Microsoft is preparing to launch a completely redesigned OneDrive app on Windows next year. Unlike the current desktop app which appears as a small pop-up window on the taskbar, the new app will be a full application closely resembling the OneDrive mobile app.

The updated app will feature a new photo gallery for all your cloud photos and a dedicated people view that detects faces in photos and allows users to tag them. Local photo support will soon be added, enabling users to edit photos directly on OneDrive and then keep them locally or upload them to the cloud.

Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) is a key part of these updates. Microsoft is adding deeper integration with Copilot in OneDrive by launching a new photo agent available to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers. This agent acts as a “chatbot for your photos,” allowing users to request specific photo collections, like holiday pictures or moments from certain times. Copilot will search for these photos and help create albums easily.

The updates are not limited to desktop; the OneDrive app on iOS and Android will also receive significant AI-powered photo editing improvements, including the ability to turn photos into animated styles and easily remove blurry or duplicate images.

A new tab has been introduced to display old photos and “memories on this day.” Additionally, Microsoft launched an important update to OneDrive document sharing with a new “main link” feature that allows users to simply copy a document link, making it easier to request access to files instead of receiving annoying access denial messages, similar to how Google Docs works.