Many Windows 11 users are talking about Windows 11 updates and Copilot.

This could be a game changer for Windows, as Copilot is basically a sketchy chatbot that pops up from the right side of the screen when you press a hotkey (Windows key + C) to invoke it. It can launch apps, change system settings, and perform many of the basic Windows tasks efficiently.

But that's all it can do right now, and Microsoft is talking hard about how capable Copilot will be and its plans to integrate Copilot into apps like Excel, Teams, and Word to boost productivity. And while we may someday find ourselves in that reality, the current reality is that most of what Copilot can do is work we can already do ourselves, but more slowly.

So you can ask it to turn on Windows dark mode, or open Word, or ask it a question and Copilot will search the web (using Bing on ChatGPT) and return an answer.

And with any luck, Copilot will correctly understand your intentions on the first try and do what you want. If you are unlucky, you will spend a frustrating time trying to guess the correct phrase that will make it do what you want.

I've been using Windows Copilot for weeks now, because I've been using it since the preview version was released for Windows Insiders Program testers. I've been watching this technology evolve ever since Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella introduced it at a small Microsoft ChatGPT event in February, because I've been watching it evolve. Despite all the hype, so far we've mostly seen glorified chatbots built into technologies like search engines and streaming services that work just fine without them. [But Windows Copilot is the first use of "AI" that I personally find valuable and useful. Because it is a new way to use existing technology, and it unleashes a more comfortable means of interacting with my PC.

On its own, Windows Copilot is underwhelming and unfinished to use, but when combined with the Voice Access app in Windows 11, it becomes a far more valuable tool. Suddenly, the ability of the Copilot chatbot to interpret my sentences and act on my commands is helpful because I can dictate to Copilot instead of having to put my hands on the keyboard and mouse and do the work myself.

When it works well, I feel like I am living in a blade-runner future where I tell the computer what to do and while it does it. But when it doesn't work, I end up screaming at the computer like a madman.

As I wrote last year when the app debuted, the Voice Access app in Windows 11 has changed the way I work for the better, allowing me to do more things with my voice than I ever imagined. While far from perfect, the Voice Access app's ability to control my PC and the web with voice commands trumps everything else I've tried, from Dragon Dictation to Siri, I've been able to launch apps, click buttons, and enter text on websites without ever touching a keyboard or mouse. I have tried everything from Dragon Dictation to Siri, and no voice assistant has been as convenient for my RSI-afflicted hands and wrists as the Voice Access app, as it allows me to do basic things like launch apps, click buttons, and enter text on websites without having to touch a keyboard or mouse.

Voice Access in Windows 11 still needs a lot of work, and while I am not yet a hands-free PC wizard, I know that when the pain gets bad, I can rely on this app to get the job done without using my hands more than necessary. Windows Copilot uses Voice Access to launch Copilot, allowing users to enter and execute requests without touching the PC.

And while Copilot is still underpowered and unreliable and not worth regular use, it can tell a Windows laptop to take notes in Word during a lecture or create a PowerPoint deck highlighting the main points of a report in Excel, It is not difficult to imagine a future in which one can rely on a Windows laptop to do that without ever touching a keyboard.

Such a future, from what I have seen so far, could come as early as 2024, and while I fear what "AI" and those who push it will do to the world before we survive, I cannot help but be excited about a future where our PCs will do exactly what we tell them to do I can't help it. I, and legions of other meek PC users like me, are so close to being able to comfortably operate Windows without ever having to touch a keyboard.