Artificial Intelligence (AI) and all it can do is a hot topic in the tech world. Microsoft is of course no exception, and it has not slackened its pace when integrating artificial intelligence into various products and services, including Windows. Microsoft's artificial intelligence products are generally under the banner of "Copilot", and the company has been vigorously promoting it to convince the industry and people why artificial intelligence is such a great thing.
Back in November, Microsoft published a blog post explaining how users really need Copilot even though they might not want it. Just a month ago, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella expressed their views on Copilot, even comparing it to the second revolution of the Windows "Start Button".
Perhaps inspired by its own ideas, Microsoft launched a new Copilot key on the keyboard at this CES. When pressed, Copilot will be launched, similar to the Windows key that launches the "Start" menu. The key will appear on new laptop and desktop keyboards starting in January, the company said, a move the tech giant wants to replicate the success of the Start button while also spurring new hardware sales from manufacturers who must bring keyboards with the new keys to market.
In a statement to Dr.Windows, Microsoft elaborated on the key's location. The company stated:
The location of the Copilot key varies between manufacturers, but is generally to the right of the space bar, opposite the WIN key. In some cases, this key replaces the right CTRL key; on some larger keyboards, both the right CTRL key and the Copilot key can exist; in other cases, the Copilot key is combined with the "Menu" key (the Menu key is accessed through the Fn key + Copilot key).
The article further states that the Copilot key is not mandatory and therefore will not be part of Windows device certification, at least not yet.
So if you don't want the Copilot key to take up any space on your keyboard, you can still choose not to use it, though on laptops and notebooks, that choice can become very limited since they're all preset and manufacturers have to balance the functionality and experience of the device.