Future Windows 11 PCs will have a Copilot button on the keyboard to launch the AI ​​assistant

The standard keyboard that future Windows 11 PCs will have will have a new Copilot button as the default key designed to automatically launch Microsoft’s AI-based assistant. It is the first time since 1994 that Microsoft has changed the layout of the Windows keyboard buttons, and the company announced the news in its blog post.

In a short video, Microsoft unveiled the design of what will become a new standard addition to our PC keyboards. We’ve already seen the button on Dell’s new XPS line of laptops, and the company suggests we’ll see the new button on even more laptops announced ahead of CES, as well as during the event itself. Systems with the Copilot key should be available from late February through spring, including some new Surface devices, the release said. However, it remains unclear whether Microsoft will make the new button mandatory for all Windows 11 equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

This button will be the first “standard” addition to a PC keyboard since the introduction of dedicated Windows keys back in 1994, and we say “standard” because branded Microsoft keyboards already have a dedicated Office button from 2019. According to the published video, the new Copilot button will replace the Windows or the “Menu” button that currently occupies the space between the right Alt and Ctrl buttons.

In this way, the company claims, this novelty marks the beginning of the era of AI PCs with Windows 11 Copilot and a practical button for easy access to this assistant.

Microsoft screenshot