Microsoft Wants Your Next Windows PC To Have A Dedicated AI Copilot Key

Microsoft is keying in on ways to integrate its AI Copilot, and it starts with a physical key on upcoming PC keyboards. It will be the first major change to the Windows keyboard since 1994 when the Windows key was added.

It is no secret that big tech companies are frantically searching for ways to get users to implement their version of AI into consumers' everyday lives. Companies are touting upcoming products as the next big step in AI and how it will be utilized. Microsoft wants to take it one step further by adding a dedicated key on PC keyboards that will allow users to quickly launch and use its AI Copilot. As of right now, users have to hold down the Windows key and push the C key to bring up Copilot via the keyboard.


“The introduction of the Copilot key marks the first significant change to the Windows PC keyboard in nearly three decades,” remarked Microsoft’s Yusuf Mehdi, Executive Vice President and Consumer Chief Marketing Officer, in a recent blog post. “We believe it will empower people to participate in the AI transformation more easily. The Copilot key joins the Windows key as a core part of the PC keyboard and when pressed, the new key will invoke the Copilot in Windows experience to make it seamless to engage Copilot in your day to day.”

Not every region around the world will have the new Copilot key, however. In the regions that don’t, the Copilot key will be replaced with one that launches Windows Search instead. For those attending CES this year, the new Copilot key can be viewed on devices (like Dell's revamped XPS laptops) that will most likely start shipping in February.

In Mehdi’s blog post, the Microsoft executive explained, “This will not only simplify people’s computing experience but also amplify it, making 2024 the year of the AI PC.” He went on to add that Microsoft has been at the forefront of a platform shift driven by AI innovation. Mehdi remarked, “From reinventing the way people search with Copilot in Bing, and unlocking productivity with Copilot for Microsoft 365, to reimagining how people get things done on the PC with Copilot in Windows, we’ve listened to feedback and doubled down to create an experience that helps people every day.”

There is no doubt that Microsoft is betting on the new dedicated Copilot key to entice more consumers to use its Copilot software. The only question that remains is how many will.