The Linux 7.0 kernel has merged support for three new keycodes intended for a coming wave of laptops with dedicated Artificial Intelligence agent keys. Arriving through the HID fixes pull request for 7.0, the additions recognize KEY_ACTION_ON_SELECTION (0x254), KEY_CONTEXTUAL_INSERT (0x255), and KEY_CONTEXTUAL_QUERY (0x256), all defined on the USB HID Application Launch usage page.
These newly approved entries were defined specifically for in-context Artificial Intelligence agent interactions and moved through the USB-IF specification process. According to Phoronix, Google authored both the HID specification proposal and the kernel patch that wired the new codes into Linux input. The change appears to push beyond the existing Microsoft Copilot key approach now used on shipping Copilot+ PCs.
Just over two years ago, we established that the Copilot button doesn’t transmit a new scan code at all, and instead reports as Left Shift + Windows + F23, a 1980s IBM function key repurposed by firmware. The 0x254, 0x255, and 0x256 entries, however, replace that workaround with first-class HID values that operating systems can map directly. None of the three is meant to launch a standalone assistant app. Instead, they are aimed at inline, in-context interactions.
Per the descriptions, Action on Selection is meant to fire an Artificial Intelligence action against whatever the user currently has highlighted, whether text or an image, with example flows including explain, summarize, or search the selection. Contextual Insertion calls up an overlay that lets the user retrieve or generate content and drop it straight into the focused field, while Contextual Query finds suggestions tied to the selected element.
Google’s involvement stands out because Microsoft drove the original Copilot key push in early 2024, and Intel co-defined the Artificial Intelligence PC certification around the presence of that button. Google, meanwhile, shipped a physical Quick Insert Key on the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus in October 2024, rolled the underlying function out to all Chromebooks in ChromeOS 130 a few weeks later under a Launcher + F shortcut, and has now taken the button class to USB-IF and landed the kernel implementation.
The new keycodes appear to be vendor-neutral. Nothing in the kernel definitions ties them to a specific assistant, leaving OEMs free to connect them to Gemini, Copilot, or a local model. The 0x254 to 0x256 entries also sit on the HID Application Launch page, the same usage range already used for dedicated browser, calculator, mail, and media player keys, which suggests these controls could soon appear on upcoming laptops and PCs.
