How to turn off Copilot in Windows, Office and Edge

You can turn off Copilot in a few minutes. There just isn't one Copilot. In Windows 11 Copilot is an app you can uninstall like any other. In Word, Excel and PowerPoint you clear an "Enable Copilot" checkbox in each app. Outlook and Edge have their own switches.

This guide covers each one, plus the places where Microsoft doesn't let you turn it off at all. Updated November 2026.

Which Copilot you're dealing with

Microsoft uses the Copilot name for several different products. Turning off one doesn't touch the others. That's why Copilot so often seems to "come back."

On a typical Windows 11 PC you'll find two apps with the same icon: Copilot (the chat assistant) and Microsoft 365 Copilot (the old Office app, renamed). Copilot is also built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, into the Edge browser and, for developers, into VS Code as GitHub Copilot.

This table shows where each one lives and how to get rid of it.

How to turn off Copilot in Windows 11

Uninstalling the app is the fastest fix and it's safe. The steps below go from simplest to most thorough.

Uninstall the Copilot app

1. Open Settings, then Apps, then Installed apps.
2. Search for "Copilot".
3. Click the three-dot menu next to Copilot and choose Uninstall.
4. Do the same for Microsoft 365 Copilot if you don't use it to open Office files.

This also removes the Copilot entry from the File Explorer right-click menu. You can reinstall Copilot from the Microsoft Store any time.

Unpin it and stop it starting with Windows

If you'd rather keep the app, right-click its taskbar icon and choose Unpin from taskbar. If Copilot opens on its own when you sign in, go to Settings, then Apps, then Startup and switch it off there.

Remap the Copilot key

Many new laptops have a dedicated Copilot key. Go to Settings, then Personalization, then Text input. There you'll find the option to customize the Copilot key. You can point it at another app instead. It has to be a packaged app, which covers most Microsoft Store apps. The setting only appears on PCs that have the key.

Remove it with Group Policy or the registry

The April 2026 update for Windows 11 added a policy called Remove Microsoft Copilot app. On Pro, Enterprise and Education open the Group Policy Editor and go to User Configuration, then Administrative Templates, then Windows Components, then Windows AI.

The policy has conditions. Both Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot must be installed by Windows, not by you. In Windows Latest's testing removal only happened after Copilot went unused for more than 28 days.

Windows Home doesn't include the Group Policy Editor. The same setting lives in the registry: create a key named WindowsAI under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows, add a DWORD (32-bit) value named RemoveMicrosoftCopilotApp, set it to 1 and restart. Home isn't an officially supported edition for this policy and it may not work there. Back up the registry before you edit it.

How to turn off Copilot in Word, Excel and PowerPoint

On Windows and Mac each app has its own "Enable Copilot" checkbox. These steps come from Microsoft's support page and work when you're signed in with a personal Microsoft account.

On Windows (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote):

1. Open File, then Options, then Copilot.
2. Clear Enable Copilot and click OK.
3. Close and reopen the app.

On a Mac (Word, Excel and PowerPoint):

1. Open the app menu, then Preferences, then Authoring and Proofing Tools, then Copilot.
2. Clear Enable Copilot.
3. Close and reopen the app.

Repeat this in every app. Turning it off in Word leaves it on in Excel. The checkbox also applies to everyone who uses that computer. If you don't see it, update Office (Word 2412, Excel and PowerPoint 2501 or later on Windows).

Two limits are worth knowing. On iPhone, Android and the web versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint you can't turn Copilot off. And hiding the Copilot icon on the ribbon doesn't disable it, because Copilot stays in the right-click menu.

If the checkbox isn't there

Microsoft's fallback is to turn off the privacy setting that lets Office analyze your content. On Windows go to File, then Account, then Account Privacy, then Manage Settings. Clear "Turn on experiences that analyze your content." Changing it in one app covers the others.

It costs more than Copilot. You also lose text predictions in Word, PowerPoint Designer, suggested replies in Outlook and automatic alt text for images.

How to turn off Copilot in Outlook

Outlook has one toggle that applies on every device signed in with the same account.

• In new Outlook for Windows and on the web, open Settings, then Copilot. Switch off Turn on Copilot.
• On iPhone, Android and Mac, open Quick Settings, then Copilot.
• Classic Outlook for Windows doesn't have the toggle yet. Microsoft hasn't given a date.

How to turn off Copilot in Edge

Edge lets you hide Copilot. It doesn't let you remove it. To take the button off the toolbar:

1. Open Settings, then Appearance, then Copilot and sidebar.
2. Under App specific settings, choose Copilot.
3. Switch off Show Copilot button on the toolbar.

Next open Settings, then AI innovations. Turn off Copilot Mode, which turns the new tab page and address bar into a Copilot prompt.

Even with both off the Windows key + Shift + period shortcut still opens the Copilot sidebar. Windows Latest notes that you can't fully disable AI in Edge.

If Copilot in Edge is the part that bugs you most, a different browser is the cleaner fix. Sigma is a free browser built on Chromium that works with your Chrome extensions, bookmarks and password manager. When you do want AI, Eclipse is a local AI model built into Sigma. It runs on your computer, works offline and keeps your prompts on your device. Eclipse is available on Windows and macOS. Its speed depends on your hardware.

How to turn off GitHub Copilot in VS Code

VS Code has a single setting that turns off its AI features. Open Settings (Ctrl+, on Windows, Cmd+, on Mac), search for chat.disableAIFeatures and turn it on. According to the VS Code docs, this hides chat and inline suggestions and disables the Copilot extension. You can set it for your user profile or for one project only.

Windows 10 and work computers

On Windows 10 the Copilot app uninstalls the same way. Open Settings, then Apps, find Copilot in the list and choose Uninstall.

Work and school computers are different. The Enable Copilot checkbox and the Outlook toggle aren't available with a work or school account. IT usually controls the Windows policies too. If you need Copilot gone on a work PC, ask your IT team. Removing it yourself through the registry may break company rules.

Is it safe to uninstall Copilot?

Yes. Copilot is an app, not part of the Windows system. Windows works normally without it. Uninstalling Microsoft 365 Copilot doesn't delete your Office apps or files either. It only removes the hub app that opens them.

Copilot can come back after a big Windows update or if an app reinstalls it. If it does, uninstall it again. On Pro and Enterprise the Remove Microsoft Copilot app policy keeps it gone more reliably.

Copilot isn't the only AI assistant you can switch off. If you also want Gemini and AI Overviews out of your way, here's how to turn off Google AI.