Microsoft is launching a new button for keyboards for Windows computers.
The Windows key was introduced in 1994. Now keyboards are adding a new button to activate Windows 11’s AI assistant. Adobe Stock
Microsoft announced on Thursday that it will bring a brand new key to computers equipped with the Windows 11 operating system and to separate keyboards intended for them.
It is a button for activating the Copilot artificial intelligence assistant built into Windows 11. Copilot is Microsoft’s equivalent of the better known ChatGPT.
30 years since the last significant change
Director responsible for consumer marketing at Microsoft Yusuf Mehdi says the company in the bulletin, that the last time it made such a significant addition to its keyboard lineup was in 1994, when it launched the Windows key. It has since been adopted by other device manufacturers that make Windows keyboards.
The Copilot button will be available on Microsoft’s own computers and keyboards, as well as on the products of its “ecosystem partners”.
This meant numerous computer and device manufacturers cooperating with Microsoft, but only at January’s CES consumer electronics fair will it be revealed which manufacturers will implement the button in the very beginning.
In markets where Copilot is not yet available, pressing the new button activates the Windows search function.