Recently, Microsoft announced a new set of APIs at the 2025 Build Conference, aiming to enable developers to easily integrate artificial intelligence functions into web applications that can be used through its browser, Edge. This update marks Microsoft's intention to compete with Google Chrome in the field of AI-powered web applications, which also offers similar built-in AI features for developers.
According to Microsoft, the newly launched APIs will allow websites and Edge browser extensions to access Phi4mini, an AI model released in late February this year. Phi4mini has approximately 3.8 billion parameters and focuses on solving mathematical problems, thanks to its diverse training dataset, which includes both manually generated and synthetic data. The number of parameters in a model is usually related to its problem-solving capability; models with more parameters generally perform better. However, smaller models are more efficient on lower-configured hardware such as laptops and mobile devices.
In addition to Phi4mini, Edge has introduced a series of other AI APIs, including writing assistance APIs for text generation, summarization, and editing. Microsoft plans to release a translation API in the coming months to provide AI-driven language translation services via Edge.
Microsoft stated in a press release: "These experimental APIs are designed to become potential web standards, interoperable across different platforms and browsers, and capable of collaborating with other AI models." For developers handling sensitive data or working in regulated industries, these APIs offer local processing privacy and security without sending data to external cloud services.
The newly launched AI APIs are now available in the Edge Canary and Dev channels, allowing developers to experience these features ahead of time.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has also introduced a PDF translation tool in the Edge browser, supporting over 70 languages. Users only need to open a PDF file in Edge, click the "Translate" icon in the address bar, and create a new document translated into the selected language. The PDF translation feature will officially launch next month, while Canary users can try it out today.
Key points:
📌 Microsoft has launched new Edge APIs to support developers in integrating AI functions into web applications.
📌 The new APIs include accessing the Phi4mini model and writing assistance features, providing capabilities for text generation and editing.
📌 Edge browser introduces a new PDF translation tool, supporting translation into up to 70 languages.
