Microsoft adding text predictions to Word next month

Microsoft is planning to launch word prediction support for Word in March, according to the Microsoft 365 roadmap. Word predictions in Word, previously detected by the technology news site Neowin, will work in a similar way to Smart Composition in Google Docs. Text prediction uses machine learning to anticipate the word or phrase that the author needs to type for faster text composition.

When text predictions are enabled at Microsoft, the suggestions appear in gray font. To accept, press the Tab key or reject by pressing Esc. Text predictions can also be turned off entirely.

Microsoft has yet to announce whether it plans to allow its text prediction to suggest gender – “he” and “she”, for example. The company has yet to comment. In comparison, Google Smart Compose made the decision in 2018 not to suggest gender-based pronouns to avoid potential bias.

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