Microsoft is experimenting with forcing encouraging more Windows customers to use Copilot. The company is toying around with the idea of opening its AI-powered assistant whenever your computer turns on, saving you one taskbar click. Users spotted it several months ago, and now it is official.
Microsoft announced the change in the release notes for build 23615, which shipped in the Dev Channel earlier this week. Shortly after that, Microsoft added more insights into it.
There is still no information on what the logic behind the decision was (besides the obvious engagement-boosting). Still, at least it is limited to large displays with 27 inches in diagonal and a minimum width of 1920 pixels. More importantly, Copilot autostart is limited to multi-monitor setups only—you should not expect that thing to pop on your screen every time you power on the computer if you use only one display.
Microsoft knows that such changes are likely to upset a few Windows users, so it provides the option to turn off Copilot autostart. Head to Settings > Personalization > Copilot in Windows and toggle off the "Open Copilot when Windows starts" option.
It is worth reminding that changes and new features in Windows 11 preview builds are often experimental and temporary. Some of them will never see the light of day, so it is too early to tell whether Microsoft will ship Copilot autostart to all users. If you want or do not want that to happen, send your feedback to Microsoft using the Feedback Hub app. Here is what Microsoft said about that in the release notes for build 23615.
We regularly try out different experiences with Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel that may not ever ship, and others could show up in future Windows releases when they’re ready.
What do you think about Copilot autostart in Windows 11?