Windows 11 is about to make app downloads easier, but there’s a risk

Microsoft is currently testing a number of new features and experiences for Windows 11, ranging from agentic AI for PC management to an AI-driven “Fix it” button for troubleshooting to a new Start menu design with a useful phone companion panel. There’s actually a lot more coming, but here’s one that seems like a double-edged sword: Microsoft wants to make Microsoft Store apps downloadable in Windows Search.

Windows Latest reports that Microsoft is testing a new download button in Windows Search for apps that can be found on the Microsoft Store. This was hinted at in Microsoft’s blog post introducing a new generation of Windows experiences, where they mentioned “continuing to enhance and expand improved Windows search” with “[the ability] to quickly find and install apps from the Microsoft Store.”

In practice, here’s what that means. Normally, when you search for an app in Windows Search, you can launch it if it’s already installed—and if it isn’t installed, Windows presents you with relevant Bing search results.

With this change, when you search a not-currently-installed app in Windows Search, Windows will check if that app is available in the Microsoft Store—and if it is, you’ll get a preview of the app’s listing page along with a “Get” button. Clicking that button will immediately download and install the app, bypassing the need to visit the Microsoft Store and cutting out those extra steps.

But for this to be as useful as it sounds, Microsoft will need to fine-tune Windows Search and make it near perfect. With almost any search potentially being an app name, they’ll have to avoid bombarding users with rubbish apps that don’t match their search intents. They’ll also have to avoid undermining Windows Search altogether, making sure it doesn’t return app results when users are searching for something else.