Microsoft appears to be working on an updated design layout for the Edge web browser that places Copilot at the forefront of the experience on Windows 11. The new mysterious UI is appears to be codenamed Olympia, and features a cleaner address bar and window frame, vertical tabs, and other big changes.
The new UI was first spotted by Leopeva64 on X, and appears to have been in the works for a number of months. The latest builds of Microsoft Edge Canary include an early version of the interface that can be enabled, though the UI is still very rough and non functional in a lot of places.
Based on this early implementation, we can see that this new UI places Copilot directly into the address bar, which now takes on a smaller footprint and is centered along the top of the interface. This new address bar places heavy emphasis on Copilot, with the omnibox now prioritizing search and chat, as well as voice input with a microphone icon placed directly in the address bar that is accessible at all times.
The overall interface is more streamlined compared to the standard Edge layout, with tabs moved into a vertical list sidebar that is accessed via a dropdown button from the top left of the interface. There’s also a layout that curiously places horizontal tabs below the address bar, instead of above like in most browsers.
On the right side of the window frame, there’s options to bookmark a webpage, and a drop down menu with more browser locations such as history, downloads, and settings.
This new interface is a big departure from the Edge UI that we’re all familiar with. It’s unclear what this new design is for, especially as it’s so early on in development that most of it is still non-functional. We’ll hopefully know more in the coming weeks as the UI progresses through development.
For now, we can speculate as to what Microsoft has planned with this new interface. It could be an outright replacement for the existing UI in an attempt to have Edge stand out more as its own browser. Everyone agrees that the current version of Edge’s UI is a shadow of Google Chrome, which is rather uninspiring.
It would be nice if this new Olympia design ends up being a major redesign for the browser to differentiate it from the competition. However, I think it’s more likely that this new UI is being built as a dedicated interface for Edge’s new Copilot Mode, which would explain the emphasis on Copilot in the address bar.
Right now, accessing Copilot Mode in Edge doesn’t immediate do much for the end user. The browser looks the same, with the only key difference being that the Copilot button moves from the right hand side of the window frame to inside the address bar on the left. Notably, this new Olympia layout places the Copilot icon in the exact same spot on the address bar.
As Copilot Mode evolves and becomes more capable, I can totally see Microsoft giving the mode and entirely unique interface that leans into the AI assistants more agentic capabilities as they become available. “AI browsers” are the trend currently, with Perplexity, The Browser Company, and now Microsoft leaning into building out dedicated AI modes for surfing the web.
It makes sense for Microsoft to believe that Copilot Mode can warrant a radical new interface, especially if there is going to be an emphasis on agentic capabilities down the line. We’ve seen Microsoft on record claim that generative AI and agentic capabilities will fundamentally change what a UI looks like, and this might be an early look at that change.
This isn’t the first time Microsoft has attempted to bring a new UI to Edge. Back in 2023, the company unveiled an updated design for Edge which featured rounded floating tabs among other smaller changes to better align the browser with Windows 11’s design language. Unfortunately, Microsoft ended up scrapping this new design for unknown reasons.
That means this new Olympia design could face the same fate, though it seems too early to know for sure if that will be the case. Given how non functional a lot of the Olympia UI is currently, I suspect the company is still in the early stages of development for this new layout.
For now, what are your thoughts on this new Microsoft Edge UI codenamed Olympia? Do you think it has something to do with Copilot Mode, or could Microsoft be readying a radical redesign for the Edge browser for all users, regardless of Copilot Mode? Let us know in the comments below.
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