(Microsoft)
Microsoft is preparing to tweak today’s Windows PC keyboards to make room for generative AI: Meet the Copilot Key.
The key is designed to automatically trigger the Copilot program on Windows 11, giving users quick access to Microsoft’s ChatGPT-powered virtual assistant. “This will not only simplify people’s computing experience but also amplify it, making 2024 the year of the AI PC,” the company says.
Microsoft touts the Copilot key as the biggest change to the PC keyboard layout since the company introduced the Windows logo key in 1994, which pulls up the Start Menu.
(Microsoft)Copilot landed on Windows 11 in September. It's accessible through an icon on the taskbar, but Microsoft is so bullish on generative AI, it decided Copilot deserved a spot as a hardware-based key. As a result, the company recruited the PC industry to begin implementing the dedicated Copilot key across their products.
“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,” the company added.
(Credit: Microsoft)The first products to carry the Copilot key are poised to debut at CES next week in Las Vegas, including the new Dell XPS 14 and XPS 16. Microsoft and its PC partners then plan to start selling them “beginning later this month through spring, including on upcoming Surface devices.”
If you’re still on Windows 10, you can also expect to receive Copilot soon. In addition, Microsoft recently released Copilot for both Android and iOS as standalone apps.