Microsoft has announced the addition of a new button to the Windows keyboard to activate its newly launched AI Copilot service.
The addition is noted as the first change to the keyboard layout since 1994.
Numerous new Windows 11 personal computers will come equipped with the Copilot key, according to Microsoft.
Through the application of AI, this shortcut aids users in creating images, crafting emails, condensing text, and performing additional functions.
Microsoft characterises it as “your everyday AI companion for work and life.”
Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s consumer chief marketing officer, said: “AI will be seamlessly woven into Windows from the system, to the silicon, to the hardware.
“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.”
Mirroring the current trend in the smartphone industry where manufacturers emphasise their latest models as “AI phones,” Microsoft expressed its belief that 2024 is poised to become “the year of the AI PC.”
In 2023, the company focused on updating its key products by incorporating AI technology, aiming to create products capable of generating new content from large datasets.
Copilot will rely mainly on ChatGPT-4 technology, but will feature distinct differences.
It utilises not only the integration between ChatGPT and Microsoft 365, but also merges the capabilities of large language models with a user’s data stored in the Microsoft Graph and the Microsoft 365 apps.
