Microsoft is advertising Copilot Pro on Windows 11's Settings homepage, and it could greatly upset users
For some Insiders, this is hidden, but for others, it's not.
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A Copilot Pro subscription ad card was spotted in the Windows 11’s Settings homepage by Windows Insider enthusiast, @PhantomOfEarth, in the latest builds to the Dev and Beta Channels within Windows Insider Program.
Looks like a Copilot Pro subscription card is being added to the Settings Home page, as well as a section for Copilot Pro in Accounts settings which displays billing information. Hidden in the latest Dev and Beta builds.
@PhantomOfEarth
The spotter stated that the card is currently hidden, and those who want to enable it, can use the following command in the third-party app ViveTool:
vivetool /enable /id:47942561
However, for some other Insiders, the card was already there, once they installed the latest updates, without having to uncover it with a ViveTool command, which means the Copilot Pro card is most likely gradually rolling out to Insiders.
The Copilot Pro ad appears both as a card on the Settings’ Homepage, and a special panel in the Accounts section within Windows 11’s Settings, and it reads:
Unlock priority access to GPT-4 and GPT-4 Turbo, get accelerated performance, and create AI images faster with Copilot Pro.
Microsoft then suggests Windows 11 users get the AI tool, and find out more about its capabilities. The card is currently on in the Insider Channels, and it will most likely make its way up to the Stable channel of Windows 11.
It will also upset a lot of Windows 11 users. Here’s why.
This is why the Copilot Pro ad card on Windows 11 would upset users
First of all, Windows 11 is used by Microsoft to place ads everywhere, from those encouraging users to get on Microsoft Edge, to the company telling them to use OneDrive, and so on. A lot of Windows users have been frustrated by these ads.
A Copilot Pro ad would be another way for them to consider Windows 11 as a whole.
Then, interestingly enough, the Copilot Pro ad appears as a card in Windows 11’s Settings. Microsoft introduced the Settings cards in 2023, to allow users to access their preferred settings faster. The cards track the users’ activity on the operating system, and then Windows 11 will show personalized cards that reflect the users’ most accessed settings.
The blatant replacement of one of those cards with an ad for Copilot Pro might not go well with a lot of Windows 11 users, and it might force some to go back to an older version of the OS or transition altogether to Windows 10.
Is it a good move from Microsoft? Well, questionably. While Satya Nadella recently revealed that there are over 75 million Copilot users on Windows 10, and Windows 11, the AI tool is known for its demanding power usage.
Plus, Copilot Pro might not be a good fit for the everyday Windows user, at least not now, and many might consider there is no point in paying $20/month for the extra features.
What do you think about it?
