Copilot in Edge sidebar cannot read content of attached tab

Question

Copilot in Edge sidebar cannot read content of attached tab

A W 5

Before the CoPilot migration / upgrade I could attach a tab to the sidebar chat and Copilot would read the page. It no longer does this returning "internal error" and no more help. I have tried recreating my edge profile, i am logged in correctly, i have no settings enabled in edge that might block access. This is a personal account. I have tried with the simplest possible web page with plain html, no server side generated text or scripts. I can see the web page contents correctly in F12 dev tools by looking at the outer html. How do I get access to tab content in Copilot?

John Powell 0 Reputation points

2026-11-02T20:15:32.69+00:00

I have similar issue. CoPilot "tried to read the active page you're viewing, but the browser-content retrieval tool is currently returning an internal error again.

From the tab information available to me, the active page is:

Copilot troubleshooters | Microsoft Support

The page appears to be Microsoft's Copilot troubleshooting and diagnostic help page, intended to help users diagnose and fix issues with Copilot. However, because the content retrieval failed, I can't reliably see the actual text, options, or troubleshooting steps on the page itself."

This used to work... now it doesn't. I have checked Context Clues option as well. I have the M365 Personal CoPilot. The error shows up when using the Sidebar. I have rebooted numerous times etc. I think I'm borked by the "Update".

The shell URL listed about results in this. Never opens. Thanks!
SLOuser 0 Reputation points

2026-11-02T22:03:19.11+00:00

This answer is not helpful. Since the recent Copilot update on Edge version 156.0.4314.58, the sidebar chat can no longer read active web pages. Even with 'Allow Copilot to read contents of web page' enabled, Copilot repeatedly throws an 'internal error' whenever it attempts to retrieve the DOM or tab context. This is reproducible and not a local configuration or user error—it is a client/backend regression on Microsoft's end. Microsoft engineering needs to acknowledge this tab-scraping regression and issue a fix."
Ian-T 15,605 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-11-03T03:39:01.8533333+00:00

Thank you guys for confirming the same behavior. Since Context Clues is enabled, the issue is reproducible on different pages and profiles, and the Copilot service page remains stuck loading, further browser resets are unlikely to help.

The reports do suggest an issue with the current Edge Copilot sidebar rather than the webpage itself. However, only Microsoft’s engineering team can confirm the underlying cause and provide a fix. Please report it through Edge > Settings and more (…) > Help and feedback > Send feedback, including the Edge version, screenshot, and exact error message.

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators and contributors cannot access accounts or Microsoft’s back-end systems. We can only provide technical guidance on reported incidents, requests and ideas

Thank you for your understanding

1 answer

Your answer

John Powell 0 Reputation points

2026-11-02T20:15:32.69+00:00

I have similar issue. CoPilot "tried to read the active page you're viewing, but the browser-content retrieval tool is currently returning an internal error again.

From the tab information available to me, the active page is:

Copilot troubleshooters | Microsoft Support

The page appears to be Microsoft's Copilot troubleshooting and diagnostic help page, intended to help users diagnose and fix issues with Copilot. However, because the content retrieval failed, I can't reliably see the actual text, options, or troubleshooting steps on the page itself."

This used to work... now it doesn't. I have checked Context Clues option as well. I have the M365 Personal CoPilot. The error shows up when using the Sidebar. I have rebooted numerous times etc. I think I'm borked by the "Update".

The shell URL listed about results in this. Never opens. Thanks!
SLOuser 0 Reputation points

2026-11-02T22:03:19.11+00:00

This answer is not helpful. Since the recent Copilot update on Edge version 156.0.4314.58, the sidebar chat can no longer read active web pages. Even with 'Allow Copilot to read contents of web page' enabled, Copilot repeatedly throws an 'internal error' whenever it attempts to retrieve the DOM or tab context. This is reproducible and not a local configuration or user error—it is a client/backend regression on Microsoft's end. Microsoft engineering needs to acknowledge this tab-scraping regression and issue a fix."
Ian-T 15,605 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-11-03T03:39:01.8533333+00:00

Thank you guys for confirming the same behavior. Since Context Clues is enabled, the issue is reproducible on different pages and profiles, and the Copilot service page remains stuck loading, further browser resets are unlikely to help.

The reports do suggest an issue with the current Edge Copilot sidebar rather than the webpage itself. However, only Microsoft’s engineering team can confirm the underlying cause and provide a fix. Please report it through Edge > Settings and more (…) > Help and feedback > Send feedback, including the Edge version, screenshot, and exact error message.

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators and contributors cannot access accounts or Microsoft’s back-end systems. We can only provide technical guidance on reported incidents, requests and ideas

Thank you for your understanding

Answer 1

Hi @A W

Copilot can read the current tab only when Edge Settings > Copilot and AI > Allow Copilot to read context clues on the web is enabled. Please verify that setting, update Edge through edge://settings/help, and restart the browser.

If it is already enabled, test whether https://edgeservices.bing.com/edgesvc/shell loads. If it does, but even a simple HTML tab still produces Internal error, you have already ruled out the usual profile and webpage causes. Please submit a problem report from Copilot’s… > Send feedback menu with your Edge version and a screenshot, as this points to an issue with the updated sidebar service rather than the page itself

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators and contributors cannot access accounts or Microsoft’s back-end systems. We can only provide technical guidance on reported incidents, requests and ideas

Thank you for your time