Microsoft's veteran Notepad app is getting the generative AI treatment. On Wednesday, Microsoft announced a new feature for Notepad called Rewrite, which lets users edit their text using an AI model.

Notepad won't require a Microsoft account to use, despite the initial impression. The sign-in prompt is actually for Copilot, not Notepad itself. Impending worry about future app requirements ...

Notepad was launched all the way back in 1983. It was the company’s simplified, free, and bare-bones alternative to Microsoft Word—a more fully featured word processor still popular in 2024.