Copilot in Windows 11: What It Is and How to Use It

Copilot in Windows 11 is Microsoft's built-in AI assistant. It is an app you can open from the taskbar to ask questions, draft and rewrite text, summarise what you are reading, generate images and get quick help — much like chatting with a knowledgeable colleague. The everyday version is free; you only pay if you want Copilot working inside the Microsoft 365 desktop apps or need higher usage limits. This guide explains what it does, how to open it, and what to watch out for on privacy.

If you remember Copilot arriving as a slim sidebar that slid in from the right edge of the screen, that early Copilot in Windows preview has since been replaced by a standalone Copilot app that you pin and launch like any other program. The behaviour keeps evolving, so this page describes how it works in 2026 and flags the parts that vary by device and update.

What Copilot in Windows actually is

Copilot is Microsoft's family of AI assistants, and the Windows version is the one that ships as part of the operating system. Under the hood it is powered by large language models running in Microsoft's cloud, with a connection to web search so it can pull in current information rather than relying only on what the model was trained on. On Windows 11 it appears as a dedicated app rather than a feature buried inside another program.

It is worth being clear about what Copilot is not. It is not a full "do anything on my PC for me" automation tool, and it does not replace Settings, File Explorer or your antivirus. It is a conversational assistant: you describe what you want in plain English, and it responds with text, links, images or suggestions. On Windows it can also do a few hands-on things the web version cannot: it can adjust some Windows settings when you ask (for example, "make my screen easier to read"), search your files, and take a screenshot of all or part of your screen. Which of these you see still depends on your build and region, so treat any hands-on control as a bonus rather than the main event.

From sidebar to standalone app

When Copilot first arrived on Windows 11 it opened as a narrow panel docked to the right of the screen and was sometimes branded "Windows Copilot" or "Copilot in Windows (preview)." Microsoft later moved it to a normal, resizable app that installs and updates through the Microsoft Store and that you can pin to the taskbar like any other application. Because it is now a regular app, some of the old preview conveniences — including a dedicated keyboard shortcut on every machine — are no longer guaranteed. Microsoft has also signalled a deeper Ask Copilot taskbar experience arriving around mid-2026, which is optional and aimed largely at Microsoft 365 and commercial users rather than replacing search for everyone.

How to open Copilot on Windows 11

There are several ways in, depending on your device and keyboard:

1. Taskbar icon. Look for the Copilot icon on the taskbar and click it. This is the quickest route when the icon is present.
2. Copilot key. Many keyboards sold for Windows 11 now include a dedicated Copilot key. Press it to launch the assistant.
3. Start menu. Open Start, type Copilot, and click the app in the results.
4. Keyboard shortcut. On some setups Windows + C opens Copilot, but this shortcut is not enabled on every device — if nothing happens, use one of the methods above.

If you cannot find the icon at all, the app may simply not be pinned. Here is how to bring it back:

1. Open Settings → Personalization → Taskbar and check for a Copilot toggle. If it is there, turn it on.
2. If there is no toggle, open the Microsoft Store, search for Copilot, and install or update the official Microsoft app.
3. Launch it once from Start, then right-click its taskbar button and choose Pin to taskbar so it is always one click away.

What Copilot can do

Copilot is a general-purpose assistant, so the honest answer is "a lot of small, useful things." The most reliable everyday uses are:

Answer questions and explain things

Ask it factual questions, ask it to explain a concept in simpler terms, or ask follow-ups in the same conversation. Because it can search the web, it can surface recent information and cite sources — though, like any AI, it can still get things wrong, so verify anything that matters.

Draft, rewrite and summarise text

This is where Copilot earns its keep. Paste in a rough note and ask it to tighten the wording, change the tone, translate it, or turn bullet points into an email. Paste a long article or document and ask for a short summary or the key action items. In the Edge browser, Copilot can summarise the page you are viewing.

Generate images

Describe a picture in words and Copilot can create original images from your prompt using Microsoft's image generation. It is handy for illustrations, thumbnails and quick mock-ups rather than photorealistic or commercial art.

Voice and on-screen help

You can talk to Copilot instead of typing — including a "Hey Copilot" wake word — and a feature called Copilot Vision lets it look at browser windows or apps you choose to share (with your permission) and walk you through things step by step; as Microsoft's Copilot Vision support page sets out, you start it from the glasses icon in the Copilot app. Copilot Vision uses a personal Microsoft account and is not available on commercial work or school accounts, and availability of voice and vision features still varies by region and language, so check what appears in your own app.

Free Copilot vs paid Copilot

For most people, the built-in Copilot on Windows is free. You can use a good deal of it without signing in, and signing in with a free Microsoft account unlocks the rest and saves your chat history. The free tier covers chat, web-grounded answers, writing and brainstorming help, summarising, and image generation — on the web at copilot.microsoft.com, in the Windows app, and inside the Edge browser.

You only need to pay when you want Copilot to work inside the Microsoft 365 desktop apps — writing directly in Word, analysing a spreadsheet in Excel, drafting slides in PowerPoint, or triaging your inbox in Outlook — or when you want higher usage limits and priority access. That capability comes with a Microsoft 365 subscription. Individuals are pointed toward plans such as Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium, where Premium is the most comprehensive plan with the highest Copilot usage limits and access to Copilot in the desktop apps. Businesses have their own options, including Copilot Chat and the Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on.

Privacy basics you should know

Copilot is a cloud service. When you send a prompt, it travels to Microsoft's servers to be answered, so it is not a fully offline, on-device assistant. That is fine for everyday questions, but it changes how you should treat sensitive information.

• Do not paste secrets. Keep passwords, card numbers, government IDs and confidential work documents out of a personal Copilot chat, the same way you would with any website.
• You can review and delete your history. Copilot activity tied to your Microsoft account can be viewed and cleared from your account's privacy dashboard: sign in, then go to Privacy → Empower your productivity → Copilot → Your Copilot app activity history and choose Delete all activity history — the same route Microsoft Support documents for managing Copilot activity history.
• Personal vs work accounts differ. A personal Microsoft account and a work or school account that is covered by Microsoft 365 Copilot are governed by different terms. Organisation-managed Copilot generally comes with enterprise data protection, whereas a personal chat does not carry those commercial guarantees.
• Verify important answers. Privacy aside, remember Copilot can be confidently wrong. For anything that affects money, health, security or legal matters, confirm with a primary source.

If you would rather not use Copilot at all, you can unpin it from the taskbar and simply not open it. On some editions and managed devices, administrators can also control or remove it through policy.

Related Windows 11 guides

Setting up a new PC or tightening it up? A few companion reads: our Windows 11 Home vs Pro comparison helps you pick the right edition, the Microsoft Defender guide covers built-in security, and speed up Windows 11 performance tackles a sluggish machine. You can also browse every tutorial in the how-to guides hub.