Microsoft spammed Windows 11 lock screen with Copilot QR code ads to 'educate users'

Copilot ad on Windows 11 lock screen

Copilot and other AI projects are big new things for Microsoft, and with the company investing billions of dollars into this area, it wants to make sure customers know about its products and, more importantly, use them. As a result, Windows is getting multiple Copilot entries plastered across its UI, and some of those implementations look borderline ridiculous.

Windows 11 users on Reddit recently spotted a massive QR code right in the center of their lock screen. And no, it was not a rickroll (that would have been hilarious). It was just a massive, odd-looking Copilot ad. Scanning the QR code redirected affected customers to the Copilot website with another QR code to download its recently launched apps on Android and iOS.

A user on Reddit also discovered that the QR code was "literally baked into the image file," so here is the extracted image in its full glory:

Copilot QR code ad in Windows 11 — *Damn it, Microsoft, it is not even centered!*

The lock screen in Windows 10 and 11 is already one big ad banner, so it seems like Microsoft decided a not-so-subtle QR code would not hurt. However, customers thought the other way.

Neowin could not replicate the behavior on our own Windows 11 PCs. We reached out to Microsoft and asked the company to explain what was going on. In a reply, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed that the QR code was there to "educate customers" about Copilot.

The notification was simply a way to educate users and has since been paused. We value our customer experiences and are always learning to determine what is most valuable and to whom.

With the lock screen QR code gone (hopefully, for good), there are still plenty of Copilot ads across the operating system. For example, you can find one in the Settings app promoting the Copilot Pro subscription. Also, there are already reports of Microsoft once again targeting Chrome users with banners, this time promoting "chat with GPT-4 for free on Chrome."

This leaves users wondering to what extent Microsoft is willing to promote its AI creation and where efforts to "educate customers" turn into annoying the living thing out of them.