Microsoft is adding the funniest possible option for the Copilot key on Windows 11 AI PCs:
“Do nothing.”
Yes, literally.
New Windows 11 preview builds now include a setting that lets you disable the dedicated Copilot key entirely. You can press it, hold it, smash it by mistake, and nothing happens.
This is the same key Microsoft hyped in 2024 as a “transformative moment” for Windows 11, comparing it to the Windows key itself.
Two years later, the new feature is turning it off.
The Copilot key was supposed to make PCs feel more intelligent. Instead, it replaced useful keys like Right Ctrl or the Context menu key, broke workflows for some users, annoyed people who rely on keyboard shortcuts, and became a meme.
"Customers who rely on the Right Ctrl key or Context menu key for keyboard shortcuts or assistive technologies (such as screen readers) experienced some challenges to their workflows when using these devices," Microsoft noted in a support document.
Microsoft previously confirmed it would let users remap the key to Right Ctrl, the Context menu key, or another app. Now we get the most honest option yet, and that is Do nothing.
At this point, the Copilot key is less “new Start menu” and more “please let me use my keyboard normally.”