Microsoft adds AI button to keyboards to summon chatbots

NEW YORK

Pressing a button will be one way to summon an artificial intelligence agent as Microsoft wields its computer industry influence to reshape the next generation of keyboards.

Starting this month, some new personal computers that run Microsoft's Windows operating system will have a special “Copilot key” that launches the software giant's AI chatbot.

Getting third-party computer manufacturers to add an AI button to laptops is the latest move by Microsoft to capitalize on its close partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and make itself a gateway for applications of generative AI technology.

The keyboard redesign will be Microsoft's biggest change to PC keyboards since it introduced a special Windows key in the 1990s. 

The newest AI button will be marked by the ribbon-like Copilot logo and be located near the space bar.

Microsoft is not the only company with customized keys. Apple pioneered the concept in the 1980s. Google has a search button on its Chromebooks.

But Microsoft has a much stronger hold on the PC market through its licensing agreements with third-party manufacturers like Lenovo, Dell and HP. About 82% of all desktop computers, laptops and workstations run Windows, compared to 9% for Apple's in-house operating system and just over 6% for Google's, according to market research firm IDC.

Microsoft hasn't yet said which computer-makers are installing the Copilot button beyond Microsoft's own in-house line of premium Surface devices. It said some of the companies are expected to unveil their new models at next week's CES gadget show in Las Vegas.