Microsoft’s keyboards are to get their biggest update in 30 years with the addition of a new artificial intelligence (AI) button.

The computer giant said it would be adding the new button to keyboards from later this year.

Tapping the “Copilot” key will bring up a chatbot screen on new Windows laptops, which will respond to written questions or search requests from the user.

Copilot, the name of Microsoft’s AI chatbot, can be used to write emails, generate images or control the PC’s settings, as well as answer questions in plain English.

The dedicated Copilot button will typically replace one of the “CTRL”, although this will vary by laptop brand. It will feature on new laptops running Microsoft’s Windows 11 software.

The AI key will sit alongside the current “Windows Key”, a button that brings up the start menu on a PC that was first introduced by Microsoft in 1994.

The new shortcut for opening up Microsoft’s AI tools comes as tech giants look to profit from a surge of interest in digital chatbots. Microsoft has invested $13bn in OpenAI, the Silicon Valley company behind ChatGPT.

Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s consumer chief marketing officer, said: “The introduction of the Copilot key marks the first significant change to the Windows PC keyboard in nearly three decades. Copilot will be the entry point into the world of AI on the PC.”

The new keyboard button could encourage further use of Microsoft’s digital Copilot chatbot as it races against rival Google to dominate the new technology.

Google has developed its own digital chatbot, called Bard, and has launched a version of its AI software that can run on the company’s Android smartphones.

Interest in AI could also help revive flagging PC sales.

Computer sales rose sharply during the pandemic as more people worked from home. Since then, laptop sales have fallen sharply. PC sales fell 16.6pc year-over-year in the second quarter of 2023 and 9pc in the third quarter, according to data from analysts Gartner.

Advances in AI could usher in a new wave of gadgets independent of computers.

OpenAI, led by entrepreneur Sam Altman, has been exploring developing an AI hardware device that will rely on its chatbot technology.

Another start-up, Humane, has developed a wearable “pin” that responds to voice commands using a virtual chatbot.

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