4 Ways to Remap Copilot on Windows 11 to Another Key

In the latter half of last year, Microsoft introduced Copilot for Windows 11, which was available as a launchable app from the home screen. Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant that can help with a wide range of tasks, including creating text content, answering your questions, citing sources, helping you shop, or just being a partner for a simple conversation. Well, we have just scratched the surface, and Copilot can do a lot more than mentioned, for example, you can turn your ideas into a song with vocals from just a few prompts. Thanks to the long list of features, Microsoft announced that new Windows 11 computers will start shipping with a dedicated Copilot key.

This is a major change that Microsoft is introducing to the keyboard layout in around 30 years. Since it requires the physical addition of the button to the keyboard, older devices can make use of the Windows + C key combination to launch Copilot on their PCs. However, you don’t need to stick to the official key combination to launch Copilot; you can make it much easier by remapping the launch key. In this guide, we will share with you the method that will help you remap Copilot on Windows 11 to another key. So, what’s the wait for? Let’s get right in.

How to remap Copilot on Windows 11 to another key

Using Microsoft Copilot

For that matter, there is no official option inside Windows settings to remap keys in Windows 11 or any other previous versions of Windows. However, there are multiple third-party apps that you can use to remap Copilot on Windows 11 to another key. First up, we will use the official Microsoft PowerToys app. The PowerToys app will help you remap your keys to enhance your productivity. Here’s what you need to do to remap Copilot to another key:

1. Open the Microsoft Store app on your Windows 11 PC.
2. Search for Microsoft PowerToys and tap on the Get or Install button.
3. Alternatively, you can also get the app and install it on your PC from the GitHub page.
4. Launch the program on your PC.
5. Scroll down on the left pane and click on Keyboard Manager.
6. Toggle on the switch for Enable Keyboard Manager.
7. Click on Remap a key option under the Keys section.
8. Click on Add key remapping.
9. Under the Select section, click the Select button.
10. Press the key that you want to use to launch Copilot on Windows 11. Press the OK button.
11. Select the Key/Shortcut option and choose the Select button.
12. Press the Win + C keys to record it and click OK.
13. Click OK on the top-right corner and choose the Continue anyway button.

Now, you will see that when you press the new shortcut key that you have assigned to open Microsoft Copilot, it will launch the AI assistant. Do note that you should not assign any keyboard shortcut already assigned to some other action. This would create conflict, and you may come across some issues. You may also experience that the remapped key may not work instantly, and you may require multiple presses for the remapped keyboard shortcut to work.

Also, keep in mind that PowerToys should always be running in the background for the remapped keys to work since you have remapped the Copilot on Windows to another key using the PowerToys app.

Related Read: How to Disable Copilot in Windows 11

Remap using a scripting language

If you are a Windows power user and like to take matters into your own hands, then you can use AutoHotkey to create a scripting language and remap Copilot on Windows 11 to another key. It can be a bit difficult for someone who is not advanced, but using AutoHotKey and creating a scripting language for remapping the Copilot key is simple.

1. Download and install AutoHotKey on your PC.
2. On your homescreen, right-click and select New > AutoHotKey.
3. Name the file whatever you want, and click on Create.
4. Right-click on the file and select Open with > Notepad.
5. Type the below line. Here, this command will remap the Copilot shortcut key to the Home button.

    Home::#c

   

6. Save the file, and then double-click on it. The AutoHotKey will execute and run in the background. If you wish to revert to the old shortcut keys for Copilot, then all you need to do is quit the program.

Use your keyboard software

If the other two methods itch you and you don’t want to follow any of those, then you can also use the keyboard software that you have with your fancy keyboards. Keyboards from Logitech, Razer, etc., come with software to customize the RGB lighting and other settings on it. You can also use it to remap keys on your keyboard.

Tweak the registry

You can always tweak the registry of your PC and make certain changes in system settings. However, tweaking the registry is advised only when you know what you are doing and it will work. A good alternative for this is the above solution, and if you want to tweak the registry without any mishaps, then you can also use the SharpKeys tool.

SharpKeys is an open-source tool that acts as a GUI front-end tool and can help you with tweaking the registry for key remapping tasks. Here’s how you can use it to remap Copilot on Windows 11 to another key:

1. Download SharpKeys from the Microsoft Store and launch it.
2. Click Add.
3. Choose your keys. In the left column is where you register your new remapped key and the right column denotes the action that key will take.
4. Click OK when done.
5. Click Write to Registry to save the changes to the registry.
6. Close the program and restart your PC.

Wrapping up

That’s it! You can now use the newly assigned key to start Copilot. All of the above methods will help you to reassign Copilot to another key in Windows 11. Some may think that Copilot can only perform limited tasks, but there are other powerful AI tools that can help you perform various tasks. However, the fact that Copilot has been integrated as a dedicated key in the Windows OS and in upcoming PCs shows that Microsoft is serious about AI assistants, and you can expect much better features in the future.