Microsoft introduces "Hey, Copilot" wake word for activating the AI on Windows 11

Microsoft has announced yet another new feature for its Copilot app for Windows. You can invoke it with your voice simply by saying the phrase, “Hey, Copilot!”.

This may remind users of "Hey, Cortana!", and the idea is quite similar. Microsoft wants users to start a conversation with a hands-free experience powered Copilot Voice. It is an opt-in feature, users who want to try it will need to manually enable the option that says “Listen for ‘Hey, Copilot’ to start a conversation” in the Settings page of the Copilot app. This will bring up a Copilot microphone appear on your screen, which Microsoft has labeled "Copilot Voice Floating UI". It looks similar to the microphone icon in the Copilot app for iOS and Android.

Copilot will also play a chime to indicate that it is listening to your voice. The app will automatically stop recording if you don't interact with it after invoking the voice-activation mode. Users may also click on ‘X’ to end the conversation manually. It offers a faster way to ask questions without using the mouse and keyboard. Hey Copilot! can only be used when the PC is unlocked, and that the feature requires an internet connection to work.

Microsoft says that the feature uses an on-device wake word spotter that only detects the ‘Hey Copilot’ phrase. This wake word spotter has an on-device 10 second audio buffer in memory, and the content in this buffer is not recorded or stored locally, i.e., the app will detect what you are saying without recording it. The audio buffer will send audio from when “Hey Copilot” was detected to the cloud, to fetch answers for the question you asked.

As of now, the ‘Hey Copilot’ wake word is only available for users who have set their display language in Windows set to English. The feature is rolling out to users who have Copilot app version 1.25051.10.0 and higher, which is currently available for participants in the Windows Insider Program.