Windows 11 is getting a new shortcut to talk to Copilot

Copilot button on a Windows laptop — Microsoft Copilot has a new press to talk feature in testing. Somewhat surprisingly, it is not the Copilot key that summons the AI tool. (Image credit: Microsoft)

Speaking with Microsoft Copilot on your PC is about to get easier. The company is testing a press to talk feature with Windows Insiders at the moment.

Press to talk lets you summon Copilot with a shortcut and speak to the AI-powered tool.

You can start conversations with Copilot by pressing and holding ALT+ SPACE for two seconds. Pressing Escape ends any conversation.

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Microsoft explains the change in a blog post:

"Press to talk: Allows you to interact with Copilot using your voice by using a hotkey, providing instant responses while staying in your current workflow and continuing tasks without interruption. To start a voice conversation with Copilot, hold the Alt + Spacebar for 2 seconds on your PC. To end your conversation, press the Esc key. If there is no speaking for several seconds Copilot will automatically end the conversation. When the conversation is over the microphone on the screen will disappear."

The update for the Copilot app on Windows is rolling out to Windows Insiders through the Microsoft Store. To use the press to talk feature, the Copilot app needs to be version 1.25024.100.0 or later.

The feature is rolling out gradually, so you may not see the option yet even if your Copilot app is up to date.

While I'm happy to see the addition of press to talk, I'm a bit surprised by the keyboard shortcut Microsoft chose for the feature. New PCs have a Copilot key, which seems like the natural entry point for such a feature.

There are still millions of PCs and keyboards without a Copilot key, which likely explains why holding ALT + SPACE is the shortcut for press to talk in Copilot.

That being said, I'd love to see an option to use a combination such as ALT + COPILOT to engage press to talk.

New Microsoft Copilot app

Windows Copilot app — Microsoft began previewing a new Copilot app for Windows 11 recently. (Image credit: Windows Central)

Microsoft started testing a brand-new Copilot app for Windows 11 recently. That app uses the tech giant's native app UI framework, which is good news for users.

The new Copilot app has some native elements and looks much more at home on Windows 11 than the web wrapper currently available. The app also launches faster and performs better than the web wrapper.

The update to the new Copilot app also brings some welcome changes, including the option to enable or disable starting the app when you boot up your PC.

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Sean Endicott is a News Writer at Windows Central, where he covers Windows 11, Surface hardware, Microsoft 365, AI, apps, and the broader PC ecosystem. Since joining the site in 2017, he has written well over a thousand articles across the Microsoft landscape, covering breaking news, analysis, and feature reporting.

He writes Windows Wrap, a weekly column covering the biggest stories in Windows and the PC industry, and what they mean for the platform going forward.

Before joining Windows Central full-time, Sean worked in journalism and media production after earning a First Class degree in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University. Outside of tech, he is an award-winning American football coach based in Nottingham, England, and was named BAFCA Youth Coach of the Year in 2024.