Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years.
TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust.
In a nutshell: If you're one of the many Windows 11 users who hasn't exactly fallen in love with Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant, you'll be glad to know the company is finally giving you a way to make better use of that dedicated Copilot key.
With the latest Windows 11 insider preview build (22635.4225 for beta testers), Microsoft has added the ability to reprogram what the Copilot button launches. The new option can be found buried in the Settings app under Personalization > Text Input. From there, you can pick an "MSIX packaged and signed" app.
Unfortunately, that MSIX requirement is a pretty big catch. It means you can't just assign the Copilot key to open any regular desktop program you want. Microsoft cites "security and privacy requirements" as the reason for this limitation.
For the unfamiliar, MSIX is Microsoft's latest app package format that aims to improve reliability and take up less disk space than traditional Windows executable files. It's become the standard for distributing apps on the Microsoft Store.
While apps are slowly adopting MSIX, you'll still be stuck using the Copilot button to open the AI assistant for any apps that haven't yet made the jump to MSIX packaging – and most apps haven't.
Thankfully, there are ways to remap the Copilot key to absolutely anything using third-party utilities and hacks like AutoHotKey or Microsoft's own PowerToys.
On that note, it's worth mentioning that Tom's Hardware previously did some digging with AutoHotKey and found that the Copilot key registers as a combo of Left Ctrl + Windows Key + F23. F23 is a function key that hasn't graced mainstream keyboards since those vintage IBM Model Ms from the 80s.
Microsoft also notes in the blog about this update that if the keyboard lacks a Copilot key, "adjusting this setting will not do anything." That's an odd detail implying the toggle is visible even on hardware lacking the key. Perhaps this will change once the feature hits the stable branch.
In other Windows 11 preview news, the build addresses an issue that triggered a bug check when closing Notepad, but a new bug has also popped up that can break the Start menu if you click on certain letters in the All Apps list.