Microsoft Removes Win+C Shortcut in Windows, Reassigns to Web Application

Microsoft is quietly removing the Win+C shortcut feature through cumulative updates. This shortcut no longer works in Windows 11 22H2 and later versions, and it's not even preset in Windows 11 24H2. This might surprise many users, as Win+C has been in the Windows system for more than ten years.

Win+C has been a rather unfortunate shortcut in Windows history. It was used to open various functions but was ultimately removed. For example, in Windows 8, Win+C would bring up the CharmsBar (start menu and search bar for touchscreen devices), but the CharmsBar was scrapped in Windows 10, and Win+C was then used to activate the voice assistant Cortana. In Windows 11, Win+C was changed to open the intelligent assistant Copilot.

Now, however, Microsoft has decided to decouple Copilot from the taskbar and make it a standalone web application. In that case, assigning a shortcut to a web application seems a bit superfluous.

Originally, the Copilot was planned to be integrated into the system tray area of the taskbar, next to the Show Desktop button. But it seems Microsoft is no longer strongly promoting Copilot.

Although the new version of the Copilot application will be default pinned to the taskbar, it is no longer bonded to the Win+C shortcut, and users can easily remove it. Now Copilot is just a web application and no longer appears in the form of a desktop sidebar. Even more surprisingly, as observed by WindowsLatest, the new Copilot is actually just opening the copilot.microsoft.com website in the Microsoft Edge browser. Microsoft hasn't even disabled the right-click menu of the Edge browser, which means users can use the web packaging of Copilot to browse any website.

The vacancy of the Win+C shortcut is not new. As mentioned earlier, it has always been bundled with some removed functions. In the Windows 8 era, Win+C was used to bring up the CharmsBar; in Windows 10, the CharmsBar was removed, and Win+C was then used to activate Cortana; in Windows 11, this shortcut was assigned to Copilot which replaced Cortana. Microsoft says Win+C will be discontinued in the next few weeks, but users can still open Copilot through the taskbar like other applications.

Do these changes mean Copilot is being sidelined by Microsoft? The answer is not necessarily. Microsoft just seems to have other plans. The deep integration of Copilot with Windows is still in the works, such as being used as an assistive tool in games like Minecraft.