Microsoft is finally letting you revert one of its more controversial keyboard changes

You don’t know what you take for granted until it’s gone. Around the beginning of 2024, Microsoft began pushing for a Copilot key on the keyboard. The idea was that it would become everyone’s new essential daily tool, similar to the Start menu.

Unfortunately, something had to be replaced to make room for Copilot, so Microsoft scrapped the Menu key—that’s the little guy between the right Alt and Ctrl keys. While the Redmond giant stuck to its guns for a bit, it seems the Menu key is finally getting a chance to rise from the ashes.

Microsoft is letting people reclaim the Copilot key

As reported by PhantomOfEarth who has a knack for uncovering upcoming Windows features, Microsoft is planning to let people remap the Copilot key to open context menus in a later build. Essentially, this gives the Copilot key the same ability as the Menu key that it replaced.

Microsoft did give a little ground back in September when it allowed limited remapping of the Copilot key. All it could do was launch an app that was MSIX packaged and signed, so it didn’t give you a whole lot of freedom. However, it seems that Microsoft has finally given up on trying to force people to use the Copilot key purely for its AI assistant.

The strangest part is, this isn’t the first time a company has tweaked their keyboards to make room for a new feature. If you don’t remember the emoji key, the Zoom key, or even a key that turned into a webcam when pressed, then it’s time to check out these weird buttons that have appeared on Windows keyboards.