Many new PCs shipped over the last year or so have a dedicated Copilot key on the keyboard. The dedicated Copilot key replaces the menu key, or right Ctrl key.
With default settings, the dedicated Copilot key on the keyboard opens the Microsoft Copilot. Users who do not have the dedicated Copilot key on the keyboard can use Windows logo + C keyboard shortcut to open Copilot.
As you likely know, Microsoft Copilot is nothing but an AI chatbot and is part of the recent versions of Windows 11.
The Microsoft Copilot chatbot is quite helpful. However, some users prefer and use other AI chatbot services, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
If you also use an AI chatbot other than the Microsoft Copilot, you might want to configure the dedicated Copilot key to open your favorite AI tool or open the Windows 11 search flyout.
Fortunately, unlike earlier versions of Windows 11, the recent versions allow users to configure the default action of the Copilot key without editing the Registry or using third-party tools. That said, there is a caveat. When you change the default action of the Copilot key, the same is applied to Windows logo + C keyboard shortcut as well. That is, you cannot have separate actions for both Windows logo + C and Copilot keys.
Change Copilot key action in Windows 11
Step 1: Open the Windows 11 Settings app using search or any other method.
Step 2: On the left pane of the Settings app, click Personalization.
Step 3: Now, on the right side, click Text input.
Step 4: Scroll down to see Customize Copilot key in the keyboard section. Here, by default, Copilot is selected.
If you wish to use it to open the search flyout, select the “Search” option from the drop-down menu. If you wish to open the ChatGPT app with it, select “Custom” and then select “ChatGPT”. As of writing this, Windows 11 does not allow using the Copilot key to open other AI apps. An option to disable the Copilot key would have been fantastic!
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