Microsoft is working on a new feature for Word which should help users compile documents faster and easier.
As per an entry in the company’s roadmap, Word will soon receive a text prediction feature, designed to anticipate what the user intends to write next and save them the hassle of typing it out in full.
Once the update is implemented, Word will start generating real-time text predictions as the user types. These predictions will be grayed out until they are retyped, approved with the TAB key, or rejected with ESC.
According to Microsoft, the service will improve over time as each user adopts the writing style and language preferences, and this should help minimize spelling and grammar errors.
The feature is currently under development, but is expected to launch to users of the Windows application by the end of next month. It is unclear when the upgrade for the web client or Word for macOS will end up.
Microsoft Word update
The upcoming Word update will restore the equality between Microsoft’s word processing software and competitive service Google Docs, which has been offering almost identical features for some time.
While Microsoft was previously the undisputed leader in the productivity software market, the transition to a first subscriber model and the rise of Google Workspace introduced a healthy degree of competition in space.
Information about the new Word feature also comes in the wake of an announcement about the company’s next standalone Office suite, designed for customers who prefer to make a one-time purchase, as opposed to using Microsoft 365 subscription service.
Office 2021 will arrive later this year, and it will presumably deliver a series of upgrades compared to the previous 2019 edition, but Microsoft remains tight on the exact ways in which the two standalone packages will differ.
Microsoft has confirmed that Office 2021 will receive support for five years and that the company does not currently want to change the price of the package.