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How do I turn off Copilot in MS Word on Mac?

Anonymous
2024-11-15T09:40:45+00:00

My company has just rolled out the new MS Office Suite.
It comes with Copilot embedded and enabled in everything. I am on Mac.
Originally excited, I tried to like it, but the implementation of it, especially in Word and Outlook is horrific. The Icons in multiple places, the constant flashing of prompted words (mostly wrong) and the banner at the top of every Document taking up screen real-estate I want back!
It is like Clippy V2 on Steroids. It is seriously annoying and off putting to anybody who can think for themselves and type quickly.

Apart from the appalling AI, my biggest grip and key question here is ... ***How do I turn it off or disable it?***There might be times I want to use it, but at my choosing, not being forced feed it, whether I like it or not.

I have spent an hour trying and I can find no way of turning off this flashing distraction of annoyance.

Please? Anyone? how do I turn it off? Thanks.

F.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For business | MacOS

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-05-17T07:48:33+00:00

    To disable Copilot in Word for Mac, you'll need to adjust your preferences within the application. Specifically, you'll find the "Copilot" section in your preferences and uncheck the "Enable Copilot" box. This will remove the Copilot button from the ribbon and prevent it from offering suggestions. This works (and can be reversed).

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-11-15T11:48:33+00:00

    Thanks AJ Raj.

    I appreciate the reply. However as I work for global firm with hundreds of thousands of staff globally, that chances that this proposed Microsoft solution happening are somewhere between Zero & None.

    The fact that this is the only way to turn of Copilot is a Sev1 Design defect (as well as serious stench of corporate arrogance) that needs to be taken back to the product team asap.

    How this made it past any UX testing is beyond me,

    I will use other tools till a switch is built in that is User defined.

    Thanks,
    Fin.

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-11-26T03:54:13+00:00

    This seems to work for my iMac so far:

    1. Open Settings/Preferences, and click on Privacy.
    2. At the bottom, click on "Manage Connected Experiences".
    3. Uncheck ALL boxes (there should be three of them).
    4. Quit the app.

    You will need to do this for ALL Microsoft Office apps in your system (Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint). Quit all the apps and restart to try.

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-11-15T17:05:21+00:00

    ;-)
    Thanks for the Friday afternoon chuckle Phil, I did need a good laugh.

    At $25 a users per month, I am sure they will gladly receive my request to disable this Virus that has been installed on my machine!

    6 people found this answer helpful.
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