What are these and do I need them??

Question

What are these and do I need them??

J K 13 0

Hello,

When I search my desktop for a file or doc, there are literally hundreds (thousands maybe) of these files. I can't find anything I actually need because they clog up every search I do.

I am admittedly not "techy," so when I click on them, it's just pages of gibberish. I do recognize the cyrillic alphabet on some but confused why they would contain Russian? Every name contains "copilot" in some variation. My work uses Outlook but beyond using my email, I don't know anything about co-pilot or what it's purpose is or how to use it.

1: What are they?

2: Do I need them?

3: How do I make them stop/ go away?

Please talk to me like I'm 4 years old and thanks so much in advance for the help! Screenshot 2026-02-25 at 5.46.29 PM

Screenshot 2026-02-25 at 5.46.03 PM

2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

J K 13 0

Harry, thank you so much for the explanation. It all makes sense, except why are they growing exponentially? Every time I search, there's dozens more pages of them.

Also, for #3: I should've specified in the question that I'm all apple. I only use outlook for my email with one client who requires it, and excel for certain work I do for another. Would you know how to prevent them from appearing on iMacs?

Thanks again!

Harry Phan 15,750 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-02-26T05:38:57.3466667+00:00

The reason those Copilot files seem to multiply is that Spotlight orFinder is re‑indexing them. They’re harmless, but they clutter search results because macOS doesn’t distinguish them from your own documents.

On your iMac, the way to stop them from cluttering your searches is to tell Spotlight not to look inside the folders where Office stores its working files. You can do this by opening System Settings, going to Siri & Spotlight, then opening Spotlight Privacy. In that window, add the Office folders to the exclusion list. The other most common ones are inside your user Library, for example: ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Outlook and ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Excel. Once you add those, Spotlight will ignore them, and they won’t appear in your searches anymore.

Answer 2

Hi J K, let me try to explain it in the most comfy way:

What are they? Those “copilot” files you see are temporary support files created by Microsoft Office apps (like Outlook, PowerPoint, or Word) when Copilot features are installed. They’re not documents you made, they’re background program files.
Do you need them? Yes, your computer needs them for Copilot and Office to work correctly. They look like gibberish because they’re code, not user files.
How to make them stop showing up? They shouldn’t appear in your everyday searches. What’s happening is Windows Search is indexing them. To fix this, you can:
- Open Settings > Search > Searching Windows and adjust indexing so it only looks at your personal folders (like Documents, Desktop, Pictures).
- Or, when searching, use the filter “Documents” so system files don’t appear.

Think of them like the “engine parts” of your car: you don’t drive with them directly, but the car won’t run without them. Does it sound easy for you?

J K 13 0 Reputation points

2026-02-26T05:35:09.3433333+00:00

Harry, thank you so much for the explanation. It all makes sense, except why are they growing exponentially? Every time I search, there's dozens more pages of them.

Also, for #3: I should've specified in the question that I'm all apple. I only use outlook for my email with one client who requires it, and excel for certain work I do for another. Would you know how to prevent them from appearing on iMacs?

Thanks again! June

Share via

What are these and do I need them??

2 answers

Your answer