Remap or disable 'Copilot' chatbot key on new Windows keyboards

Anonymous
2024-06-13T18:03:19+00:00

Recently Microsoft has partnered with manufacturers to add new chatbot keys in place of the old commonly used menu/ right control key.

I've been getting more and more calls from customers of new laptops complaining about this chatbot key and wanting it turned off. This has lead to one ripping the key off, three returning their laptops, and two downloading possibly dangerous third party programs to remap this key.

It appears there is no settings in Windows to make this key usable for anything the customer actually wants it for. It's just begging to be accidentally tapped so the user can get advertisements delivered to them via a chatbot.

So how can we disable/remap this unwelcome key on Windows keyboards?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Input and language

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Anonymous
2024-06-17T12:58:05+00:00

Hello, Welcome to Microsoft Community.

Thanks for your feedbackI think you're having trouble with the Copilot key on your keyboard.

You can use the keyboard-manager feature in Microsoft PowerToys tool to remap or disable the Copilot chatbot key on your Windows keyboard. Here are the steps:

  1. Download and install the Microsoft PowerToys tool from the official Microsoft website.
  2. Open the PowerToys tool and select the "Keyboard Manager" tab.
  3. Click on the "Remap a key" button.
  4. Choose the Copilot chatbot key from the "Physical Key" dropdown menu.
  5. Select the key or function you want to remap the Copilot chatbot key to from the "Mapped To" dropdown menu.
  6. Click "OK" to save the changes.

If you want to completely disable the Copilot chatbot key, you can remap it to the "Disabled" option.

You can download the tool from the following link: https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/powertoys/

If you are indeed using a Surface product, you can purchase the Surface Pro Signature Keyboard separately to replace the Surface Pro Flex Keyboard.

If my understanding is wrong, please point it out, so that I can assist you better.

Lugoo Bei | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-06-06T15:40:22+00:00

    I want to restore the Copilot key to CTRL (right) only (not a shortcut for something else like CTRL-C). I want to be able to press the CTRL (right) just like this key location used to work! When I select the Copilot key (F23) and select CTRL under To Send, it gives me a message that this key does not have any assignment. I use the right CTRL key all the time! And to replace this with something else is a big problem!

    Not only that, but my company requires CTRL-ALT-DEL to open the login screen. With the right CTRL button, I could do this one handed on my laptop, but without this button, it requires 2 hands! Fortunately, I have both of my hands and they both work. This is a big problem!

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-10-29T14:33:30+00:00

    PowerToys worked great for me, although the process is somewhat different than described. Instead of "Remap a key", the solution was to "Remap a shortcut" both because there wasn't a copilot key option under the "Physical Key" dropdown menu and because the keyboard was actually sending the sequence "Win (left) + Shift (left) + F23" when pressing the copilot key. Changing the setting of the shortcut solved the issue.

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-09-11T06:03:44+00:00

    Funny you should say this. I was just getting ready to buy a new laptop when this change rolled out on many laptops, not just Surface.

    So I bought my first ever MacBook.

    Sad really. Former msft employee and longtime Windows user.

    Just sick of being advertised to on what is supposed to be my laptop.

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-08-20T01:31:09+00:00

    Those still having issue to remap the copilot key can follow the solution as provided by Lyle, I have personally tested it and it works. I am now remapping it to ChatGPT (can be found in MS Store) which I find is more useful than copilot since it has its own store inside the app where you can use other AI tools as well. Be sure to also update powertoys to the latest ARM preview version for max compat.

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