What do you think will drive Copilot+ PC sales? Fantastic AI acceleration chops? Windows on Arm gets emulation for fast app and game performance (on Snapdragon X models)? No – it’s the Copilot key on the keyboard, dummy.
Surprised? Well, we certainly are, but apparently one of Microsoft’s selling points for Copilot+ PCs is the special key to summon the AI on the keyboard.
We can draw that unexpected conclusion from a move that Microsoft just made that otherwise seems quite puzzling: namely removing the keyboard shortcut for Copilot from Windows 11.
As indicated by Tom’s hardware, the new Windows 11 preview (build 22635) in the beta channel has dumped the keyboard shortcut (Windows key + C) that opens the Copilot panel. This is an update that just happened (on June 19th), after the preview build first appeared on June 14th.
Microsoft explains very vaguely that: “As part of the evolution of the Copilot experience on Windows to become an app pinned to the taskbar, we are eliminating the WIN+C keyboard shortcut.”
Analysis: A cynical move by Microsoft?
What now? How is removing a useful keyboard shortcut part of Copilot’s “evolution”? Surely it’s a step backwards to drop one of the ways to invoke the AI assistant on the desktop?
If Microsoft had big plans for the Windows + C shortcut elsewhere, for example another piece of functionality that required this particular combination, the reasoning might be at least a little clearer. But for all intents and purposes, there’s no replacement feature here – Windows + C does nothing now.
As for why Copilot somehow becomes an app window, rather than a locked side panel in Windows 11, we don’t see how that has any relevance to whether you can open the AI with a keyboard shortcut or not.
As Tom’s Guide notes, the impetus for this change seems to be to make the Copilot key on the keyboard a more crucial feature, replacing the shortcut, but guess what: you only get that key on new Copilot+ PCs (now anyway). So the logical conclusion for the skeptics is that this is simply a new angle to boost sales of Copilot+ PCs.
Of course, it’s not like you can’t just click the Copilot icon so you don’t suddenly find yourself lost at sea without AI assistance – but that’s not the point. However, it’s clearly a lost convenience and it feels like a cynical move on Microsoft’s part.
Tom’s Guide points out that you could use third-party key mapping software to restore the functionality of this particular shortcut, but the point is that you really shouldn’t bother jumping through such hoops. Come on, Microsoft – don’t pull or share stunts like this if there’s a good reason for the change, and not some questionable soundbites about the evolving Copilot.