Like most folks, I used to scoff if someone mentioned using Microsoft Edge. Last year I set out to test all the top browser for 30 days each. I kept finding myself wanting to go bad to Edge. Nearly a year later I can say I have been converted to a full time Edge user. Now I get those bewildered looks when I’m the one recommending it! Here’s why Edge has become my browser of choice…
Why Edge Excels
Microsoft Edge isn’t simply a browser anymore – it’s transformed into a true AI-powered productivity and creativity hub. Here’s what sets it apart:
- Deep AI Integration: Features aren’t bolted-on, but woven into the browsing experience, subtly (and sometimes dramatically) changing how you research, write, and even think about getting work done.
- Speed Meets Smarts: Get faster, more informative search results tailored to your needs. Bing (powered by AI) doesn’t just give you links, but provides summaries, compares data, even answers complex questions directly.
- Unmatched Business Value: Edge understands what entrepreneurs and businesses need. Its features are designed to save you time, boost creativity, and protect your data – that’s a powerful combination.
Copilot: Your AI Sidekick
The heart of Edge’s AI power is Copilot. Think of it as your in-browser assistant, always at the ready:
- Website summaries: Need a quick rundown of a competitor’s site? Launching a new product and want feedback on similar ones? Copilot can provide crucial insights without you having to read everything yourself.
- Social posts & drafting: Great ideas strike at random times. Turn your notes into shareable tweets or LinkedIn posts in seconds, capturing inspiration while it’s hot.
- Research assistant: Edge with Copilot is like having a research team at your disposal. Fact-checking, finding related sources, and even pulling out key stats from dense reports happens with a few clicks.
- And much more! This is just the start of what Copilot can do. Experiment, and you’ll find new ways it integrates with your work almost daily.
Split Window & Context Awareness
This is where Edge leaps ahead of the competition. Pop open that Copilot sidebar, and it understands what page you’re on, letting you do things like:
- Product comparisons while shopping: Edge can pull up side-by-side specs from different stores, helping you make the best decision without endless tab switching.
- Quick post drafts about an article: Found an article that sparks an idea? Copilot analyzes it and can generate social media posts or even the outline for a full blog response.
- Streamlining your workflow: It’s hard to explain how powerful this feels in practice. Edge and Copilot learn how you work, making once-tedious tasks feel far faster.
Writing Powerhouse
Copilot’s “Compose” and “Rewrite” functions are particularly powerful for anyone who writes as part of their job:
- Beat writer’s block: Need inspiration for a product description or email campaign? Get prompts, outlines, even whole drafts based on what you tell it. This is especially great if you’re in a time crunch.
- Refine your style: Rewrite takes your draft and suggests clearer phrasing, better word choices, and even adjusts formality levels. Consider it your personal editor, available 24/7.
- Content for any occasion: Emails, blog posts, ads… Copilot helps you find the right words, saving you hours of frustration and ensuring your message comes across clearly and professionally.
Image Generation & Editing: Your Visual Toolkit
Edge’s integration of Dall-E 3 and the Microsoft Designer tool mean you never have to leave your browser to get creative:
- Mockups on the fly: Visualize a new website layout, a product concept, or marketing visuals in seconds. Collaborating with a team? Share the image directly from Edge.
- Spice up social posts: No design skills are needed to add eye-catching visuals that boost engagement. Even a simple image can make your posts stand out.
- Streamlined creativity: Generate an image, tweak colors with Designer, and drop it into your document – the whole process happens seamlessly, boosting your productivity.
More Powerful AI Features
- Prompt Gallery: Feeling stuck on any kind of task? Browse the gallery for writing inspiration, image ideas, code snippets, and more to trigger new ways of thinking.
Beyond AI: Edge’s Practical Features
- Edge Secure (VPN): Built-in privacy is a necessity nowadays. Secure protects your data when working remotely, obscuring your location and online activity from prying eyes.
- Collections: Perfect for big projects, Collections let you organize research materials, notes, and more. You can even export them directly into other apps for further use.
- Vertical Tabs: If you tend to have lots of tabs open, this feature is a sanity saver (especially on smaller screens). It keeps everything manageable and lets you find what you need fast.
- Workspaces: Think of these as supercharged tabs for complex projects. Keep all your relevant research, documents, and even chats together. You can even share the Workspaces tabs with colaborators and work together.
- Drop: Easily share files and notes between your devices running Edge. Your recent work is always within reach. Like AirDrop, without the constraint of having to use Apple devices.
- Reader View: Strips away all those distracting ads and popups, letting you focus on the content itself. While this is a rather common feature, Edge threw in a bunch of goodies to improve the experience.
- Read Aloud: Edge has the most natural-sounding text-to-speech of any major browser. It’s a great way to catch typos in your writing, or simply give your eyes a break. Start reading a news article at home, and use Read Aloud to finish it while you drive to work. It work’s on PDFs and Docs as too!
Edge stands alone as the only browser with AI this tightly integrated. This translates to faster workflows, better ideas, and protection for your business data. If you haven’t experienced the new Edge, I highly encourage you to – you might just be as surprised as I was.