Microsoft retires the Win+C keyboard shortcut for Copilot, promotes the Copilot key instead

One of the main highlights of Copilot + PCs is that they all feature a dedicated Copilot key on the keyboard. It is one of the biggest changes in the three-decade-long history of Windows keyboards. If you’re wondering if triggering Copilot using the dedicated key on Windows 11 will let you explore all its horizons, sadly, it won’t. 

The dedicated Copilot key on Copilot + PCs running Windows 11 is sadly not that useful, at least for now

In fact, using the dedicated key on Copilot + PCs only launches a Progressive Web App (PWA) version of Copilot. Although you can resize, minimize, move, or close the Copilot just like any other app, the patch note dropped by Microsoft on the June 14th Windows 11 Insider Preview Build post makes the feature less useful and accessible than it is on the publicly available Windows version. 

As The Verge notes, the web app doesn’t even integrate into Windows anymore like we saw last year. It also means that you can’t use Copilot to control settings in Windows 11. Neither, the chatbot can be docked at the side of the screen.

It would have been great if Microsoft had supercharged the Copilot key to use as a shortcut to launch an app or AI features, if not alone, with different key combinations at least. Doing so would have made the Copilot more useful than what Microsoft has made it now. Talking about the new Copilot experience in the patch notes, Microsoft says:

We’re also evolving the Copilot experience on Windows as an app that will be pinned to the taskbar. This enables users to get the benefits of a traditional app experience, including the ability to resize, move, and snap the window – feedback we’ve heard from users throughout the preview of Copilot in Windows.

Microsoft retires the Win+C keyboard shortcut for Copilot

Other than triggering Copilot as PWA using the dedicated key, Microsoft is also retiring the Win+C keyboard shortcut earlier used to summon Copilot in Windows 11. The keyboard shortcut will no longer be usable in Copilot + PCs. So, if you have to summon the chatbot on Copilot + PCs, you will need to use the dedicated Copilot key. 

Microsoft also adds that this model allows it to more agilely develop and optimize the experience based on user feedback. Until the company makes changes in its plan, Copilot + PCs users will have to use the Copilot key to access the not-so-useful PWA version of the chatbot.

Moreover, Microsoft has also pinned the Copilot app to the taskbar. So, if you don’t feel like using the dedicated key, simply click on the pinned Copilot icon on the taskbar.