Microsoft has announced the biggest change to its keyboards in three decades with the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) keys.
According to the BBC, the new key will allow users to access Microsoft's artificial intelligence program Copilot on new Windows 11 PCs.
The Copilot key is located to the right of the space bar and is the first change to the Windows keyboard layout since Microsoft added the Windows/Start key in 1994, signaling the company's commitment to the age of artificial intelligence.
According to a report by the BBC, the change will gradually appear on keyboards starting in February.
Apple, Microsoft's biggest competitor, has added a Siri button or option to the Touch Bar on MacBooks for a few years now.
Copilot helps users with functions like searching, composing emails and creating images.
Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's executive vice president of marketing, emphasized that it would “simplify” and “enhance” the user experience, while adding that “artificial intelligence will be completely intertwined with Windows.”
Microsoft will showcase some of its Copilot flagship products at the upcoming CES tech event, which kicks off next week in Las Vegas.
According to Professor John Tucker, a computer scientist at Swansea University, introducing the button was a “natural step”.
Windows 11 users can already access Copilot by pressing Windows key + C.
“In some cases, the copilot key can replace the menu key or the right control key,” a Microsoft spokesperson told CNBC.
