By By David Ramel01/20/2026
Publication Date: 2026-01-20 00:00:00
Copilot AI: What You’re Missing on Windows 10 PCs
With the sunsetting of Windows 10, our writer Tom Fenton had detailed many things that can be done with the obsolete machines (“5 Ways to Repurpose your Windows 10 System” and “Repurposing an ‘Obsolete’ Windows 10 Laptop into a Thin Client“).
However, I am stubbornly clinging to my non-upgradeable Win 10 laptop (wrong hardware components), which I use right alongside my work Win 11 PC. But with AI taking over everything, I wondered what I might be missing with Copilot, which I use constantly for journalism and many other things. Any fellow PC Luddites might be wondering too. Here’s the answer:
Microsoft markets Copilot as a cross-platform AI assistant, but the Copilot experience differs materially between Win 11 PCs and Win 10 PCs. The difference is not cosmetic or merely about where Copilot appears on the screen. It is about what Copilot is allowed to do.
On Win 11, Copilot is implemented as a system-level feature integrated into the operating system, allowing it to interact with Windows components that are increasingly configured and governed through cloud-delivered management services. On Win 10, Copilot is limited to browser-based surfaces such as the Edge sidebar, the Copilot web experience, or the…
