Make a local AI editing shortcut on a Copilot+ PC

PowerToys’ Advanced Paste supports saved AI actions using local Phi Silica on supported Copilot+ PCs. Give one action a small job: expand workplace shorthand using your own glossary.[1]

These are documentation-based instructions. The sample note and editing rules below are an original exercise; we have not run this workflow on a Windows machine.

Connect the local model

Install Microsoft PowerToys from the Microsoft Store or its official GitHub release. Microsoft documents support for 64-bit x64 and Arm64 Windows systems. The Phi Silica route used here is narrower: start with a supported Copilot+ PC.[2]

Phi Silica is a local language model that runs on the PC’s neural processing unit. Microsoft lists rewriting and summarising among its text capabilities. The model’s availability is separate from installing PowerToys; Phi Silica is not offered in China.[3]

In PowerToys Settings, enable Advanced Paste and Paste with AI. Choose Model providers → Add model → Phi Silica. If needed, select Download model and follow progress in Windows Update. Save.[1]

Give the action a precise job

Under Custom actions, create Plain English. Set its model override to Phi Silica and show it in the Advanced Paste window. Keep Custom format preview enabled; leave the shortcut unset for now.[1]

Use the following original prompt:

Rewrite the copied text as one clear paragraph for a new colleague. Expand standalone abbreviations using this glossary: PT means product team; QA means quality assurance; PM means project manager. Use these meanings even if another expansion is more common. Keep unknown abbreviations unchanged. Preserve names, quantities, times and whether a task is completed or pending. Add no new information. Return only the paragraph.

The glossary supplies knowledge that a general model cannot infer reliably from three letters. PM could mean an afternoon time, a private message or a job title. In this action it has one specified meaning. Replace the example glossary with the vocabulary of the task you actually repeat.

Try an abbreviation with several meanings

Copy this invented example: “PT asked QA to recheck the blue label. PM will collect the results at 14:00. The ZR review is still pending.”

Open a blank note, press Win+Shift+V and choose Plain English. Review the preview before pasting.[1]

Check that the three supplied abbreviations have expanded correctly and that the product team still made the request. The project manager is collecting results; the model should not change that person into the reviewer. ZR should remain as written because the glossary does not define it.

Then try “The QA review is complete; the PM review is pending.” A useful rewrite preserves both states. It should not flatten the sentence into “the reviews are complete” or invent an expansion for a term you did not supply. If either exercise fails, adjust the prompt and try again before making the action habitual.

Once the action is useful, assign an unused shortcut in its settings. Keep Ctrl+V for ordinary pasting. If you add another provider later, keep Plain English’s model override on Phi Silica.[1]

A small glossary also makes the shortcut easier to maintain. If a team changes what an abbreviation means, update that entry once. The action then carries the same editing brief between the text boxes you use, without asking you to explain the vocabulary afresh every time.

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