The first Copilot+ Pc has started rolling out. In addition to packing either the Snapdragon X Elite or Snapdragon X Plus chips, the new laptop also has a dedicated co-pilot key on the keyboard. The key, the biggest change to the Windows keyboard in 30 years, is intended to give you quick access to Microsoft's AI assistant, but it doesn't really seem to do anything at the moment.

Tom's Guide computing expert Tony Polanco has been testing Copilot+ PCs like Microsoft Surface Pro11 and HP Omnibook X, and the Copilot key has a display option (the menu that appears when you right-click on the desktop background).

The Verge has been testing the Progressive Web App (PWA) version of Copilot. Reported a slightly different experience in the key. PWA is a browser version of an app that aims to work more or less cross-platform, generally in browsers such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. This means that Copilot is not integrated into Windows and is actually a step back from previous iterations of the tool.

The co-pilot is still present on the laptop. Even if the keyboard shortcuts and buttons themselves do nothing. A Windows Insider blog post last week noted that the Win+C shortcut was "obsolete" as Copilot migrated to become more apps.

The rainbow swirl icon representing Copilot is available on the taskbar, but not on the far right of the clock and notification. It's just kind of mixed with other buttons.

Microsoft does not explain the downgrade of the co-pilot key in any blog post or press release. We have contacted Microsoft for comment and will update if they respond.

This is a strange launch for Microsoft's big foray into AI. While Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite chipset has raised impressive numbers, new laptops are fumbling in other ways. Certain apps and games, such as apps like Google Drive and popular games like Microsoft's own Halo Infinite and Fortnite, won't work when you launch on a new Pc.

The big Microsoft Recall feature was recently pulled from a service that led Tom's Guide computing editor Jason England to question what the point of Copilot+PCs is. 

Despite the lack of recall (or perhaps because of it) and non-functional co-pilot keys, there's little to be excited about with these new laptops.

Other announced AI features such as Cocreator, live captions and Windows Studio effects are still available and impressive. And again, the Snapdragon Elite X chipset is pretty powerful, blowing the MacBook Air M3 away.

Still, what's the point of launching more new features than the fairly new fidget button?