IE11 has been doing automatic updates for at least a couple years now, by default.
IE11 on Windows 7 is sadly not getting any new features, only updated with bug fixes and security updates.
So far, it really hasn't been the case since before IE6 came out.
With Windows 10 deploying en masse, IE11 is already in sunsetting mode. Windows 10 and Edge is on rolling updates so they are getting new features more frequently. Service Release 1 is out next month and Threshold 2 features update is out by year end.