Copilot gets its own key on Microsoft’s new Surface devices

We’re still a month or so out from Build, but Microsoft is doing a bit of a trial run this week in the form of an online-only event. What’s been billed as a Windows event is, predictably, focused on AI efforts, with Copilot taking the wheel. A pair of refreshes to the Surface line announced at the event are, predictably, putting the software giant’s chatbot front and center.

The new Surface Pro 10 for Business and Surface Laptop 6 for Business both feature a dedicated Copilot key placed between the Alt key and arrows. In a post published this morning, Surface general manager Nancie Gaskill writes, “The new Copilot key on Surface Laptop 6 makes accessing the power of AI even easier, with a quick button press to invoke Copilot in Windows to help customers plan their day, find a document using natural text, analyze a website, and more with commercial data protection built in.

The key is the core of what the company is referring to as ‘the first Surface PCs optimized for AI.’ Certainly, building Copilot directly into its keyboards marks a level of commitment for what is still a new project, with Microsoft having only launched Copilot for Microsoft 365 a year ago this month. And I’m not going to spoil the mood by pointing out that Cortana keys were also a thing at one point.

The systems arrive just under four months into what a handful of highly paid branding executives have deemed the ‘AI PC.’ That and the ‘AI smartphones’ like the Samsung Galaxy S24 are fairly meaningless labels. Intel has spent the last several months pushing ‘the AI PC powered by Intel,’ while Apple recently declared M3 MacBook Airs ‘the best consumer laptops for AI.