Microsoft’s first-in-three-decades ‘key’ change is a tangible symbol of CEO Satya Nadella’s AI bet

AI will be seamlessly woven into Windows from the system, to the silicon, to the hardware,” Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s consumer chief marketing officer, said in the blog post. “This will not only simplify people’s computing experience but also amplify it, making 2024 the year of the AI PC.”

Whether the key will make any material difference in PC sales is unclear, but the move underscores Microsoft’s investment in Copilot as the future of how consumers interact with computers. Built on ChatGPT technology—which Microsoft has played a key role in funding—Copilot began as a feature for Bing and Edge in February 2023. It has since become available throughout Windows 11 and Microsoft 365 products for both business and personal use, marketing as “your everyday AI companion.”