We’ve touched on Copilot a bit, and Microsoft is pushing it across its entire product portfolio. You can find Copilot (or Copilot-esque features) in Windows, Office 365 (including in Teams Premium). Copilot has now made it into the physical space with the Copilot key showing up on many new computers. Like the Windows Key before it, Microsoft is pushing this as an option to add more features to your Windows 11 system.
So what is the Copilot key?
First off, here’s what it looks like, thanks to Microsoft’s introduction video:
It’s basically a new button next to the right-side “Alt” key on your keyboard, likely replacing the spot where the menu key was on many keyboard layouts.
So what does pressing the Copilot key do? Well, it’s basically just a dedicated key that opens up Copilot in Windows when it’s pressed (and if you don’t have Copilot for Windows enabled, it will just open up Windows Search). Which is basically the same thing if you click on Copilot on the Windows start menu or taskbar. You can also hit “Windows Key + C” to launch it. And that will then give you the ability to play with Window’s various AI features.
However, if you have a Copilot key and don’t plan on using Windows’ AI features and just want to have that key back and doing something else, you can remap it to something else. If you use the Keyboard Manager PowerToy (full directions here), you can remap that key to something else, if you prefer.
Fun Fact for you old-school nerds like us: the Copilot key is mapped to the “F23” key on your keyboard. Obviously most modern keyboards only have function (F) keys up to F12 on them, but there used to be keyboards with 24 Function Keys on them.