What is this new key that will appear on PC keyboards?

Microsoft is taking another step towards the democratization of artificial intelligence. In a press release published on January 4, the company announced that it will be adding a new key to Windows computer keyboards. It will be dedicated to its Copilot artificial intelligence, presented in early 2023.

The Copilot key should therefore appear on the keyboards of your own machines, but also on numerous PC references from major manufacturers. The first models will go on sale in February, Microsoft promises in the press release.

Copilot is an assistive artificial intelligence, which must be integrated into all Microsoft software and applications, and in particular into the Microsoft Office suite, which includes Word, Excel and even PowerPoint.

It aims to help users optimize their work, offering text generation in Word or relevant formulas and table visualizations in Excel, to increase efficiency. It is also capable of automatically generating Powerpoint presentations.

As part of the partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI, Copilot is powered by ChatGPT. Generative artificial intelligence will therefore be the “engine” that will be used to operate this assistant, which will soon be accessible directly from the keyboard of many PCs.

Specifically, when the user presses this new key, a window will ask him to request an action from ChatGPT, for example, automatically perform actions in the Office suite, but also write him an email or create an image using the Dall-software. Tool E.

One touch and apps

Specifically, the Copilot key will replace the current “menu” (or “application”) key, located to the left of the directional keys and the “control” key.

“The introduction of the Copilot key is the first significant change to our computer keyboards in nearly three decades. Nearly 30 years ago, we introduced the Windows key to our computer keyboards, allowing people around the world to interact with Windows,” Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s chief marketing officer, said in the press release.

More details about the operation of this button will be revealed in the coming days, during CES, the show dedicated to technological innovation, which will take place in Las Vegas from January 9 to 12. Therefore, the first PC models that integrate the Copilot button should be revealed there.