Microsoft Unveils AI Key for Windows 11 PCs
In a groundbreaking move, Microsoft has announced the introduction of an artificial intelligence (AI) key on its keyboards, marking the biggest change to its keyboards in three decades.
The AI key will grant users access to Copilot, Microsoft's powerful AI tool, on new Windows 11 PCs.
Microsoft, a major investor in OpenAI, has integrated AI into various products such as Microsoft 365 and Bing search since 2023. The inclusion of an AI key on the keyboard is a significant step forward in enhancing user experience and simplifying tasks.
Rival Apple has already incorporated a Siri button on its touch bar in Macbooks for a few years, but Microsoft's AI key takes the integration of AI to a new level. Copilot, powered by OpenAI, assists users with functions like searching, writing emails, and creating images.
Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's executive vice president, described the introduction of the AI key as a "transformative" moment, drawing parallels to the addition of the Windows key nearly 30 years ago. The new keyboards featuring the AI key are expected to be available on new products starting from February.
To showcase the capabilities of the Copilot key, Microsoft will be presenting some of the products at the upcoming CES tech event in Las Vegas, which kicks off next week.
Copilot, initially integrated into Office 365 products such as Word, PowerPoint, and Teams, has proven to be a valuable tool for summarising meetings, writing emails, and creating presentations. It has also been integrated into Microsoft's search engine, Bing.
While Google has its own AI system called Bard, it was OpenAI's introduction of the powerful AI tool ChatGPT in 2022 that prompted other companies to develop their own versions. Copilot is based on OpenAI's GPT-4 large language model.
The UK's competition watchdog is currently investigating Microsoft's relationship with OpenAI following boardroom chaos that led to a close partnership between the two companies.
Microsoft introduces AI key on Windows 11 keyboards
AI key grants access to Copilot, Microsoft's AI tool
Copilot assists with tasks like searching, writing emails, and creating images
Source: BBC