Keyboard shortcuts are convenient and cool, saving time and making you feel like a proper power user. Almost every major feature of Windows has one, from Command Prompt to File Explorer. There’s even a way to access LinkedIn in just a few keystrokes. As such, it only makes sense that Copilot receive the same treatment. However, Microsoft disagrees and is giving WIN+C the chop with an altogether strange justification.
Microsoft is still tweaking Copilot, ahead of its general release as a part of the 23H2 Windows 11 update. However, the AI assistant’s preview period hasn’t been without controversy. Its headline feature, Recall, gave cause for concern regarding the security of data passed through it. These problems are so severe, in fact, that its previously planned general release is now delayed. Now, we have yet another confusing development to add to the growing pile of faux pas.
As an update to the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build (22635.3785), Microsoft announced plans to remove Copilot’s WIN+C keyboard shortcut. This is a strange decision in of itself, but the company’s justification simply doesn’t add up. On the blog page, it states: “As part of the Copilot experience’s evolution on Windows to become an app that is pinned to the taskbar, we are retiring the WIN + C keyboard shortcut.”
If Copilot is receiving this treatment, then why do Task View (WIN+TAB) and widgets (WIN+W) shortcuts remain? Let alone the fact that many users, myself included, prefer to keep a clean taskbar with minimal pins, making keyboard shortcuts or reliable search an absolute must for some applications. I’m certainly not about to cough up some cash for a new keyboard with a dedicated Copilot button either.
While Microsoft tries to make Copilot more accessible, whether through additions to Windows 10 or free trials of its Pro tier, the company doesn’t appear to have fully thought through how the feature should function in its operating system. Sure, the removal of a keyboard shortcut is a minor change. However, it’s difficult not to think more of it given the wider context surrounding the move.
Those upgrading to Copilot+ PCs will have a dedicated macro key ready to go out of the box. It’s unclear how quickly we could see a similar adoption for desktop peripherals. Should Microsoft maintain its push for AI in Windows for years to come, rather than ALT+F4, it should prove an inevitability.
For more on Copilot and artificial intelligence, check out our AMD Ryzen AI 300 series explainer.
