Microsoft's latest Copilot coercion forced me through the five stages of grief over the death of the Windows 11 desktop

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Windows 11 is now a monetization path for Microsoft and a billboard for the company's services.

Windows AI Copilot
(Image credit: Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • Windows 11 Insider builds recently started having Copilot launch automatically when booting up a PC.
  • Microsoft began testing this functionality earlier this year before pausing it temporarily.
  • Copilot will open automatically on wide screen PCs and the feature can be disabled through the Settings app.
  • Microsoft's push to get Copilot in front of people has caused frustration for many users.

Windows Insiders started seeing a strange behavior on their PCs this week. Recently, some computers running Insider builds of Windows 11 saw Copilot open automatically when launching the operating system. Microsoft began testing the functionality earlier this year among Insiders but paused it temporarily, so some were surprised to see it pop up again.

Microsoft is eager to get people to try Copilot. The tech giant has rolled out several ways to summon the AI tools and is testing others. In addition to shortcuts like Windows + C, Copilot can also live within the Taskbar. Future PCs will feature a dedicated Copilot button as well. Microsoft is currently testing the option to open Copilot by hovering over its icon and swiping from the right of the screen opening the AI tool, despite that behavior currently being a way to open the notifications tray.

Having Copilot open automatically on wide screen PCs is one more way that Microsoft can put the tool in front of the face of users. Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc mentioned that the behavior might be a bug, though it's not clear if that refers to the general functionality of Copilot opening automatically or the re-enabling of the feature among Insiders right now.

Where it began

Windows Copilot

Copilot now opens automatically when launching Windows if you're running certain Insider builds of the operating system. (Image credit: Windows Central)

Copilot opening automatically is not new to Windows Insiders, but it had been disabled temporarily. Microsoft began testing the behavior earlier this year but paused it until recently. The company is now re-enabling it for Insiders, as noted by Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc.

"After temporarily disabling this experience to fix an issue, we are trying out opening Copilot automatically when Windows starts on widescreen devices again with some Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels," reads a Windows Insider blog post.

"This can be managed via Settings > Personalization > Copilot. Note that this is rolling out so not all Insiders in the Canary or Dev Channels will see this right away. We’re trying this experience out on devices that have minimum diagonal screen size of 27” and pixel width of 1920 pixels and limited to primary display screens in multi-monitor scenarios. As a reminder, we regularly try out different experiences with Windows Insiders that may not ever ship, and others could show up in future Windows releases when they’re ready."

The post specifying the width of screens affected by the feature is handy, since Microsoft did not make it clear how wide a screen would have to be to have Copilot open automatically when it first announced the functionality.

Grieving the death of the desktop

Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft's push for Copilot and inclusion of ads across Windows 11 is upsetting. (Image credit: Windows Central | Jez Corden)

I want to be clear that Copilot opening on widescreen PCs automatically is not by itself enough to push me over the edge. But Microsoft's systemic push to convert the Windows 11 desktop into a monetization path and a way to push Microsoft services has driven me through denial, anger, bargaining, and sadness. I suppose to a certain extent, I have also reached a point of acceptance because I don't think Microsoft will stop doing what it's doing.

When Microsoft first started rolling out ads for OneDrive in the Start menu or prompts to use certain services, I figured it wasn't a big deal. I didn't like the ads, as I called them, but it wasn't the end of the world. A large portion of our readers and my colleagues didn't consider the prompts ads, so I denied it was a big deal.

Then, Microsoft got pushier. On top of pinning ads to the Start menu on Windows 11, the tech giant began testing ads within the Recommended section of the Start menu. There's a very real possibility that Windows 11 users will see a clean install of Windows 11 show pinned ads on the top of the Start menu, Recommended ads in the bottom, and other prompts to sign up for paid services throughout Windows.

For the sake of brevity, I'll just say there are several other angering decisions made by Microsoft related to the Windows desktop, including replacing a notification gesture with Copilot and showing full screen ads for Windows 11 on Windows 10 (even to ineligible PCs).

These infuriating decisions have led some to bargain with Microsoft. "If there were a way to pay a reasonable amount to have ads removed, I’d be thrilled," said user timwhite in our comment section. I've caught myself thinking the same thing, though I wonder how much money Microsoft would lose removing ads from consumer versions of Windows. I suspect the company would have to charge more than users would be willing to pay to have an ad-free version of Windows to make as much money as an ad-laden one.

After covering so many disappointing stories about Windows 11 lately, I honestly just felt sad when I saw another cross my news desk this morning. It's also saddening that Microsoft seems to not care about the frustration it's causing.

I think I have a while before fully accepting what Windows has become, a monetization path for Microsoft and a billboard for its services.

Sean Endicott
Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He's covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean's journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_. 

13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • timwhite
    I agree 100%. Not only are Microsoft’s efforts to upsell us and feed us advertisements irritating, but they also seem to be slowing down the OS and materially degrading the whole Windows experience. For example, the start menu, where everything literally starts, is sluggish and unresponsive. What in the literal how is this ok with Microsoft? Are they so eager to make more money with ads that they’re willing to sacrifice pretty much every single user’s experience as they use their foundational software?
    Reply
  • K Shan
    As someone that likes Copilot and wants to see it integrated this is getting annoying. It's just going to make people hate windows and Copilot.

    It's not just Microsoft, there seems to be this trend going on in UI trying to push features. I'm sure some excel file has a number go up everytime someone accidentally triggers Copilot and they think they are doing a good job. This is the equivalent of promoting your new line of cars by driving them and running people over. Yeah, you'll get that engagement number up, but it's not going to get people to want to use any of your products.
    Reply
  • nop
    according to article, feature can be disabled through the Settings app - I'm willing to give it a try but glad it can be disabled if too much
    Reply
  • naddy69
    At what point does this become Officially Ridiculous?

    Why not have a dedicated Word key? Why not auto launch Notepad on startup?

    I guarantee you that within days (minutes?) of the arrival of keyboards with a copilot key, there will be a registry fix to disable it.
    Reply
  • fdruid
    I think I have a while before fully accepting what Windows has become, a monetization path for Microsoft and a billboard for its services.

    Well, welcome to the present. This has been happening for years and it's perfectly fine for them to make money with their own OS and ecosystem.

    Your overall attitude of clutching your proverbial pearls at MS trying to do something to earn money is frankly hard to take seriously. But I understand hot takes like this both generate clicks and also garner sympathy from the like minded users who wished everything stayed the same as Windows 7. Not a good look for a technology journalist, honestly. But maybe that's me.
    Reply
  • Hanley Gibbons
    timwhite said:
    Are they so eager to make more money with ads that they’re willing to sacrifice pretty much every single user’s experience as they use their foundational software?
    I think the answer is pretty obvious. There's a reason they're the most valuable company in the world right now.
    Reply
  • Arun Topez
    Launching on boot is just flat out going too far. Everything to this point regarding Copilot is already pushy enough. This just REEKS of desperation. If they have to push it this much, it clearly shows people aren't using it.

    I said it before, I've never been a fan of macOS, but the more Microsoft is doing this, the more I'm convinced on switching.
    Reply
  • Tony n
    Downgrading to Windows 10 and maybe To 7.
    Reply
  • Sean Endicott
    naddy69 said:
    At what point does this become Officially Ridiculous?

    Why not have a dedicated Word key? Why not auto launch Notepad on startup?

    I guarantee you that within days (minutes?) of the arrival of keyboards with a copilot key, there will be a registry fix to disable it.
    I think it's already ridiculous at this point. These features should be opt-in, not opt-out. And many of them should just be separate apps.
    Reply
  • Mobiguy
    fdruid said:
    Well, welcome to the present. This has been happening for years and it's perfectly fine for them to make money with their own OS and ecosystem.

    Your overall attitude of clutching your proverbial pearls at MS trying to do something to earn money is frankly hard to take seriously. But I understand hot takes like this both generate clicks and also garner sympathy from the like minded users who wished everything stayed the same as Windows 7. Not a good look for a technology journalist, honestly. But maybe that's me.
    Welcome to the extortion economy. They do make money from their OS when I swipe my credit card to "buy" the software, or when I buy a computer whose price includes a payment to Microsoft.

    Ok, they don't actually _sell_ me the software, just give me permission to use it, but the fact that I paid them should give me some right to get at least as much value out of my use of their product as they do.

    People will eventually get used to the ad creep, like people got used to watching commercials on TV. Difference is, we didn't pay for the shows back in broadcast days. Now, we pay for cable and still waste time getting pitched for products we don't want. Windows will get there eventually, because people are convinced it's worth the cost in time and inconvenience. Microsoft's shareholders like their dividends, and they're the people MS really cares about, just like any public company.

    I have no dog in this hunt. I switched to Ubuntu almost a decade ago. I control the experience, and the computer does what I want.

    I boot Windows maybe once a month to run a backup. Did it today and sat through a 20 minute forced update before I could start working. Every encounter I have with Windows makes me happier that I switched. I'll be over the moon when I see what I would have had to put up with if I ran Windows 11.

    As to the rest of you, I'm sorry.
    Reply