Microsoft Adds Yet Another Copilot Button — This Time in Your Taskbar

Windows 11 Taskbar Gets a New Copilot Shortcut

We thought we had seen it all but it appears Microsoft begs to differ. Just when you assumed you had a grasp of Copilot button traversing your desktop, there comes an addition. It’s a fresh “Share with Copilot” option that appears when you hover over an open app in your taskbar, according to the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview. Lying in plain sight, this tiny yet potential-packed novelty is wired directly to Copilot Vision, Microsoft’s AI powerhouse.

Functionality of the New Shortcut

This new feature looks to add a conversational element to your activities. So, let’s say you’re watching a baseball game and there’s this player celebrating on the mound, and you’d like to put a name to the face. Or maybe you’ve just snapped a photo of a sculpture that piques your interest. Just hover over the app window, click the “Share with Copilot” button, and sit back as the AI takes the driver seat. Once Copilot Vision scans and analyzes the content, you’ll be able to have a contextual discussion with Microsoft’s chatbot, tailored to provide you with detailed insights, helpful tutorials, or simply to identify what you’re looking at.

Increasing Presence of Microsoft’s Copilot within Windows

Microsoft’s Copilot seems to be literally everywhere within the Windows ecosystem these days. It’s almost hard to find a place where it isn’t present. Whether you’re doodling on Microsoft Paint, scribbling some notes into Notepad, or browsing the web from the taskbar, Copilot is there. It’s charmingly prevalent, even showing up on your physical keyboard and the front panel of some PCs like the ASUS NUC 14 Pro with dedicated Copilot buttons.

While the convenience of instant AI assistance sounds enticing, some users are voicing reservations over the plunging Copilot presence. There are certainly features that offer good value, like on-screen text translation. On the flipside, there are novelties such as this new taskbar preview button that feel more experimental. Microsoft is forthright about this as a trial feature, meaning it may not even see a full public release. For the moment, it’s an exciting feature under testing in the Dev Channel and subject to evolution.

So, what’s next? It seems Microsoft has set its sails towards making Copilot an integral part of Windows, betting big on it as the operating system’s future. With every update, the AI assistant is nestling deeper into the day-to-day workflow. If you’re part of the Windows Insider program, keep your eyes open for the shiny new “Share with Copilot” button and see how it fits into your workflow. Is it a leap towards better productivity or just tech clutter?

For more on this topic, read the original article on The Verge.