Microsoft is giving Copilot a new taskbar UI and keyboard shortcut on Windows

Microsoft is changing up how Copilot works on Windows yet again. After demoting Copilot to a Progressive Web App (PWA) earlier this year, Microsoft is now rolling out an update to Windows testers that replaces the PWA version of Copilot with a “native” experience that includes a new keyboard shortcut and quick view UI.

The new quick view for Copilot floats above the taskbar, much like Microsoft’s new Companion apps that it’s currently testing for files, contacts, and calendar entries. The quick view can be triggered using a new Alt + Space keyboard shortcut, or through the system tray. The quick view doesn’t do anything special here, but it does float above all your other apps and remains always on top until you dismiss Copilot to the taskbar or trigger the Alt + Space shortcut again.

The new keyboard shortcut here could get a little complicated though, depending on what apps you use. Other apps already use the Alt + Space shortcut, and it sounds like they’re going to be fighting Copilot for control here. “For any apps installed on your PC that might utilize this keyboard shortcut, Windows will register whichever app is launched first on your PC and running in the background as the app that is invoked when using Alt + Space,” says Microsoft.

I am not sure why Microsoft made the choice to move Copilot to this Alt + Space shortcut when it previously reused the Windows key + C shortcut from Cortana with Windows Copilot before downgrading the experience to a web app and giving up on the keyboard shortcut in favor of a dedicated Copilot key. Microsoft even says “Copilot will continue to explore options related to the keyboard shortcuts for the app,” which sure reads like the AI assistant is suddenly calling the shots over at Microsoft now.

This new keyboard shortcut and Copilot quick view will also be available on Windows 10 as well as Windows 11 PCs, despite Microsoft’s insistence that Windows 10 end of support really is happening in October 2025. Microsoft reopened beta testing for new Windows 10 features earlier this year as a way “to make sure everyone can get the maximum value from their current Windows PC.”

Copilot originally started off life as Windows Copilot in Windows 11 last year, integrated into the operating system as a side bar that could appear across all apps. Microsoft then made Copilot less useful with its new Copilot Plus PCs, cutting the app back to a basic web app. Microsoft says this latest iteration is “a native version,” but it’s still just a web view of Copilot wrapped in a slightly more native implementation.