Unable to remove Draft with Copilot.

Question

G'day

An icon (pen with stars) titled Draft with Copilot now appears on my MS Word documents. I would like to remove Draft with Copilot. I have looked online for answers which suggest going to File>Options>Copilot, however, Copilot is not an option that is available the list of options I have when entering File>Options are: General, Display, Proofing, Save, Language Accessibility, Advanced and so on. How can I disable Copilot when it is not listed in Word Options. I have updated my account and restarted my computer many times but Draft with Copilot still appears in the left margin of Word documents. In my Account>Manage Settings I have deselected the Optional connected experiences and restarted my computer, but the Draft with Copilot still appears in the left margin of Word documents. I am at my wits end. Please help me get rid of Draft with Copilot. The version of MS Word is 2603.

Thank you

Regards Clive

Answer 1

Hi Clive,

Real Human here :)

May I know if Microsoft 365 is provided by your Work or a school account?

This is the reason why the Copilot settings might not appear.

I’m eager to hear back and work together to find a solution.

Answer 2

OMG I need help here, not from AI but a real person. AI is the problem. Can I speak to a real person on the phone please?

Answer 3

For Word version 2603, the “Draft with Copilot” in‑document icon is part of a recent Copilot-related UI change. In some builds, the Copilot option does not yet appear under File > Options, so it cannot be disabled there. The current resolution is to update to a build where Microsoft has removed that intrusive in-document Copilot logo.

Action steps:

1. Make sure Office is on a channel that receives the latest updates (for example, Current Channel or Current Channel (Preview), depending on the edition).
2. Check for and install the latest Word/Office updates:
   • Open Word.
   • Go to Account (or File > Account).
   • Use the Update Options button to check for updates and install them.
3. After updating, restart Word and re-open a document. The intrusive “Draft with Copilot” logo in the document window should be removed in newer builds (for example, builds like 16.103.1 have been reported to remove this logo).

If Copilot is still present in the ribbon but dimmed or inactive, that is expected when Copilot is disabled; the key change from the update is that the in-document icon in the margin is removed.

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References:

• Turn off Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps
• 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 remove Copilot from Word in Office Home & Business 2024? - Microsoft Q&A