Microsoft is rolling out a Windows 11 update that adds widget notifications to the taskbar

When Microsoft introduced widgets to Windows 11, there was broad agreement that the company had not fully realized the potential of the feature. This is something that is somewhat addressed by a new update to the Windows Experience Pack.

The update means that widgets, including the weather widget, will now be able to get your attention by throwing up announcements and notifications. It's an update that could make widgets genuinely useful, but you may not see the new functionality immediately.

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As is often the case, Microsoft has opted for a staged rollout of this Experience Pack update. The company warns that: "If you have the latest version of Windows but still don't see all widgets features, it may be because some features are being rolled out over several weeks and aren't available to all customers at once".

But when you do get the widget update, it is a significant boost to the existing widget collection. It means that news and stock changes are now available as alerts, and the weather widget includes live animations on the taskbar.

In an update posted in the Windows release health message center, Microsoft says:

Windows 11 is bringing you more live content on your taskbar. This change allows you to see live updates from other widgets such as sports, finance, and breaking news. Your taskbar should show weather most of the time, but when something important happens related to one of your other widgets you may see an announcement from that widget on your taskbar.

To get this updated feature, you should update the Windows Web Experience Pack from the Microsoft Store. This occurs automatically for most devices.

These announcements are meant to be quick and glanceable, and if you don't interact with them, the taskbar will return to showing you the weather.

Microsoft invites you to find out more here.