Microsoft is testing an unannounced Windows 11 AI app internally code-named Project Pantheon. Unlike Recall, which captures the screen automatically, it stores only the content a user deliberately selects, then lets AI answer questions based on those 'memories'.
The report comes from a hands-on article published by Windows Latest on October 23. The author found an unlisted entry in the Microsoft Store and installed it without receiving an invitation. They used it throughout the summer, including once to plan a seaside trip.
A memory library you fill by hand
The early build the author tested is called Context Vault, with the underlying layer referred to as Context IO. The app was previously named Projects, and that older name still shows up in Windows 11's Settings pages.
What can go in includes web pages, files, screenshots, copied text, audio and video. The entry points are numerous: a browser extension, File Explorer, supported apps, the Windows share menu, the Snipping Tool, Click to Do and the clipboard. Under Settings > Apps > Actions, you can see App Actions for saving images and selected text, still labeled with Projects.
The app's left sidebar has five sections: Library, Chat, Token usage, Timeline and Connections. Items without a category land in 'Uncategorized memories', of which the author had 11. The app also builds collections automatically and tags them Auto. One, called 'Weekend Plan', looks reasonable; the other two are named 'None' and 'null', a sign this is still a very early build.
The Chat page offers several suggested prompts: list and summarize collections, review recent work, and draft content from a given collection, with a 'Remember this' button alongside. A separate Token usage page shows AI consumption.
Claude and Cursor can call it
This test build uses a cloud model and does not require a PC with an NPU. It also includes an MCP server, through which apps such as Claude and Cursor can read the memories a user has saved. Microsoft has built MCP support into Windows 11 since 2025, and Pantheon effectively attaches a user-curated library to that interface.
The author believes a local model would be the better choice, for example on hardware such as NVIDIA's RTX Spark. Their two main complaints are that saving by hand is tedious and that, once collections multiply, there is no decent way to filter them; filtering is reportedly under consideration.
The article lists several safeguards Microsoft is said to be evaluating: encryption at rest, per-app access control, Windows Hello verification like Recall's, user-consent controls, a policy that lets IT administrators disable the app, Settings integration, and an API that lets other apps read memories. Microsoft has confirmed none of these.
The road Recall took
Set against the Recall lineage, the trade-off is clear.
Recall debuted with Copilot+ PCs in May 2024. The idea was to take a snapshot of the screen every few seconds so users could later retrieve what they had seen using natural language. Security researchers soon pointed out that the snapshot database could be read with little effort. Microsoft delayed the launch and changed it to be off by default, with encrypted data and mandatory Windows Hello unlock, tested first with Windows Insiders before a full rollout in spring 2025. It is still available only on Copilot+ PCs with an NPU.
Pantheon heads in a different direction: nothing is recorded by default, it is downloaded separately, and it is not tied to specific hardware. The cost is that users must save things themselves, and the data goes to the cloud. Recall was criticized because 'it sees everything'; the questions Pantheon has to answer are now where the data is stored, when it goes to the cloud, and how it can be fully deleted. The Windows Latest author also noted that Microsoft has previously promised Windows 11 will ask for consent before AI agents read personal files.
Similar ideas already exist on phones: OPPO's Mind Space and Nothing's Essential Space both work on the principle of the user picking content and AI helping organize it.
Microsoft has not announced Pantheon, has not confirmed the features above, and has made no commitment to a public release. As of publication Microsoft had not responded to the report, so these details cannot currently be verified through official channels.
Sources: Windows Latest hands-on, CocoLoop, Microsoft Windows official blog; used to check the Context Vault feature list, MCP integration and Recall rollout milestones.