Disable Copilot Desktop App

Question

How can I disable the Copilot Background App in Windows 10 and 11?

Answer 1

Dear Bob.

Thank you for your answer but I can't find Background Applications section in GPO.

Answer 2

Hello, Farid Rahimzade

Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

Thanks for your feedback here on your issue, it seems you want to disable the Copilot Background App on Windows 10 or 11.

Generally you can stop it via Task Manager or disable it to start automatically at Windows startup. Here's how to do it:

Use Settings:

Open Settings by pressing the “Windows” and “I” keys at the same time.

Go to “Personalize” and select “Taskbar”.

Under “Taskbar Items” you should see “Copilot”. Turn it off to make the icon disappear.

Use the Group Policy Editor (Professional, Enterprise and Education editions only):

Search in the search bar and open the Group Policy Editor.

Navigate to: “User Configuration” > “Administrative Templates” > “Windows Components” > “Windows Copilot Windows Copilot”.

Select the setting labeled “Turn off Windows Copilot”, right-click and select Edit.

Click “Enable”, then “Apply” and finally “OK”.

Reboot the device.

Use the registry editor:

Type “Registry Editor” in the search bar and open it.

Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced.

Right-click in the blank area on the right and select “New”, then select “DWORD (32-bit) Value”.

Name the new value “ShowCopilotButton”.

 set its value to 0

For Windows 10:

Use Settings:

Open Settings by pressing the “Windows” and “I” keys at the same time.

Go to “Privacy” and select “Background Apps”.

Find “Copilot” in the list and turn it off.

Use Group Policy Editor (Professional, Enterprise and Education editions only):

Search in the search bar and open the Group Policy Editor.

Navigate to: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Background Applications.

Select the setting labeled Allow Windows applications to run in the background, right-click and select Edit.

Click “Disable”, then “Apply” and finally “OK”.

Reboot the device.

Use the registry editor:

Type “Registry Editor” in the search bar and open it.

Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\AppPrivacy.

Right-click in the blank area on the right and select “New”, then select “DWORD (32-bit) Value”.

Name the new value “LetAppsRunInBackground” and set its value to 2.

For Win10 this method can be tried but may have already been updated, you can still try the Win11 counterpart.

Disclaimer: Generally, modifying registry subkeys or work group is intended for advanced users, administrators, and IT Professionals. It can help fix some problems, however, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For further protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click How to back up and restore the registry in Windows - Microsoft Support to view the article. 

Best regards

Bobhe | Microsoft Community Support Specialist