to a wider audience soon.

Microsoft Edge text predictions

The change will see Microsoft Edge utilizing a similar process seen in the company's Outlook platform and Microsoft Editor service.

Predictions or suggestions will be displayed in a greyed-out suggestion box shown when the user is typing in Microsoft Edge. Users can accept a text prediction suggestion by clicking Tab or pressing the right arrow key - and to ignore a suggestion, just continue typing and the preview will disappear.

Users can try out the new addition now, but will need to be members of the Edge Canary Channel to do so. There's no news on a wider release date just yet, but given Microsoft's past track record, the tool should come to the market soon.

It's the latest in a series of recent upgrades for Microsoft Edge as the company looks to keep users engaged and away from competitors such as Google Chrome.

This includes the launch of a new "Games" panel in the browser, along with a new twist on the RSS-style Followable Web feature that lets users follow their favorite YouTube creators with the press of a button.

Although Chrome only offers text suggestions in the URL search bar, several other Google tools provide predictive text tools for users.

Autocorrect came to Google Docs back in February 2020, with the company's Smart Compose tool looking to help users stamp out spelling or grammar mistakes following its launch on Gmail all the way back in 2018.

Smart Compose automatically suggests the next few words of a sentence based on what you've already typed, learning from your writing habits to become more accurate over time.

Via WindowsLatest

Mike Moore
Deputy Editor, TechRadar Pro

Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.