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Microsoft is bringing its AI-powered Copilot to Windows 10. In a surprise move, the software giant will soon release Copilot for Windows 10 to Release Preview testers, just months after signaling an end of major Windows 10 updates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a key opportunity for us to bring Copilot value to more customers,\u201d explains Aaron Woodman, vice president of Windows marketing, in a briefing with The Verge<\/em>. While Windows 10 end of support is less than two years away, Microsoft is seeking to capitalize on its AI ambitions with a base of millions of PCs that haven\u2019t yet upgraded to Windows 11 to access features like Copilot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Copilot in Windows 10 will work very similar to how it appears in Windows 11, with a button on the right-hand side of the taskbar that lets you quickly access the chatbot. And yes, you can remove that button. It won\u2019t be exactly the same as the Windows 11 version, particularly when it comes to controlling Windows features and settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThere are going to be some functional differences,\u201d says Woodman. \u201cThere are certainly some skills or actions you can take in Windows 11 that do not exist in Windows 10, so therefore wouldn\u2019t be skills inside Copilot.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Windows 10 has lower hardware requirements than Windows 11, but Microsoft believes a minimum of 4GB of RAM and a 720p screen resolution should be enough for Copilot. Microsoft is only testing with Windows 10 Home and Pro users and intends to share plans for Copilot on commercial versions of Windows 10 soon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In a support note, Microsoft now says it\u2019s \u201crevisiting our approach to Windows 10 and will be making additional investments to make sure everyone can get the maximum value from their Windows PC including Copilot in Windows (in preview).\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n That could include more AI features for Windows 10. I asked about whether the new AI features of Paint in Windows 11 could come to Windows 10. \u201cWhen it comes to some of the other client-side AI capabilities like Paint, we\u2019re evaluating, but those are relatively intensive burst components that use the silicon in the device,\u201d says Woodman. \u201cWe\u2019re able to do that with confidence at high performance on Windows 11 because the minimum system requirements give us a base that allows us to know with confidence that it\u2019s going to work. We\u2019re still evaluating whether we can bring that type of functionality back to Windows 10, but we\u2019ll look at it for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n What does this all mean for the future of Windows 10 and that key end-of-support date? Surely Microsoft has to extend it? \u201cThis is the last version of Windows 10, so that\u2019s 22H2, we\u2019re not changing any of that with Windows 10,\u201d insists Woodman. \u201cWe\u2019re not making any changes to the end of support for Windows 10, which remains at October 14th, 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Many have been wondering whether Microsoft would extend support for Windows 10, particularly because it\u2019s so widely used and Windows 11 has lagged behind in adoption. A recent report suggested Windows 11 had reached just 400 million devices<\/a> after two years. Windows 10 reached that same milestone a year after its release and hit 600 million devices<\/a>\u00a0a few months after its two-year anniversary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n