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If you've purchased a new Windows laptop anytime in the past year or two, you may notice the presence of a dedicated Copilot key on the keyboard. Located to the right of the spacebar, this key quickly launches Microsoft's Copilot AI so that you can ask a question or kickstart a conversation.
Naturally, the key is the brainchild of Microsoft, which first introduced it to its own Copilot+ PCs Surface laptops more than two years ago. Third-party laptop vendors like Lenovo, Dell, and HP then jumped on the bandwagon, adding the key to their own Copilot+ PCs. Now, even laptops not designated as Copilot+ models sport the key.
The Copilot key is part of Microsoft's effort to stuff its AI into every nook and cranny of Windows. However, adding a new key to a physical keyboard is a rare move. The only other obvious instance is the introduction of the dedicated Windows key to keyboards back in the 1990s.
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If you don't use Copilot that much or at all, the key is just a waste of space. Even if you do turn to the AI, you can just as easily launch Copilot by clicking its taskbar icon or pressing the Windows key + C. You can even set it to launch by voice if you say "Hey, Copilot."
The inclusion of the key also presents one clear drawback. Typically, the key replaces the Right Ctrl key or the Context menu key. Replacing these keys creates problems for people who would otherwise use them for shortcuts or assistive technologies.
Even Microsoft has acknowledged that this scenario poses challenges for certain users. In a recent support article, the company revealed that it plans to update Windows 11 later in the year with a setting that would let people remap the Copilot key to act as the Right Ctrl key or the Context menu key.
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