Microsoft makes Copilot less usable on the latest Copilot Plus PCs.

Microsoft launched its Copilot Plus range of PCs this week, all of which feature a new dedicated Copilot keyboard key. It's the first big change to Windows keyboards in 30 years, but now all you have to do is launch the Copilot Progressive Web App (PWA) version. The web app is no longer even integrated into Windows like the previous Copilot experience from last year, so you can no longer use Copilot to control Windows 11 settings or add it as a sidebar. It's literally just a PWA. Microsoft has even removed the Copilot hotkeys on these new Copilot Plus PCs, so WINKEY + C has no effect.

I hope Microsoft develops the Copilot key into something that can be used as a Windows key in combination with other keys to launch shortcuts to programs or even shortcuts to AI functions in Windows. This would make it much more useful than just running a PWA. Microsoft has yet to explain why it changed Copilot from a more integrated Windows experience to a web app that no longer controls Windows settings. "We're also developing the Copilot experience on Windows as a taskbar-pinned app," the Windows Insider team said in a recent blog post. "It gives users the benefits of a traditional app experience, including the ability to resize, move, and dock windows — feedback we heard from users when we previewed Copilot on Windows."

Microsoft says that these changes will allow it to "more smoothly develop and optimize" the Copilot experience, so perhaps we'll see some changes in the future that make the feature's return reasonable. Until then, the new Copilot key will replace the Menu key (Application key) on the new Copilot Plus PC keyboard, and Microsoft has also pinned the Copilot app to the taskbar so you don't even have to use a dedicated key.