Productivity

Microsoft is adding machine learning-powered text predictions to Word next month. According to Neowin, which first spotted text predictions in Word, Microsoft has put this feature on its roadmap and plans to launch it for all Word users on Windows next month.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS:

Word predicts what words you want to type next. Suggestions can be accepted/rejected with the Tab/Escape key. The feature can be turned off at will.

Predicting what you wanna type next

The feature will show predictions as you type, giving you the option to accept the suggested word by pressing the Tab key or reject it by hitting Escape. This isn't a mandatory feature because people will be able to turn it off at will in their Word preferences.

Microsoft originally announced text predictions in Word last year.

Your data does not leave the tenant boundary. Text predictions use a machine learning model to make suggestions based on the text you have typed in the current document or email. The content is not stored or seen by any human unless donated as part of the feedback mechanism.

Text prediction learns and improves over time

It's unclear whether the same feature might appear in Word for Mac. For what it's worth, Microsoft remains committed to the Mac platform: It recently announced that Office 2021 will be launch across Windows and macOS platforms later this year.

Text predictions in Word could speed up document creation and help “users write more efficiently by predicting text quickly, timely and accurately”, Microsoft hopes. This sounds very similar to the same feature that recently rolled out to Outlook for Windows users.