The Microsoft axman just claimed another victim. Less than three years after it appeared in the Windows Insider Dev Channel, the Suggested Actions feature is being deprecated.

Microsoft quietly confirmed, via its [1]Deprecated Features list, that Suggested Actions would not be pursued in Windows. Its addition was [2]spotted by a number of eagle-eyed observers, and while Microsoft has not said when the feature will be removed, its days are clearly numbered.

Suggested Actions was always a slightly obscure feature and occasionally appeared to suggest actions based on copied text. Copying a phone number? Perhaps you might want to call it. Copying a date and time? Maybe you'd like to create an event.

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[4]At the time of its introduction, Microsoft called it "a new feature ... for making everyday tasks quicker in Windows 11 through inline suggested actions." We wondered how third-party integration would work. Microsoft did not reply.

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Now, after a few short years, the feature is on its way out. It was always a bit of an oddball, more so considering that Microsoft is working hard to push Copilot as its one-stop assistant for every user need. It was also another example of Microsoft's relentless tinkering with the Windows user interface.

[7]Saying goodbye to the tech dreams Microsoft abandoned with Windows 11 24H2

[8]Microsoft sends Windows Control Panel to tech graveyard

[9]It's all drying up: Microsoft to erase 3D Paint from digital store

[10]Microsoft shows venerable and vulnerable NTLM security protocol the door

The company is unlikely to similarly deprecate the default "simplified" behavior of that other pop-up veteran – the right-click menu in Windows 11, where icons at the top or bottom of the menu replaced standard functions. Those functions gained labels in Windows 11 24H2, although that was also [11]not entirely welcomed. The changes were an example of fixing what wasn't particularly broken for many users.

As well as being one more extraneous feature added to the Windows 11 user interface, Suggested Actions did not always behave predictably. A glance at Microsoft's Feedback Hub shows users [12]complaining about problems with phone numbers. Others [13]reported difficulties with the pop-up appearing in unwanted places.

For many users, the function was a curiosity, one of the weird things Windows did from time to time. It didn't really work as intended and was left to languish as Microsft's focus shifted to generative AI assistants.

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And now, in a festive gift – or lump of coal in the stocking – for Windows 11 users everywhere, it has been deprecated. ®

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[1] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/whats-new/deprecated-features

[2] https://bsky.app/profile/winobs.com/post/3ld5u5tk2pp2n

[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Z125sxeb0I4Tip_FruCysAAAAAQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[4] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/12/windows_suggested_actions/

[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z125sxeb0I4Tip_FruCysAAAAAQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Z125sxeb0I4Tip_FruCysAAAAAQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/03/whats_gone_from_windows_11/

[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/22/windows_control_panel_deprecation/

[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/12/in_memoriam_microsoft_3d_paint/

[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/06/microsoft_deprecates_ntlm/

[11] https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-to-remove-the-label-of-icon-in-the-file-right/702d4a64-f4f5-47b7-b039-1e85fb93b693

[12] https://aka.ms/AAgxujo

[13] https://aka.ms/AAtqt89

[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Z125sxeb0I4Tip_FruCysAAAAAQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/