A leaked internal video shows that Microsoft may be taking Copilot much further than expected. Instead of simply adding AI to Windows, Project Aion puts Copilot at the center of everything, replacing familiar features like the Start menu, taskbar, and much of the traditional Windows interface.
The footage first appeared on BetaWiki’s Discord server and is reportedly about two years old, suggesting Project Aion has likely been abandoned. Even so, it shows how far Microsoft was pushing its agentic AI plans while Copilot was still new. The prototype was built as a cloud-based, web-first operating system with Copilot integrated directly into the shell.
Project Aion runs on a lightweight platform internally known as “Win3,” which is built entirely with web technologies. Microsoft Edge, together with Chromium’s rendering engine, provides the foundation for the AI-focused interface. Users can interact with Copilot through a multimodal input box for text commands, while simplified Taskbar and Start menu functions are also included. A feature called “Spaces” groups apps and websites together, allowing them to be reopened later through a Start-like menu.
Because Win3 relies on web technologies, it doesn’t include native support for traditional Win32 applications. When users need software such as Word, Project Aion links them to a Windows Cloud PC, where the application runs in a virtual environment. The prototype also supports “rich” plugins that work with Copilot, enabling tasks like sending an Outlook email directly from the multimodal input box, with the AI drafting the message based on the contents of the current Space.
Sources have confirmed the authenticity of the leaked video, but Microsoft has never released detailed information about Project Aion. It is still unknown whether the project was being developed as a potential product or was simply an internal experiment.
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