Editor's take: Redmond is preparing to roll out yet another controversial move in the already chaotic world of Windows updates. The company recently confirmed that the latest major release of Windows 11 will eventually be forced onto most users within the year. Machine learning – dismissed in Copilot's own documentation as little more than a joke – is now considered capable of managing one of the most sensitive procedures a Windows PC can undergo.
According to Microsoft's latest timeline, Windows 11 25H2 will soon be rolled out to all devices running the Home and Pro editions of Windows 11 24H2. The latter is set to reach the end of official support on October 13, 2026, and Redmond is clearly aiming to move as many users as possible to the newer version of Windows.
Windows 11 25H2 was released in October 2025 and primarily introduced a handful of notable features for enterprise customers. Microsoft plans to support the release until October 12, 2027, with an additional year of support for education, enterprise, and IoT editions. The company is now using a machine learning – based approach to automatically download and install the upgrade on all eligible 24H2 Home and Pro systems, excluding PCs managed by enterprise IT administrators.
Microsoft said the 25H2 upgrade will be deployed to a 24H2 PC only when the device is "ready," though it did not clarify what that entails. Users are not required to take any action, but they will have the option to choose when to restart their system or postpone the upgrade for a limited time.
Judging from Microsoft's recent track record with Windows updates, letting a machine learning model manage a major OS upgrade seems like a truly risky idea. Monthly patches now bring frustrating issues, including failing entirely due to unexpected problems with patches themselves.
Microsoft recently stated that its developers will "rethink" how they work on Windows code – a sign that the "Microslop" moniker has struck a nerve, even among AI enthusiasts like Satya Nadella. At the very least, Redmond seems to acknowledge that machine learning – based AIs like Copilot are inherently unreliable for handling critical workloads.
Copilot's documentation warns that customers use the chatbot at their own risk, but the Windows Update team plans to employ the same underlying technology to push Windows 11 25H2 to millions of machines. Concerned power users, however, can still rely on tried-and-true third-party utilities to completely disable Windows Update until they are ready to make the switch.