How to disable co-pilot on Mac

Question

How to disable co-pilot on Mac

Gordon Allen 0

How to disable co-pilot in Microsoft word on mac

Co-pilot is driving me mad

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Answer recommended by moderator

Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 437.5K

John's suggestion is the best if you have a MS 365 Subscription & never intend to use Copilot.

If you simply want to disable it the instructions differ a bit from what Kudos-Ng proposed - The Ribbon cannot be modified in that way.

Go to Word> Preferences but in the Authoring & Proofing Tools group there is an explicit Copilot icon. Click that then clear the check on Enable Copilot.

The Copilot tool will continue to display on the Home tab but will be dimmed & inactive.

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5 additional answers

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Answer 1

John Korchok 235.5K Volunteer Moderator

You can change plans to Microsoft 365 Classic without Copilot and save some money in the process.

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Answer 2

Kudos-Ng 15,050 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Gordon Allen,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

After doing some research, I found this article: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/turn-off-copilot-in-microsoft-365-apps-bc7e530b-152d-4123-8e78-edc06f8b85f1
It explains how to locate Copilot under the Authoring and Proofing Tools section to disable it. You may review that guidance. However, when I tested on Word for Mac version 16.102, I could not find the Copilot option as described.

If you only need to remove the Copilot button in Word for Mac, you can customize the ribbon as follows:

Open Word and go to Preferences > Ribbon & Toolbar.
Under Main Tabs, select Home, then locate the Assistance group.
Select the Assistance group and click the < (Remove) button.
Click Save to apply the change.

If you are an IT admin and your organization does not require Copilot, you may consider switching your business subscription to a plan that does not include Copilot, such as Microsoft 365 Business Basic. You can review subscription options here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business/microsoft-365-plans-and-pricing

Hope this helps.

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Kudos-Ng 15,050 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-07T07:26:16.0466667+00:00

Hi Gordon Allen,

I wanted to check if the solution I shared earlier worked for you.

If you need any clarification or further help, feel free to reach out.

And if it resolved your issue, please consider marking it as an answer. This helps others in the community facing similar problems.

Thanks for your understanding.
Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 437.5K Reputation points

2025-11-07T17:00:53.2566667+00:00

Your suggestion doen't work because it also removes Editor from the Ribbon. Further, removing a group does not disable the features in that group.
Kudos-Ng 15,050 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-10T13:46:31.3933333+00:00

Hi Gordon Allen,

I hope the information I shared was helpful.

If you’ve had a chance to review it, I’d love to hear your thoughts or any questions you might have.
Byrd, Veronica Ann 10 Reputation points

2025-11-12T19:01:12.71+00:00

Unfortunately, this method only removed CoPilot from the tool bar and leaves the CoPilot icon hovering at the bottom right of the doc. I'd rather have it in the tool bar so I do not accidentally click in when writing papers for my education which could get me cited for plagiarism.
Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 437.5K Reputation points

2025-11-12T19:57:26.0666667+00:00

That icon cannot be removed unless Microsoft chooses to do so. Use Help> Feedback in the Word menu bar to express your opinion to the design team.

Answer 3

K D 0

NOPE. GONE. That is not an option to even see nor select! That is the issue and it's time to globally sue Microsoft for this AI CRAP!!!!! Upgrade downgrade upgrade change plans - we are SICK AND TIRED OF THIS CRAP!!!!!!!!!!

Stefan Blom 349K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-05-13T21:24:50.4666667+00:00

@K D,

To avoid Copilot, you can get a perpetual license such as Office Home & Business 2024, as suggested by John Korchok.

If you want more input from your fellow users in the forum, I recommend that you start your own thread. Use the Ask a question option (see the screen shot below). Good luck.

The current thread is old and it will be locked.
Stefan Blom 349K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-05-13T21:27:25.5133333+00:00

There are two places in which you can access Ask a question. Larger screens and wider web browser windows would usually expose the option on the right hand side of the Q&A page. In a smaller window, you need to expand the menu first.

Answer 4

Just applied the 16.103.1 update which has removed the Copilot logo which was appearing in the lower right corner of the document window.

I'm using Classic 365 which doesb't include Copilot but perhaps the update will provide relief for other versions as well.

The update is available to those who use the Current Channel (Preview) option but should be released to everyone a bit later this month.