At the end of 2023, with the release of the Windows 11 23H2 update, Microsoft added Copilot as an application integrated into the operating system, an application that, through voice commands, allowed adjustments to be made to the system such as activating dark mode, activating or deactivating Wi-Fi connectivity, among other simple tasks.
Many users were hoping that Copilot would evolve to become much more useful in the future, allowing users to perform a greater number of tasks.
Due to EU data protection laws, the Copilot app has never been made available in the Old Continent, despite Microsoft’s claims that it would be available earlier this year, but that ultimately did not happen.
As you can see, we are talking in the past tense throughout the article. This is because it seems that Microsoft has paused the development of Copilot in Windows 11, despite it having become a flagship product and being integrated into Office.
Microsoft pauses Copilot in Windows 11
The latest version that Microsoft has just released for users of the Insider program in beta version represents a radical change in the way Copilot works. As it is a beta version, it is possible that it is a test that the company is carrying out at its headquarters in Redmond, although if we take into account the latest statements, everything points to it being a permanent change.
The latest Windows 11 beta available to Insider users replaces Copilot’s integration into the operating system, so it can no longer be used to make adjustments to the operating system. It is now a web-based version that, instead of making the adjustments that users request, is responsible for showing the steps to follow to make them.
The change in Copilot’s integration into Windows brings a number of advantages for users concerned about their privacy, as it is not integrated into the entire operating system. Due to its lack of integration with the operating system, it allows you to delete the application if you do not want to use it, instead of simply disabling its operation.
This way, if we want Windows to activate dark mode, a window will open in the web version of Copilot, where the steps we must do it will be shown, without making these adjustments to the system.
Microsoft claims that this change allows it to offer more proactive development in its operation to optimize its capabilities. In this same statement announcing the launch of the latest beta of Windows 11, it makes no mention of the real reason for removing it, implying that the marketing team and not the Microsoft engineering team is behind this statement.
The citizens of Europe have been left without the possibility of testing the integration of Microsoft AI in Windows. Let’s hope that this is a temporary change in operation, otherwise it will be a serious setback for the integration of AI in an operating system, since, so far, Windows had been the first to do so.
What will happen to the Copilot key?
At the end of the year, Microsoft announced that computers launching this year with Windows 11 would include a new key with the Copilot logo to directly activate Microsoft AI.
The computers that have been launched on the market in the last month already include it. It is assumed that the change in the operation of Windows 11 will be temporary, since, otherwise, there is no point in having forced manufacturers to add this key to their computers.
