CoPilot seems to be back again

The floating Copilot icon in Word is part of the in-document Copilot experience and, in some recent builds, it continued to appear even after Copilot was disabled. This behavior has been addressed in newer Word updates.

To remove or disable Copilot and its icon, use these steps depending on platform and version support:

1. Turn off Copilot in Word (Windows)
   1. Open Word.
   2. Go to File > Options > Copilot.
   3. Clear the Enable Copilot checkbox.
   4. Select OK, then close and restart Word.
2. Turn off Copilot in Word (Mac)
   1. Open Word.
   2. From the Word menu, go to Preferences > Authoring and Proofing Tools > Copilot.
   3. Clear the Enable Copilot checkbox.
   4. Close and restart Word.
   Notes:
   • The Enable Copilot checkbox is per app and per device. It must be cleared in each app (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) and on each device where Copilot should be turned off.
   • As of March 13, 2025, the checkbox is available starting with these versions: on Windows, Word Version 2412; on Mac, Word Version 16.93.
   • If the checkbox is missing, check the app version and update Word to a supported build.
3. If the floating icon remains after disabling Copilot Moderator guidance for recent Word builds indicates that the intrusive in-document Copilot logo was removed in update 16.103.1 for Mac (Classic 365 and similar channels). Installing that update (or a later one) removes the floating icon from the document window. Users on the Current Channel (Preview) received it first; it is then released more broadly. If the icon persists even with Copilot disabled, ensure Word is updated to at least the build that includes this fix (such as 16.103.1 on Mac). Once updated, restart Word so the change takes effect.
4. If the Enable Copilot checkbox is not yet available If the checkbox is not present in Word on the current platform and version, Copilot cannot be turned off directly in that app. In that case, the documented alternative is to change privacy settings to turn off Copilot and other connected experiences that analyze content. However, this also disables other features (such as suggested replies, text predictions, Designer, and automatic alt text) and should be used only if acceptable.

References:

• Turn off Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps
• How to remove Copilot from Word in Office Home & Business 2024? - Microsoft Q&A
• How to remove new Copilot in-document icon in Microsoft Word? - Microsoft Q&A
• How do I get rid of the Copilot icon on Docs as I'm working on them? - Microsoft Q&A