You could activate Windows 11 using Copilot, by asking the model to provide you with ways to do so. Now, you can't anymore.

Redditors have discovered that Copilot will recommend a script to permanently activate copies of Windows and Office. It’s a method that’s been available for a couple of years now, but it’s certainly amusing to see Copilot offer up the exact detailed steps.

Of course, activating Windows 11 in a less-than-legitimate way is nothing new. And the script that Copilot provides instructions for isn’t even a new one—it’s been around for a few years. However, the fact that Microsoft hasn’t created some kind of safety net to keep Copilot from talking people through the exact process is kind of crazy.

Microsoft has a piracy problem, and it's had it for some time. In 2006, the LA Times reported that software piracy had caused the company a loss of around $14 billion that year alone, despite the millions Microsoft spent trying to prevent the copying and distribution of its software and Windows operating system.