With Snapdragon X Elite, Copilot+, and the Windows 11 2024 update, Microsoft is going all-in on AI. The Copilot tool originally started as a rebranded version of Bing Chat, but quickly evolved into a full AI suite called Copilot+ which includes AI features that run locally on your device. However, this AI suite is limited to Copilot+ PCs with an NPU that offers at least 40TOPS of AI performance.

That's all a bit confusing, I know. All you need to know is that Copilot (and Copilot+) is a powerful tool that can help you get things done more quickly with AI. Whether you have a Copilot+ capable PC or are just using the regular old Copilot chatbot, here are some tips, tricks, and general recommendations to make the most of it.

Use this keyboard shortcut to quickly launch Copilot

Ditch the Copilot button

If you're on Windows 23H2 or 24H2, you’ll notice a Copilot button right next to the notification center. A lot of people (myself included) don’t like a cluttered taskbar, so the first order of business is getting rid of that button. For those of you who have a Copilot+ PC, you can launch the AI assistant by pressing the Copilot key on your keyboard. If your PC doesn't support Copilot+, you can launch Copilot with the Windows Key + C shortcut instead (Microsoft is planning to remove this shortcut, so here's how you can remap an existing key to launch Copilot instead).

Here’s how you can remove the Copilot button from the taskbar:

1. Right-click an empty area of the taskbar and choose Taskbar settings.
2. Within the Taskbar items menu, make sure the toggle switch for Copilot is turned off.

With the 23H2 update, Microsoft also disabled the Show desktop button that lived in the right corner of the taskbar. To enable it, go to the same page above and expand the Taskbar behaviors area, then tick the box that says Select the far corner of the taskbar to show the desktop. You can now click the bottom right corner of your screen at any time to show the desktop.

Use Cocreator in Paint to make stunning artwork (Copilot+ only)

Paint has never been more useful

Paint received a massive generative AI upgrade last year, and it gets even better with Copilot+. If you have a Copilot+ PC, you'll be able to use the new Cocreator feature to create art. You can start with a crude drawing, describe what you want Cocreator to make with a text prompt, choose a style, and then have Cocreator generate artwork for you. This is a bit different from the simpler Image Creator feature, which only uses the text prompt.

The cool thing is that the Cocreator artwork will change in real-time as you draw. This feature is really easy to use, surprisingly fun, and scarily good. I am by no means an artist, so I can't confidently say that creatives will find any meaningful utilization of this professionally. Still, it's a lot of fun to play around with.

Upload images or screenshots

Visual problem solving

Complicated error codes can be all too common with Windows. The next time one of these error codes pops up, you can just use Copilot’s built-in screenshot tool and ask the chatbot about it. Just click on the Add a Screenshot button, select the area on your screen you want to capture, and click Done. Ask your question related to the image and hit send.

Of course, you can use this screenshot tool for a variety of other purposes. Stuck on some math homework? Just take a screenshot and ask Copilot to explain it to you. You can also upload older images from your computer, so taking a screenshot isn’t always necessary. Copilot’s ability to decipher information from an image works quite well, and I rarely noticed it making any mistakes.

Translate and transcribe audio with Live Captions (Copilot+ only)

Never miss a beat

Live Captions is not a new feature, as it was originally introduced in the 22H2 version of Windows 11. However, it's received quite the upgrade with Copilot+ PCs: it can now translate audio as well. The feature can now translate any live or pre-recorded audio into English in real-time. This means that it works with YouTube, streaming services like Netflix, and video conferencing apps like Zoom. You can activate it by pressing the Ctrl + Win + L keys on your keyboard.

For now, it only works with 44 languages, and it can only translate audio into English. That makes it pretty much useless for non-English speakers, but we hope Microsoft adds translation into other languages soon.

Change system settings and launch applications

A troubleshooting assistant

This one is a bit more niche, but it works surprisingly well. If you don't want to dig around the settings menu within Windows 11 to change something simple, you can just ask Copilot to do it for you. For example, if you want to turn on dark mode, just type Enable dark mode into Copilot and hit send. The chatbot will ask you for a confirmation, so click Yes to make the change.

As you can guess, you can use this for a variety of different things such as enabling/disabling Bluetooth, activating Do Not Disturb mode, muting system sounds, starting focus sessions, and more. Sometimes it is quicker to do these things on your own, but if we're getting closer to a future where the Settings app rarely needs to be launched, I'm all for it.

You can also use Copilot to quickly launch certain applications. For example, type Open Steam, submit the prompt, and let Copilot launch Steam for you. Again, this can be a bit slower than just doing it yourself, but it works nonetheless.

Talk to Copilot with your voice

Accessibility for everyone

A lot of AI chatbots now feature voice support, meaning that you can use your microphone to ask questions and talk to them without typing a single letter. Both Google Gemini and ChatGPT support this feature, and Windows Copilot is no different. To be fair, it is a bit buggy and inconsistent right now, but it does work in a pinch.

To use voice input, just click the little mic button in the text box and start talking. You don’t necessarily have to hit the send icon either, as Copilot will automatically detect when you stop talking and hit send for you. When using voice input, Copilot will read the response as soon as it finishes writing it. For those who suffer from mobility issues, this is an accessibility feature that is worth appreciating.

New camera features Windows Studio Effects (Copilot+ only)

Add background blur, adjust lighting, and add filters

Yet another Copilot+ exclusive feature, the Windows Studio Effects are nothing new. This suite of features first debuted with the Surface Pro X. You could use it to blur your background, reframe your video, and correct eye contact. On Copilot+, all of this handled by the NPU, and it doesn't consume any CPU or GPU resources. It also now allows you to adjust your lighting and add filters. You can also now use it to reduce background noise.

Even if you don't have a Copilot+ PC, you can try some of the Windows Studio Effects features right now. Admittedly, this isn't the most exciting Copilot+ feature, as it's not entirely now. On top of that, apps such as Nvidia Broadcast have been providing similar functionality for a while now.

Supercharge Copilot with plugins

Extending functionality and personalization

Copilot is already quite powerful with all its basic features, but you can take it to the next level with plugins. It works similarly to how you would use plugins in ChatGPT, but the options are a bit limited here. Nonetheless, they can be quite useful when you need them.

For example, there’s a plugin called Suno that can help you write and compose songs. It will write the lyrics, compose a beat, and add an AI voice that sings the song. The results are scarily good. Granted, the lyrics are a bit cheesy most of the time, but the beats that it invents are very usable.

There are a host of other plugins that are just as useful. You can use the Instacart plugin to order ingredients for specific recipes, plan trips with Kayak, or find and book reservations at restaurants with OpenTable. At the time of writing this article, Copilot only features seven plugins, but you can expect more to come soon.

Summarize web pages in Microsoft Edge

A better way to research

This should surprise absolutely nobody, but Copilot works incredibly well with Microsoft Edge. As someone whose workflow involves a lot of research, Copilot has proven to be very helpful. For example, if you’re reading an article in Edge, you can quickly hit the Copilot button and ask it for specific information within that article. Since it has direct access to the web, you can also ask it to cross-check information or find other similar articles.

Copilot can also translate the entire web page or specific text snippets to another language. Unfortunately, it can only translate content into English, Dutch, Spanish, Chinese, French, and Japanese for now. This is likely a work in progress, so expect the translation capabilities to improve soon.

Organize your Edge tabs into tab groups

Cut Through the Clutter

I’ve been using Microsoft Edge a lot recently because of all the Copilot features, and organizing tabs is one of the most useful features I’ve found so far. Here’s how you can use this feature:

1. Whenever you have a bunch of tabs open, hit the Copilot button in the top-right corner.
2. Type Organize my tabs into the text field.
3. Hit send, and Copilot will organize the tabs into groups based on different topics.
4. Click Group tabs.

This works surprisingly well, especially if you’re someone who hates closing tabs and losing important information. You can ungroup tabs by right-clicking on the tab group and clicking Ungroup from the drop-down menu. You can also just close the entire tab group to get rid of all the tabs within that group.

Generate images in different styles with Dall-E

Going beyond text responses

If you have a Copilot+ PC, you're better off using the Cocreator feature in Paint to generate images. However, the method below is a good alternative if you don't have a Copilot+ PC.

AI image generators have been around for a long while, and companies are starting to build this functionality into their chatbots. Copilot also has this feature, courtesy of Dall-E 3. You can ask Copilot to generate images for you in different styles. For each prompt, Copilot will generate at least four photos. If you click on one of these images, you can choose to transform it into a different style by clicking on the options below the image.

If you're interested in how well Copilot does at generating images or art, here are some examples:

With the free version of Copilot, you can only generate 15 images per day. However, Copilot Pro bumps this number up to 100 images per day.

Copilot has a lot of potential

When I first started interacting with Copilot in Windows and Edge, I was surprised by its versatility. Now, with Copilot+ PCs, the functionality looks even better on paper. I say "on paper" because most of the Copilot+ features are still quite new, and some of them (like Live Captions) aren't the most fleshed out. Still, these AI features are very interesting. If Microsoft is going to continue pushing AI features this heavily, we might as well see what they have to offer without dismissing them entirely.