The company said the addition of this new AI key to its keyboards will “usher 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”.
Writing on Microsoft’s blog, Yusuf Mehdi, the company’s executive vice president, consumer chief marketing officer, said 2024 will be “the year of the AI PC”.
He added, “The introduction of the Copilot key marks the first significant change to the Windows PC keyboard in nearly three decades. We believe it will empower people to participate in the AI transformation more easily.
“The Copilot key joins the Windows key as a core part of the PC keyboard and when pressed, the new key will invoke the Copilot in Windows experience to make it seamless to engage Copilot in your day to day.
“Nearly 30 years ago, we introduced the Windows key to the PC keyboard that enabled people all over the world to interact with Windows. 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.”
Keyboards featuring the new Copilot key are expected to be unveiled at this year’s CES. Microsoft said availability will begin in late February through to Spring.
Microsoft unveiled Copilot last March, with the product combining large language models (LLMs) with Microsoft 365 user data to improve productivity.