Microsoft is making the biggest change to Windows PC keyboards in nearly three decades by introducing a new Copilot key.
Announced on Thursday (Jan 4), this key provides instant access to Microsoft’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered digital assistant, Copilot. It can perform tasks like adjusting settings, organizing screen elements, summarizing text passages, and generating images when prompted by the user.
Pressing this key opens the Copilot experience in Windows, allowing users to use the AI with ease. According to the software giant, the addition of the Copilot key represents the beginning of what they are calling “the year of the AI PC.” Essentially, this refers to AI becoming deeply and seamlessly integrated into the Windows experience, from the core system to the silicon to the hardware itself.
Microsoft continues to make strides in AI with Copilot
Writing on Thursday (Jan 4) on a company blog, Yusuf Mehdi, Consumer Chief Marketing Officer wrote: “Nearly 30 years ago, we introduced the Windows key to the PC keyboard that enabled people all over the world to interact with Windows. We see this as another transformative moment in our journey with Windows where Copilot will be the entry point into the world of AI on the PC.”
The Copilot key will start showing up on new Windows 11 devices from both Microsoft’s partners and its Surface lineup. Its addition comes shortly after the trillion-dollar company established itself as a leader in AI in 2023, thanks to developments like its GPT-powered Copilot chatbot assistant.
Integrating the Copilot key and assistant is only the initial step toward realizing the tech giant’s ambition of ushering in the era of the AI PC. As Mehdi states: “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.”
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