Microsoft executive says AI is helping the Windows 11 design team

Microsoft executive Diego Baca, the Windows vice president of design, said AI has helped the company’s design team work faster and that designers are contributing directly to code fixes. His remarks prompted criticism from some Windows 11 users on social media.

Baca made the comments on X while replying to a post calling for more consistent Windows design. He said he was not the best person to discuss engineering, but that AI had helped the design team “accelerate significantly.” He added that designers were contributing code fixes intended to improve craft, consistency and quality.

The comments surfaced as Microsoft prepares to remove several OneDrive Copilot actions from the Windows 11 File Explorer context menu. The actions include summarizing, creating FAQs, comparing files or images, answering questions, explaining images and extracting text. Microsoft said the changes would begin in mid-November, with the actions gone from the menu by the end of the year. The options will still be available through the “Ask Copilot” icon.

Some Reddit users linked Microsoft’s use of AI in coding to their concerns about bugs, faulty updates and software quality. Those claims are user commentary; the source does not establish that AI caused the reported problems. It also says Baca’s remarks do not clarify how often designers contribute code fixes or how those changes are reviewed.