In this blog post, I will show you the setting for configuring Copilot hardware key using Intune. When you press Copilot key on the keyboard, by default it opens Copilot app on your Windows device. However, you can repurpose this key to open any other application installed on the device.
We will use a Settings catalog policy called Set Copilot Hardware Key (User) and provided the App ID of the application we want to open using this key. Below is the official definition of this setting.
This policy setting determines which app opens when the user presses the Copilot key on their keyboard. If the policy is enabled, the specified app will open when the user presses the Copilot key. Users can change the key assignment in Settings. If the policy is not configured, Copilot will open if it’s available in that country or region.
Set Copilot Hardware Key (User)
Set Copilot Hardware Key (User) Intune Policy
Before we start with the creation of Device configuration policy, you will need to get the application Identifier value for the application we want to launch when Copilot hardware key is pressed. This value needs to be provided when configuring the policy. To get this value, follow below steps:
- Sign in to a Windows 11 device and open PowerShell console.
- Execute
Get-StartApps. Copy the AppID value of the app you want to launch when Copilot key is pressed. I have copied the App ID of Calculator app: Microsoft.WindowsCalculator_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App.
Let’s check the steps to configure this Intune policy:
- Sign in to Intune admin center > Devices > Windows > Configuration > Create > New Policy.
- Platform: Windows 10 and later
- Profile type: Settings catalog
- Click Create.
- On the Basics tab, provide a Name and Description of the policy and click Next.
- On Configuration settings tab, click on + Add settings and use the Settings picker to search using Copilot keyword and select Windows AI. Check the policy Set Copilot Hardware key (User).
- Paste the App ID value and click on Next.
Monitoring Policy Deployment Progress
- Sign in to the Intune admin center > Devices > Configuration.
- Choose the Device Configuration profile you want to work with, and at the top of the page, you’ll see a quick view of the Success, Failure, Conflict, Not Applicable, and In Progress status.
- Click on View report to access more detailed information.
Sync Intune Policies
The device check-in process might not begin immediately. If you’re testing this policy on a test device, you can manually kickstart Intune sync from the device itself or remotely through the Intune admin center.
Alternatively, you can use PowerShell to force the Intune sync on Windows devices. Restarting the device is another way to trigger the Intune device check-in process.
SetCopilotHardwareKey Registry Key
You can also configure Copilot Hardware key using registry editor. Create below registry keys and entries on a Windows 11 device and restart your computer once after this change.
- Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box.
- Type regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
- Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CopilotKey and create below two registry entries. Create CopilotKey is not existing.
- Create DWORD (32-bit) entry SetCopilotHardwareKey set its value to 1
- Create String EnterAppAumid entry and set its value to the App ID we noted earlier.
