Copilot Removal

Question

I can't seem to remove Copilot from Word. I removed it before now, but it's popped back up, and the solutions I've looked at before now (looking at options to turn it off, looking at account to turn it off, turning it off in settings directly and restarting my computer, uninstalling it entirely) have not worked. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

For a home Microsoft 365/Word on Windows setup, there are two main approaches: using the built‑in Copilot controls (if available in the version) and using privacy settings. In some recent builds, an update is also required to remove an intrusive in‑document Copilot logo.

1. Turn off Copilot via the “Enable Copilot” checkbox (newer builds)

If the Word version is new enough to expose the Copilot control:

1. Open Word on Windows.
2. Go to File > Options.
3. Look for an Enable Copilot checkbox in the options dialog.
4. Clear the Enable Copilot checkbox.
5. Select OK, then close and restart Word.

Notes from the documentation:

• The Enable Copilot checkbox is per‑app and per‑device. If Copilot appears in Excel or PowerPoint as well, repeat these steps in each app on each device.
• As of March 13, 2025, the checkbox is available starting with:
  • Word for Windows: Version 2412
  • Word for Mac: Version 16.93
• If the checkbox is not visible, check the Office version and update if needed using the guidance in the article.

2. Turn off Copilot by changing privacy settings (works even if the checkbox is missing)

If the Enable Copilot checkbox is not present or Copilot still behaves as active, disable the connected experiences that power it:

On Windows:

1. In Word, go to File > Account > Account Privacy > Manage Settings.
2. Under Connected experiences, clear Turn on experiences that analyze your content.
3. Select OK, then close and restart Word.

On Mac (if also using Word on Mac with the same account):

1. In Word, go to the Word menu > Preferences > Personal Settings > Privacy.
2. In Privacy, go to Connected Experiences > Manage Connected Experiences.
3. Clear Turn on experiences that analyze your content.
4. Select OK, then close and restart Word.

This only needs to be done once per platform (Windows or Mac); the change applies to the other Office apps the next time they are opened.

3. If an in‑document Copilot logo or popup persists

Recent Word builds briefly showed an intrusive Copilot logo in the document window even when Copilot was disabled. The moderator guidance indicates this was corrected in a later update:

• The 16.103.1 update “removed the intrusive logo from the Word window.”
• This update is available first on Current Channel (Preview) and then rolls out more broadly.

If a non‑functional Copilot icon or popup still appears inside documents after disabling Copilot:

1. Make sure Office/Word is fully updated to the latest build available on the update channel in use.
2. If possible, switch to Current Channel (Preview), update, and confirm that the in‑document Copilot logo disappears once on or beyond build 16.103.1.
3. Optional: remove the Copilot button from the ribbon (cosmetic only)

If Copilot is disabled but the ribbon button is visually distracting, customize the ribbon to hide the Copilot icon. This does not turn Copilot off by itself but can clean up the interface if Copilot is already disabled via the steps above.

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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
• How to disable co-pilot on Mac - Microsoft Q&A