LONDON ― Microsoft has unveiled a new upgrade to its PCs—one that lets you summon its AI chatbot with the literal push of a button. The tech giant announced that upcoming Windows keyboards will feature a Copilot key, which calls up access to Microsoft’s AI-powered assistant, starting this month.
Starting this month, some new personal computers that run Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system will have a special “Copilot key” that launches the software giant’s AI chatbot, AP reported.
Getting third-party computer manufacturers like Dell to add an AI button to laptops is the latest move by Microsoft to capitalize on its close partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and make itself a gateway for applications of generative AI technology.
Microsoft’s new Copilot key brings the first big change to the Windows keyboard since the addition of the Start menu key in 1994.
The AI assistant key will replace the menu button, sitting next to the alt key on the left and the left arrow button on the right on most keyboards.
The new Copilot key marks how Microsoft, which has been one of the leading players in the AI industry, is pushing hard for the adoption of its AI chatbots in a user’s day-to-day.
The keyboard redesign will be Microsoft’s biggest change to PC keyboards since it introduced a special Windows key in the 1990s. Microsoft’s four-squared logo design has evolved, but the key has been a fixture on Windows-oriented keyboards for about three decades.
The newest AI button will be marked by the ribbon-like Copilot logo and be located near the space bar. On some computers it will replace the right “CTRL” key, while on others it will replace a menu key.
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