While Microsoft has rolled out the Copilot taskbar button to Windows 10 and 11 PCs, it’s not a native app. When you open Copilot, it’s actually a miniature web app that uses the AI assistant’s website to handle your requests. Now, Microsoft has declared that it has made the app more native in a new update, but it’s still not quite there yet.
Microsoft Copilot’s New “Native” App Still Relies on WebView2
As announced on Windows Blogs, Microsoft has tweaked how Copilot works on Windows 10 and 11. In the announcement, the company details how it changed Copilot’s behavior and how it interacts with Windows. It also makes a pretty bold claim:
It’s native: With this update, the previous Copilot progressive web app (PWA) is replaced with a native version. After installing the Copilot app update, when you run Copilot, you will see it appear in your system tray.
Sure enough, Microsoft’s claim is true to a point; Copilot no longer relies on PWA and uses a native container. However, as spotted by Windows Central, the actual content the app loads still depends on WebView2 to get the job done. So, it’s no longer a web app, but a native app that opens a web app.
Still, because the Copilot container is now native, you can invoke it with the new Alt + Space keyboard shortcut. You can also move the window around and resize it to your liking. Just don’t expect it to be “truly” native—it’s still a website in a box.
Regardless, you can still make good use of Copilot, whether it’s a web app or not. There are plenty of reasons to use Copilot over ChatGPT, so perhaps Microsoft’s AI tool can be your new companion. And if you don’t like it, you can always remap the Copilot key on your keyboard to open your favorite app instead.