Turn Off Copilot: Windows 11, Word, Outlook and What Stays On

Copilot is Microsoft’s AI assistant, and it appears as a Windows app, inside Microsoft 365 apps, in the Edge browser and in Teams. To turn off Copilot completely, you have to work through each of those places, since the Microsoft pages we read describe separate controls rather than one master switch. If you’re unsure which product you have, see Copilot vs Copilot 365 vs Copilot Studio. Every step below comes from Microsoft’s or VS Code’s own documentation.

Where Can You Turn Off Copilot? A Quick Decision Table

You can turn off Copilot in most places, but the method and the person who controls it change by product.

Where Copilot appears	Best documented control	Who can do it
Windows 11 app	Uninstall in Settings, or turn off at startup	You
Copilot key	Remap in Settings	You or admin
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote	Clear Enable Copilot (desktop only)	You, with a personal account
Outlook	Turn on Copilot toggle (not classic Outlook)	You, with a personal account
Edge	Hide the toolbar button	You
Teams meetings	Set Copilot to Off in meeting options	Meeting organizer
Work or school accounts	Admin controls	IT admin
VS Code	Copilot menu or settings	You

How to Turn Off Copilot in Windows 11

The cleanest way to turn off Copilot in Windows 11 is to uninstall the app from Settings. Microsoft’s Copilot management page gives this route, and Microsoft’s general uninstall steps use the same path.

1. Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
2. Find Copilot in the list.
3. Select the three dots beside the app, then choose Uninstall.

Turn off Copilot at startup instead

To keep the app but stop it launching at sign-in, Microsoft’s startup guide says to go to Settings > Apps > Startup and set the app’s toggle to Off. The guide covers Windows 11 and Windows 10, although it doesn’t say Copilot will always appear in the list.

Can you stop the Copilot key opening Copilot?

You can remap the Copilot key, but Microsoft documents no setting that simply disables it. Go to Settings > Personalization > Text input, then use Customize Copilot key on keyboard, which offers Search or Custom. That applies on Dell, HP or Lenovo laptops alike, because it’s a Windows setting.

Windows 11 Home vs Pro: Which Copilot Controls Work?

Windows 11 Home users should rely on Settings, because Home is not listed for the Copilot policies in Microsoft’s WindowsAI policy reference. Pro has more options, yet the best-known one is deprecated.

Control	Home	Pro	Enterprise, Education	Status
Uninstall in Settings	Yes, general Windows steps	Yes	Yes	Current
Startup toggle	Yes	Yes	Yes	Current
TurnOffWindowsCopilot policy	Not listed	Yes	Yes	Deprecated; doesn’t cover the new Copilot app
SetCopilotHardwareKey policy	Not listed	Yes	Yes	Windows 11 22H2 with KB5044380 or later
RemoveMicrosoftCopilotApp policy	Not listed	Docs conflict	Yes	Windows 11 24H2 or later, with conditions

Registry and Group Policy: read this before you edit

Microsoft does document a registry location for its older policy, but we don’t recommend it for most people. The policy is Turn off Windows Copilot, under User Configuration > Windows Components > Windows Copilot. Its registry key is SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsCopilot and its value is TurnOffWindowsCopilot, set to 1.

For IT admins, Microsoft recommends an AppLocker rule instead, which blocks the consumer app from installing or launching. The RemoveMicrosoftCopilotApp policy uninstalls the app only if Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Copilot are both installed, the user didn’t install it, and it hasn’t launched in 28 days. Microsoft’s table excludes Pro while its text includes Professional. The same Microsoft page gives admins PowerShell: $packageFullName = Get-AppxPackage -Name "Microsoft.Copilot" | Select-Object -ExpandProperty PackageFullName, then Remove-AppxPackage -Package $packageFullName.

How to Turn Off Copilot in Word, Excel and PowerPoint

To turn off Copilot in Word, Excel or PowerPoint, clear the Enable Copilot checkbox in each app on each device. These steps come from Microsoft’s Turn off Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps page, and they apply only when you sign in with a personal Microsoft account. The change also affects everyone who uses that device.

On Windows

1. Open the app, then go to File > Options > Copilot.
2. Clear Enable Copilot.
3. Select OK, then close and restart the app.
4. Repeat in every other app, since each has its own checkbox.

On Mac

1. Open the app menu, then go to Preferences > Authoring and Proofing Tools > Copilot.
2. Clear Enable Copilot.
3. Close and restart the app.

App	Windows version with the checkbox	Mac version with the checkbox
Word	2412 or later	16.93 or later
Excel	2501 or later	16.93.2 or later
PowerPoint	2501 or later	16.93.2 or later
OneNote	2502 or later	Not listed

If the Enable Copilot checkbox is missing

First, update the app to the version above. If that fails, Microsoft offers a broader fallback through privacy settings, although it removes more than Copilot.

• Windows: File > Account > Account Privacy > Manage Settings, then clear Turn on experiences that analyze your content.
• Mac: Preferences > Personal Settings > Privacy > Connected Experiences > Manage Connected Experiences, then clear the same option.

One change applies to all the apps, but you’ll also lose suggested replies in Outlook, text predictions in Word, PowerPoint Designer and automatic alt text.

How do you remove the floating Copilot button?

Clear Enable Copilot to hide the floating button, or move it if you want to keep Copilot. Microsoft’s page on the button says to right-click it and choose Dock for your session, or Move to ribbon, which needs Windows build 16.0.20129.15140 or Mac build 16.109.525.2 or later.

How Do You Turn Off Copilot in Outlook?

You turn off Copilot in Outlook with the Turn on Copilot toggle, which applies to every device signed in with the same account. Microsoft dates these steps to June 3, 2025.

Outlook version	Where to find the toggle	Requirement
New Outlook for Windows	Settings > Copilot	None stated
Outlook on the web	Settings > Copilot	No update needed
Outlook for Mac	Quick Settings > Copilot	Version 16.95.3 or later
Outlook for iOS and Android	Quick Settings > Copilot	Latest version
Classic Outlook for Windows	No toggle	Microsoft gives no estimated date

On classic Outlook, the connected-experiences fallback above is the documented workaround.

How to Hide Copilot in Microsoft Edge

To hide Copilot in Edge, turn off its toolbar button in Edge settings. These steps come from Microsoft’s Manage Copilot Chat page, which doesn’t describe them as removing Copilot from the browser.

1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Copilot and Sidebar.
2. Under App specific settings, select Copilot.
3. Turn off Show Copilot button on the toolbar.
4. If you also want to limit page access, turn off Allow Copilot to use browser content.

We found no official Microsoft steps for turning off Edge’s Copilot Mode. Microsoft Q&A community answers point to Settings > AI innovations, yet some users don’t see it, so treat that as unverified. Admins can use the HubsSidebarEnabled policy, although it blocks all Edge sidebar apps.

How to Turn Off Copilot in Microsoft Teams

Meeting organizers can turn off Copilot per meeting, but ordinary attendees can’t turn it off for everyone. Microsoft’s Teams help page says organizers control this even without a Copilot license.

1. Open the meeting in the scheduler, then go to Online meeting options > Copilot and other AI.
2. Set Allow Copilot and Facilitator to Off.

Turning it off has a cost, because Microsoft says recording and transcription also switch off for that meeting. Your choices also depend on your organization’s policy. Admins can set a default under Meetings > Meeting policies > Recording & transcription > Copilot, but Microsoft says organizers can still change an Off default per meeting. These pages don’t cover free or personal Teams accounts.

Can You Remove Copilot From a Microsoft 365 Subscription?

You can turn off Copilot features in apps, or you may be able to switch to a Classic plan, but you can’t simply delete Copilot from a Personal or Family plan. Microsoft’s subscription FAQ says Personal, Family and Premium include Copilot.

To look for a Classic plan, follow Microsoft’s plan-switching steps:

1. Sign in at account.microsoft.com/services and open the Subscriptions tab.
2. Select Manage on your subscription, then select Cancel subscription.
3. On the Cancel page, choose a plan from the options offered, such as Personal Classic or Family Classic, if it appears.

The new plan begins at renewal, and purchases through Apple, Google or a retailer must be changed with that provider. Microsoft’s page doesn’t list Classic availability, and community answers disagree on whether every account sees it, so don’t confirm a cancellation unless you see the plan you want.

Can You Turn Off Copilot on a Work or School Account?

Usually not by yourself, because Microsoft says the Enable Copilot and Outlook settings aren’t available with a work or school account. Ask your IT admin instead.

According to the Manage Copilot Chat page, admins can choose not to pin Copilot Chat, though users can still reach it on the web. They can also block the Copilot app through Integrated Apps, which is tenant-wide and affects licensed users too.

How to Turn Off GitHub Copilot Autocomplete in VS Code

To turn off GitHub Copilot autocomplete in Visual Studio Code, use the Copilot menu in the status bar or change a setting. These options come from the VS Code documentation on inline suggestions.

• Status bar: open the Copilot menu, then uncheck the option that enables inline suggestions.
• Pause only: choose Snooze in the same menu to pause suggestions for five minutes at a time.
• By language: in settings, set github.copilot.enable and set * to false for all languages, or add specific languages.
• Next edit suggestions: set github.copilot.nextEditSuggestions.enabled to false.

To go further, the VS Code setup docs describe chat.disableAIFeatures. It hides chat and inline suggestions and disables the Copilot extension.

What Do You Lose When You Turn Off Copilot?

You mainly lose the AI features tied to that control, but some methods remove useful non-Copilot features as well.

Action	What you lose
Clear Enable Copilot	The ribbon icon and all Copilot features in that app, on that device
Turn off connected experiences	Copilot plus suggested replies, text predictions, PowerPoint Designer and automatic alt text
Uninstall the Copilot app	The app’s chat and voice features on that PC
Set Copilot to Off in Teams	Copilot, recording and transcription for that meeting
HubsSidebarEnabled in Edge	Copilot Chat and every other Edge sidebar app
chat.disableAIFeatures in VS Code	Chat, inline suggestions and the Copilot extension

What Can’t You Fully Remove?

Several Copilot features have no documented off switch for ordinary users.

• Mobile and web Office apps: Microsoft says the checkbox isn’t available in iOS, Android or web versions of Word, Excel or PowerPoint.
• Classic Outlook: there’s no toggle and no estimated date for one.
• Designer, Notepad and Paint on a Microsoft 365 subscription: Microsoft’s FAQ says you can’t turn off Copilot features there. However, a separate Notepad page describing Insider builds says Notepad settings can turn them off.
• A single master switch: we found no Microsoft page describing one control that removes Copilot from Windows, Office, Edge and Teams together.

Frequently Asked Questions