Microsoft's computers will have a ‘built-in AI key’

Microsoft's computers will have a built-in shortcut key to Copilot, its AI-developed assistant, to make 2024 "the year of AI-powered PCs".

The Copilot key will start to be present on computers running the Windows 11 operating system. Moreover, as can be seen in the image shared by Microsoft, the new Copilot key will take the place of the right Control key on a standard PC keyboard. Specifically, it will be located between the Alt key and the left arrow key.

"The introduction of the Copilot key marks the first significant change to the Windows PC keyboard in nearly three decades," writes Yusuf Mehdi, executive vice president and director of consumer marketing at Microsoft, on the company's blog. "We believe it will allow people to participate in the AI transformation more easily. The Copilot key joins the Windows key as a central part of the PC keyboard and, when pressed, the new key will invoke the Copilot experience in Windows to make it simple to use Copilot in their day-to-day lives," claims Mehdi. 

This is the most significant change in keyboards since the introduction of the Windows key nearly 30 years ago.

2024 will be Microsoft AI year 

In the statement, they have also shared that the Copilot key will be present on keyboards gradually starting in late February on new Windows 11 PC's and its Surface devices. It has further explained that lead times and availability of the Copilot feature vary by market and device, and when Copilot for Windows is not available or enabled, the new key will launch Windows Search.

Microsoft will continue to work in 2024 to stand out in the Artificial Intelligence sector as it has done this year. The company will continue to strengthen its partnerships with OpenAI, which enabled ChatGPT to be integrated with its search engine, and with its partners AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm, with whom it is working to drive new AI applications on Windows processors and cloud.