Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET
Microsoft is sprucing up Edge with a few new features to help you better manage and use the browser, especially in the workplace. Announced at Microsoft Build 2025 on Monday are three new skills aimed at individual users and IT administrators.
PDF translation
First up is PDF translation. As Microsoft points out, sometimes you may need to translate directions for a new device or train an internal team on global policies based on documents in a different language. Edge is already capable of translating text in a PDF file. But the process is clumsy as you have to manually select the text that you want translated. That’s hardly an ideal method for translating an entire file.
Coming in June and now available for the Edge Canary build is a more powerful and effective translation skill that can handle whole files in one shot. Here, Edge will be able to translate entire PDFs across more than 70 languages. For this, just open the PDF directly in Edge and click the Translate icon in the address bar. The browser should detect the language used in the file and automatically create a new document with all the words translated into your default language.
AI-powered agents and file summaries
Next on the list are a couple of AI-powered tools for Edge for Business. Using an AI chatbot for the same tasks can become repetitive and monotonous. To improve this process, Microsoft is adding agents to 365 Copilot. As one example, a Sales Assistant agent will be able to create leads, monitor interactions with customers, and generate sales insights. Available in early June, the agents will be accessible through Copilot Chat in the Edge for Business sidebar.
Further, the Copilot Chat in Edge will be able to analyze, summarize, and answer questions about your online Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. The goal here is to help you work with documents without having to leave Edge. This one is currently in preview mode for commercial users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
Web content filtering
One more AI skill on tap is the ability to block inappropriate sites in Edge. IT admins at schools, small businesses, and other organizations often have to ensure that their users don’t visit the wrong types of sites, either accidentally or on purpose. This includes pornographic sites as well as those that try to run scams or install malware.
In many cases, companies must turn to third-party filtering tools. Even then, they may have to create their own block lists. Now in preview mode for Edge for Business is a web content filtering feature that lets admins block inappropriate sites just by selecting specific categories from daily updated lists. To configure the content filtering, admins would turn to the Edge management service in the Microsoft 365 admin center. You can then keep track of the filtering results through Microsoft’s Power BI.
Even better, the web content filtering is freely accessible to schools and small businesses that standardize on Edge for Business. The feature is available for managed Windows devices running Windows 10 or 11. Your school or business would just need a Microsoft 365 Education or Business Premium license and use Microsoft Intune.
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