Microsoft Word is getting AI-powered predictive text next month

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Microsoft is bringing text predictions to Microsoft Word as early as next month. That’s according to a new entry in the Microsoft 365 roadmap, first spotted by Neowin.

The feature was first offered to Office Insiders back in September when word prediction was added to both Word and Outlook.

The system uses a machine learning model that uses the rest of the document to base its suggestions on, with Microsoft stating that the processing is all done on your computer, with content “not stored or seen by any human unless donated as part of the feedback mechanism.”

It seems those tests went well, as Microsoft is now rolling it out to everyone using Microsoft 365. It’s enabled by default, giving the user suggestions while they type. Pressing Tab fills in the rest of the suggested word, and you can press Esc to reject the prediction. Over time, the system will learn from your typing style and get more accurate in its predictions.

You can also turn off text prediction, if you find it doesn’t help or if you’d prefer that your text isn’t being read by AI. Microsoft has how-to’s for both Word and Outlook, so keep a note of those for when the feature rolls out.

When Google’s Smart Compose text prediction was released, they left out the ability to predict gendered pronouns, as the system had difficulty suggesting the correct one. It’s too early to tell if Microsoft went the same route, or if their training model is more nuanced.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.