- Microsoft has begun testing ads in the Start menu of Windows 11, a change that will roll out to users in the US Beta channel.
- These ads will promote apps available in the Microsoft Store and appear in the “Recommended” section of the Start menu.
- Since these features are only in beta, user feedback may significantly affect their future inclusion in the official Windows 11 release.
More commoditised Windows 11
Microsoft has begun testing ads in the Start menu of Windows 11, a change that will roll out to users in the US Beta channel.
Specifically, these ads will promote apps available in the Microsoft Store and appear in the “Recommended” section of the Start menu. According to Microsoft’s blog post, these targeted ads are only available for Windows Insiders and do not include commercial management devices.
While Microsoft enables these ads by default, users can choose to disable them through the Settings menu. And since these features are only in beta, user feedback could significantly affect their future inclusion in the official Windows 11 release.
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An attempt to be more advertising inclusive
Embedding ads in the operating system is nothing new for Microsoft. Previous instances in Windows 10 included promotions on the lock screen and the Start menu. In Windows 11 in particular, Microsoft experimented with ads in File Explorer, which were later discontinued in the beta due to poor feedback.
As such, this latest test is a continuation of Microsoft’s exploration of integrating ads into its platform, indicating a possible shift to a more ad-inclusive strategy in future iterations of Windows.
