Microsoft’s new Copilot keyboard makes its AI even easier to access

On new PCs running Windows 11, Microsoft’s AI Copilot will soon be only a keypress away.

The company announced on Thursday that it’s adding a Copilot key to the Windows keyboard, designed to launch the Copilot for Windows AI system when pressed. The Copilot tool can help users answer general questions in the style of other AI chatbots, summarize content from the web, and help with Windows-specific tasks, like changing operating system settings.

The new key is Microsoft’s first addition to the PC keyboard since the Windows key, which was launched nearly 30 years ago. It signals Microsoft’s continued commitment to AI augmentation of its products, following the recent launches of AI Copilots to assist with everything from drafting Microsoft Office documents and searching the web with Bing to crafting computer code and maintaining complex industrial machinery.

“In this new year, we will be ushering in a significant shift toward a more personal and intelligent computing future where AI will be seamlessly woven into Windows from the system, to the silicon, to the hardware,” wrote Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft corporate vice president and consumer chief marketing officer, in a blog post announcing the new key. “This will not only simplify people’s computing experience but also amplify it, making 2024 the year of the AI PC.”

It also seems slated to give Microsoft a leg up on competing digital assistants, with its Copilot configured to be accessible with a single tap of a button. (Already, the Copilot can be launched on Windows 11 from the taskbar or by pressing the Windows key + C).

Microsoft says the Copilot key will begin to appear on new PCs later this month, including on new Surface devices. The key requires Windows 11 and a Microsoft account to launch Copilot and, according to Microsoft, it will launch traditional Windows Search if Copilot isn’t available and enabled on a device.

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