Copilot Gets In the Way

Question

Copilot Gets In the Way

Wendell Whitehouse 0

When I'm working on a document, the Copilot icon is in the bottom right of the app window. This gets in the way of viewing document, especially in Excel and PowerPoint.

How do I completely disable Copilot from my computer.

Elizabeth Leslie 15 Reputation points

2026-05-19T21:28:48.88+00:00

Unfortunately, the folks here can't help. Go to this page and upvote the feedback, it has moved from the #3 to the #2 requested recently and we can keep driving the numbers up!

https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/45063ecb-285b-f011-95f3-7c1e5299279a
Asif Rehmani 0 Reputation points

2026-05-20T20:24:01.99+00:00

I think it was a mistake to move the Copilot button to the bottom right. It was fine where it was in the ribbon: always available if needed but not in the way.

For Microsoft to now say that there is no way to turn it off everywhere and you have to go to each application to turn it off is very unfortunate and doesn't sit right with many people.

Having said that, wherever possible, users should be provided in-app guidance so they know how to dock the Copilot icon as needed or turn it off altogether.
Julie Huynh 1,360 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-05-21T12:15:27.1466667+00:00

Hi @Asif Rehmani,

I appreciate your feedback on this matter.

However, we are not involved in product design decisions and do not have direct access to the development roadmap.

Therefore, please kindly send your feedback via the Feedback Portal or within Office apps so that the product team would work on a fix.

Thank you for your understanding!

2 answers

Your answer

Elizabeth Leslie 15 Reputation points

2026-05-19T21:28:48.88+00:00

Unfortunately, the folks here can't help. Go to this page and upvote the feedback, it has moved from the #3 to the #2 requested recently and we can keep driving the numbers up!

https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/45063ecb-285b-f011-95f3-7c1e5299279a
Asif Rehmani 0 Reputation points

2026-05-20T20:24:01.99+00:00

I think it was a mistake to move the Copilot button to the bottom right. It was fine where it was in the ribbon: always available if needed but not in the way.

For Microsoft to now say that there is no way to turn it off everywhere and you have to go to each application to turn it off is very unfortunate and doesn't sit right with many people.

Having said that, wherever possible, users should be provided in-app guidance so they know how to dock the Copilot icon as needed or turn it off altogether.
Julie Huynh 1,360 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-05-21T12:15:27.1466667+00:00

Hi @Asif Rehmani,

I appreciate your feedback on this matter.

However, we are not involved in product design decisions and do not have direct access to the development roadmap.

Therefore, please kindly send your feedback via the Feedback Portal or within Office apps so that the product team would work on a fix.

Thank you for your understanding!

Answer 1

Dear @Wendell Whitehouse,

Good day! Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum!

Based on your description, I understand that you’re seeing a floating Copilot button in the bottom-right corner when you are working in Excel and PowerPoint. You’d like to remove or turn it off, but there is no setting to do it.

The floating Copilot button is intentionally included to give you quick and convenient access to Copilot while you’re working in a worksheet. At this time, there isn’t an option to disable this feature from within the user interface of the latest Office apps.

That said, your experience truly matters. Microsoft places a strong emphasis on listening to user feedback, and every suggestion helps shape future improvements. Your input can make a real difference in how features evolve.

To ensure your feedback reaches the right team, I recommend submitting it directly through Microsoft Excel/PowerPoint. You can do this by going to Help tab > Feedback within the app or via the Feedback Portal.

This allows the product team to better understand your needs and consider potential enhancements. When many users share similar feedback, it significantly increases the chances of that request being reviewed and possibly implemented in future updates.

Please note that we are not involved in product design decisions and do not have direct access to the development roadmap, we want to assure you that your feedback has been acknowledged and is valued.

Also, while it can’t be completely removed, this adjustment can make it less prominent and give you a cleaner view of your workspace.

To do this, simply locate the Copilot icon and right-click on it to explore the available options.

User's image

Select Dock, and it will turn into a small icon like this.

User's image

Right click to the icon > choose Undock and the icon will revert to its original state.

User's image

Thank you for your kindness and understanding!

If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in [our documentation] to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Mea C 5 Reputation points

2026-05-19T14:47:23.78+00:00

I am easily in a a lot of spreadsheets a day - it might just take a second to dock the icon but that adds up over time. Microsoft says adding this icon is supposed to help productivity but having to dock each spreadsheet means I'm LESS productive! Remove the icon!
Julie Huynh 1,360 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-05-21T12:13:06.7066667+00:00

Hi @Mea C, I appreciate your feedback on this matter.

However, we are not involved in product design decisions and do not have direct access to the development roadmap.

Therefore, please kindly send your feedback via the Feedback Portal or within Office apps so that the product team would work on a fix.

Thank you for your understanding!

Answer 2

AI answer

To stop Copilot getting in the way, Copilot must be turned off in each Microsoft 365 app where it appears. There is no single switch that removes it from all apps and all devices at once.

For Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on Windows (Microsoft 365 Family/Personal):

Open the app (for example, Excel).
Go to File > Options > Copilot.
Clear the Enable Copilot checkbox.
Select OK, then close and restart the app.
Repeat these steps in Word and PowerPoint on the same device.

For Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on Mac:

Open the app (for example, Word).
Go to Word > Preferences > Authoring and Proofing Tools > Copilot.
Clear the Enable Copilot checkbox.
Close and restart the app.
Repeat in Excel and PowerPoint on the same device.

Notes:

The Enable Copilot checkbox is per app and per device. To remove Copilot everywhere, repeat these steps for each app on each computer.
If the Enable Copilot checkbox is not available yet in the desktop apps, Copilot can be turned off by changing privacy settings (this also disables other cloud-powered features):
- On Windows: File > Account > Account Privacy > Manage Settings and clear Turn on experiences that analyze your content, then restart the app.
- On Mac: Preferences > Personal Settings > Privacy > Connected Experiences > Manage Connected Experiences, clear Turn on experiences that analyze your content, then restart the app.
- This only needs to be done once; it applies across the other Office apps on that device.
Copilot cannot currently be turned off in the iOS, Android, or web versions of Word, Excel, or PowerPoint; only the desktop apps support the Enable Copilot checkbox.

If the intrusive in-document Copilot logo persists even after Copilot is disabled, install the latest Office updates. The 16.103.1 update has been reported to remove the in-document Copilot logo from the Word window and is expected to roll out to all channels.

For Outlook, Copilot is controlled separately by a Turn on Copilot toggle (and the choice applies across devices for the same account):

Android/iOS/Mac: Quick Settings > Copilot.
Web and new Outlook for Windows: Settings > Copilot. Turn the toggle off to disable Copilot in Outlook.

References:

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Copilot Gets In the Way

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