Microsoft finally lets you change the Copilot key to what it was before Windows 11's AI assistant existed

Microsoft offers more options to reassign the Copilot key
You can redefine it to invoke the context menu or use it as right Ctrl
This used to be the right Ctrl key before Microsoft ditched it to make room for the dedicated AI key on Windows 11 laptops.

Microsoft will offer more options to remap the Copilot key, the dedicated key introduced to summon Windows 11’s AI assistant on laptops (and some standalone keyboards, too).

Windows Central noted that Microsoft confirmed this move in a support document, which says: “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 in their workflows when using these devices.

“A Windows 11 update will ship later this year that will add a configuration option that allows you to remap the Copilot key to act as a context menu key or right Ctrl key.”

Analysis: a necessary solution

A young woman is working on a Windows 11 laptop in a relaxed office space.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

So it’s nice to have some better options, including that context menu key (which was actually rumored to be a change in the works over a year ago). Returning the key to right Ctrl is an important move because, as Microsoft notes, not having it can be an accessibility issue.

It’s essential for certain workflows, like being able to use shortcuts with one hand, pressing Ctrl plus the arrow keys, for example, or other combinations using Ctrl with other keys on the right side of the keyboard. Without a Ctrl key on the right, those actions become a two-handed operation using the left and right sides of the keyboard.

It would be nice if Microsoft gave us a wider range of options to remap the key to whatever we wanted, although that can be achieved by installing PowerToys and using Keyboard Manager. We’ve got all the details on how to do it here, although I’d still prefer to see some of the key parts of PowerToys, including this one, come to Windows 11 as options, as I mentioned recently.

Overall, this move is a welcome one and another part of Microsoft’s big plan to fix Windows 11, although some people are still pretty fed up with the company implementing the Copilot key in the first place.

As this Redditor observed: “Oh yeah: steal the right Ctrl and now return it as an upgrade.”

And someone else on Reddit noted: “It looks like their telemetry told them that people were avoiding pressing that key like the plague.”