Windows 11's 5GB monthly .msu updates, AI is only part of the problem
Windows 11 monthly updates have grown to over 5GB in size, with the May 2025 update tripling in size compared to the previous month. While AI features like Copilot contribute to larger updates, the main cause lies in how Microsoft packages and distributes cumulative updates. The lack of new checkpoint baselines since 2024 has undermined efforts to reduce update sizes.
- ▪Monthly cumulative updates for Windows 11 now regularly exceed 4GB and can reach up to 5GB in the Microsoft Update Catalog.
- ▪The May 2025 update grew to over 4GB, nearly tripling in size from April 2025, despite only modest growth in decompressed content.
- ▪Microsoft introduced Checkpoint Cumulative Updates in Windows 11 24H2 to reduce update sizes, but no new checkpoints have been released since September 2024.
- ▪The update packages contain over 28,000 files, with the May 2025 update adding numerous MSIX files related to AI and text processing.
- ▪Although Express updates and UUP reduce download sizes for end users, the underlying catalog package sizes continue to grow significantly.
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Home Windows 11 Windows 11 I investigated Windows 11’s massive 5GB monthly .msu updates, and AI is only part of the problem By Abhijith M B - April 29, 2026 0 Windows updates have grown drastically in size when compared to 2024 As it runs in the background, you might not have noticed it already, but Windows 11 updates are getting huge. Monthly cumulative updates downloaded via Update Catalog are now regularly crossing 4GB, and in recent cases, even touching 5GB. The numbers get even more absurd when you look at what’s inside those updates.
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