Microsoft adds new AI Copilot button to Windows keyboards in device’s first change in 30 years

Microsoft is adding a new artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot button to some Windows keyboards to empower users to take part more easily in what the company called “the AI transformation.”

Beginning this month, some personal computers with the Windows 11 operating system will have redesigned keyboards with a “Copilot key” that launches Microsoft’s AI companion, Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s executive vice president and consumer chief marketing officer, said in a blog post Thursday.

The new key marks the first major redesign to the Windows PC keyboard in nearly three decades, “making 2024 the year of the AI PC,” according to Mehdi.

“Nearly 30 years ago, we introduced the Windows key to the PC keyboard that enabled people all over the world to interact with Windows,” the executive said. “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.”

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The Copilot button will be unveiled at the CES technology trade show in Las Vegas later this month, though Microsoft has not said which computer makers are adding the Copilot button.

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The company said the key is expected to become available to users later this month on some of its own line of devices, including upcoming Surface devices.

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Microsoft’s push to amplify the AI experience for PC users comes after The New York Times filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that the companies used the Times’ content to train artificial intelligence models without permission, infringing on the outlet’s copyrights in the process.

Microsoft has invested in OpenAI, and the two companies have a close relationship.

Fox Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.