Copilot will assist users in generating images, composing emails, and condensing text LONDON: Microsoft has introduced a new button to the Windows keyboard to activate its newly launched AI Copilot service, the first change to the keyboard layout since 1994. According to the company, the Copilot key will be featured on numerous new Windows 11 personal computers. Using AI, the shortcut will help users in generating images, composing emails, and condensing text, as well as other functions, creating what Microsoft described as “your everyday AI companion for work and life.” Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s consumer chief marketing officer, said in a blog post announcing the change on Thursday: “AI will be seamlessly woven into Windows from the system, to the silicon, to the hardware. “We see this as another transformative moment in our journey with Windows where Copilot will be the entry point into the world of AI on the PC.” Reflecting the trend among smartphone manufacturers to promote their newest models as “AI phones,” Microsoft said it believed 2024 will be “the year of the AI PC.” The company dedicated 2023 to revamping its major products with AI technology in an effort to develop products capable of creating fresh content from extensive datasets. Copilot, which has been developed by engineers at OpenAI, the company largely supported with $13 billion from Microsoft, will rely mainly on ChatGPT-4 technology, but will feature distinct differences. It utilizes not only the integration between ChatGPT and Microsoft 365, but also merges the capabilities of large language models with a user’s data stored in the Microsoft Graph and the Microsoft 365 apps.