Windows 11 PCs to come with a Copilot key as Microsoft pushes forward with AI
It will be the first new standard Windows keyboard key since 1994.
Microsoft is adding its first major key to the standard Windows keyboard layout in 30 years. In a blog post, the company announced a new Copilot key for Windows 11 PC keyboards, automatically bringing up Windows' flagship AI feature.
In a brief video, the firm introduced the design of what is set to become a new standard addition to our PC keyboards. We've already seen the key on Dell's new XPS line, and Microsoft suggests we'll see the new key on more laptops announced in the lead up to CES, as well as at the show. Systems packing Copilot keys are set to become available from late February throughthe Spring, including on some new Surface devices, Microsoft says. At the time of writing it isn’t clear whether Microsoft will make the dedicated key mandatory for Windows 11 OEMs.
The Copilot key will be the first standard addition to the PC keyboard layout since the introduction of dedicated Windows keys in 1994. We say ‘standard’ as Microsoft branded keyboards have included a dedicated Office key since 2019. According to the video, the new Copilot key is set to replace the Windows or Menu key currently squatting between your right Alt and Ctrl keys.
The simple message Microsoft is relaying above is encapsulated in just two statements in the video. “Microsoft introduced the world to a PC on every desktop,” we are told in the intro. And now, with Windows 11 Copilot and its convenient one-touch access key, Microsoft asserts that “today begins the era of the AI PC.”
There's some fine print regarding the Copilot key: due to the phased rollout of Windows Copilot across different regions, the dedicated Copilot key will launch Windows Search in places where Copilot isn’t yet available. It is worth remembering that with or without a dedicated Copilot key, fully up-to-date Windows 11 users can summon this AI companion using the Windows+C key combination.
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Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.
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ezst036 Due to all the ads they're serving with CoPilot, that new key is going to make Microsoft a lot of revenue.Reply
"Follow the money" folks, "follow the money". -
Notton My preference for that key position:Reply
Wider Alt/Ctrl key > Fn key > Nothing/Empty > Win key >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Menu key >∞ Copilot key -
hotaru251 I will personally de-solder the key if this is forced on future of keyboards...a new key comes at the cost of size of an old key.Reply -
Giroro
It looks like it comes at the cost of the entire left ctrl key.hotaru251 said:I will personally de-solder the key if this is forced on future of keyboards...a new key comes at the cost of size of an old key. -
TheOtherOne According to the video, the new Copilot key is set to replace the Windows or Menu key currently squatting between your right Alt and Ctrl keys.
No thanks! (n) -
Giroro Do you think Cortana and Clippy were so universally hated because they lacked a dedicated button? Because I don't think that's the reason this decades-long pet project is always rejected by customers.Reply
I'd say in the grand scale of "Microsoft's leadership has absolutely no idea what to do with Windows or how people even use computers", I'd say this idea ranks below that time they recently pushed out an update that did nothing but force everybody to temporarily reenable the pointless search box in the task bar. -
sadsteve
I already remap 3 keys on my keyboard so making it 4 is not a big deal.Admin said:Microsoft has shown off its new Windows 11 Copilot key design, set to become a standard feature on AI PCs and the first new standard Windows keyboard key since 1994.
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