Microsoft's CoPilot Replaces Menu Key on Keyboards

As AI becomes increasingly integrated into the heart of Windows and the silicon powering PCs that run it – including Intel's Meteor Lake, Qualcomm's Snapdragon Elite X, and AMD's latest Ryzen chipsets – Microsoft has implemented a significant change. The company has replaced the "Menu" key on the keyboard with the CoPilot key, introduced as part of the latest Windows update.

The CoPilot key represents the most substantial alteration to the Windows PC keyboard in nearly three decades. "Nearly 30 years ago, we introduced the Windows key to the PC keyboard, enabling people worldwide to interact with Windows," says Yusuf Mehdi, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Consumer at Microsoft.

"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," he added.

The key will be positioned next to the right-hand ALT key on most keyboards, although its placement may vary slightly depending on the OEM and the market where the device is sold. This is also the same spot where Microsoft added the Office key to its own keyboards in 2019. The CoPilot key launches the Windows CoPilot built into Windows 11, offering up the GPT-4 powered service infused with the Bing Search engine, working with Microsoft's new Prometheus model.

As of now, Microsoft has not disclosed which OEMs plan to introduce new products featuring this new CoPilot key — but with CES just days away, we may see a slew of new Windows-based devices with the CoPilot key. Microsoft also plans to implement this change in its Surface devices.

This spring, Microsoft is rumoured to be launching new Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 models, and the CoPilot key will almost certainly feature on them.

Microsoft originally launched Bing Chat, the new GPT-4 powered search engine with a new conversational paradigm, but this has now been broadly rebranded to CoPilot across its product portfolio. Windows 12 is also expected in 2024 and is likely to have an AI-infused CoPilot theme.

"In this new year, we will be ushering in a significant shift towards a more personal and intelligent computing future where AI will be seamlessly woven into Windows, from the system to the silicon to the hardware," says Mehdi. "This will not only simplify people's computing experience but also amplify it, making 2024 the year of the AI PC."