Microsoft to remove this keyboard shortcut on Windows 11

Microsoft has announced that it is set to retire the keyboard shortcut that opens the Copilot sidebar app on Windows 11. In the patch notes for Windows 11 Insider Preview build 22635.3785, the US-based tech giant has revealed that the Win + C keyboard shortcut has been removed from the latest developer build of Windows. This suggests that this change is expected to arrive in the stable versions of Windows 11 later this year.

Copilot is a productivity assistant that uses AI to help with content creation, editing, and workflow automation.Microsoft announced plans to integrate Copilot into Windows 11 at its Build 2023 conference, but it became available in September 2023 for version 22H2 and in October 2023 for version 23H2.

In the patch notes, the company explained: “As part of the Copilot experience’s evolution on Windows to become an app that is pinned to the taskbar, we are retiring the WIN + C keyboard shortcut.”
However, last month, the company announced new Copilot+ AI PCs with a dedicated Copilot button within the keyboard. This button might be why Microsoft removed the keyboard shortcut as it would’ve also been redundant.

Apart from retiring the keyboard shortcut, Microsoft also announced that the Copilot will remain pinned to the taskbar in Windows 11 as an app in the latest Windows 11 Insider version.
The company continued: “As part of this update, we’re also evolving the Copilot experience on Windows as an app that will be pinned to the taskbar. This enables users to get the benefits of a traditional app experience, including the ability to resize, move, and snap the window – the feedback we’ve heard from users throughout the preview of Copilot in Windows. This model also allows Microsoft to more agilely develop and optimize the experience based on user feedback.
PLEASE NOTE: Managed commercial devices will not receive this new experience. This includes devices not running Windows 11 Home and are managed by an IT administrator.”