If you had any doubt about Microsoft’s determination to drive the adoption of Copilot this year, the tech giant announced today (4 January) that it will be ushering in the first change to the Windows PC keyboard in almost thirty years – a Copilot key to Windows 11 PCs. 2024 will be, Microsoft says with a drumroll, the year of the AI PC.
This new Copilot key will replace the menu key that was introduced at the same time as the Windows logo key. TechCrunch amusingly points out that the Copilot key will join the Windows key, “together with its friends the Control key, Alt and that Insert key you’ve never purposely used.”
In a blog post out today, Microsoft’s executive vice president, consumer chief marketing officer Yusuf Mehdi said: “The introduction of the Copilot key marks the first significant change to the Windows PC keyboard in nearly three decades. 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.
“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 new Copilot key will ship on a variety of new PCs and laptops from Microsoft’s partners, with availability from February.
TechCrunch says: “If you needed any more evidence that Microsoft is all in on the AI hype train, the fact that it now, for the first time since the Windows logo key appeared on a Microsoft Natural Keyboard in 1994, is adding a new button is all you need to know.” Lol.
You can read more about Windows Copilot in Microsoft’s announcement from May 2023 here: https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2023/05/23/bringing-the-power-of-ai-to-windows-11-unlocking-a-new-era-of-productivity-for-customers-and-developers-with-windows-copilot-and-dev-home/
Wow – if anyone (really, anyone..?) wasn’t convinced already about how much Microsoft are going to drive us to (and charge us for) GenAI – this puts it front and centre (or slightly to the right!). I hope (and suspect) it will become as useful as windows+L not just there to ‘turn your idea into a song’ (their words), that definitely won’t see me singing ‘lean on me’!
If I press the copilot key what happens?