Microsoft recently announced its plan to introduce a new Copilot key for AI-powered Windows PCs, marking a significant shift towards a more personal and intelligent computing future. The Copilot key will become a core part of the PC keyboard, making it the first major change to the Windows PC keyboard in three decades.
Integration of AI into Windows
Yusuf Mehdi, executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer at Microsoft, stated, “We will be ushering 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.” Mehdi believes that this addition will be a substantial step towards making 2024 the year of the AI PC.
Copilot’s Deep Integration
In September 2023, Microsoft announced that the new version of Windows 11 would have Copilot baked right into the operating system itself. This AI companion offers a range of features across all user applications. Carmen Zlateff, vice president of Windows, explained, “What if Copilot could take copy and paste and make them even better – copy, paste, and do?”
- Initially, Copilot was made available through all Microsoft 365 applications, as part of Microsoft’s software-as-a-subscription (SaaS) offering in May 2023.
- However, the integration of Copilot into the Windows operating system allows users with Windows 11 installed locally to access the AI tool more conveniently. Microsoft ecosystem partners will add the new Copilot key to Windows 11 PCs, with availability beginning in late February through Spring, including on upcoming Surface devices.
- Mehdi also hinted at future efforts to optimize AI experiences within Windows, stating, “This will require an operating system that blurs the lines between local and cloud processing.”
“Making 2024 the year of the AI PC.”
– Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft
