How Do I Turn Off Co-Pilot in Powerpoint for Mac?

Question

MacOS: Tahoe 26.3.1

Powerpoint version: Microsoft® PowerPoint for Mac 16.107.2

ISSUE:

The "Enable Co-pilot" checkbox in the settings will not allow me to uncheck it. How do I disable co-pilot if the setting is permanently on by default?

And - for anyone asking - I find co-pilot incredibly intrusive. I don't need to spend 10 minutes telling powerpoint to stop making suggestions every time I open a file. If I need suggestions, I'll ask. 99% of what co-pilot does is just "cool shit the devs can show the product manager" that "helps with sales presentations" and not actually useful in a work environment.

Answer 1

Hi @KC382,

I hope you are doing well. I understand you are looking for a clean PowerPoint experience without repeated Copilot prompts or suggestions, especially when you did not choose to use the feature.

If the “Enable Copilot” option is missing or cannot be changed in PowerPoint for Mac, please follow the below steps to disable it:

Step 1: Use Privacy Settings to Disable Copilot

This is the most reliable workaround when the Copilot checkbox is stuck. By turning off connected experiences that analyze your content, Copilot is effectively disabled.

• From the menu bar, select PowerPoint, then Preferences.
• Select Privacy
• Uncheck “Turn on experiences that analyze your content”. Step 6: Select OK, then close and restart PowerPoint.

This change applies across Microsoft 365 apps on the Mac after you change it in one app. Turning this off can also disable other features that rely on content analysis, such as PowerPoint Designer.

Step 2: Contact Your IT Administrator

Option A: Remove the Copilot license from your account Admin:

• Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
• Go to Users, then Active users. Step 3: Select the user, then open Licenses and apps.
• Step 4: Uncheck Copilot for Microsoft 365, then save.

Option B: Block or scope Copilot via Integrated Apps Admin:

• Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
• Go to Settings, then Integrated apps.
• Locate Copilot and block it tenant wide, or scope it to specific users or groups.

When Copilot is blocked here, users are unable to open Copilot across desktop, web, and mobile entry points.

Step 3: Hide the Copilot button (UI only)

If you only want to remove the Copilot button from the ribbon, you can hide it using ribbon customization:

• Open PowerPoint.
• Go to PowerPoint, then Preferences, then Ribbon and Toolbar.
• Locate the Copilot control in the ribbon customization list and uncheck it.
• Select OK.

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow the steps above and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can continue working together to resolve the issue.   

Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions or need additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out so I can continue to support you. If you found the response useful, please consider marking it as accepted, as this may help other community members who are looking for similar guidance.   

I look forward to continuing the conversation. 

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Answer 2

Hi @KC382,

Thank you for your response and for sharing your thoughtful feedback. I can totally understand your concerns about security and performance issue when Microsoft integrates Copilot with Microsoft Office apps.

If you prefer having a switch to toggle Copilot in Office apps, I recommend submitting feedback directly to Microsoft via the Feedback Portal to help prioritize this feature in future updates. 

Sharing your experience through this channel is the most impactful way to advocate for a change that would benefit you and other users.     

    

Note: As community moderators, we kindly ask for your understanding that our access to internal development details is limited. Our primary role is to guide users toward the appropriate resources and support channels. While we may not have  influence product design decisions and have limited access to internal development details , we’ll continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities.    

 

Once you’ve submitted your feedback, feel free to share the link here. I’d be happy to upvote it to help increase its visibility. Moreover, if you are unable to submit feedback, please inform me at your convenience. In that case, I will gladly assist by submitting it on your behalf to ensure your request is properly captured.             

Additionally, as other users have raised similar concerns and may not be aware of where to share their feedback, I hope this response helps clarify the situation and suggests a potential next step. Upvoting this information can make it more visible to others in the community who may be facing the same issue, making it easier for them to find guidance and contribute their feedback as well.       

Thank you again for your time and for raising this important usability concern. If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out.       

Wishing you a smooth rest of your day.

Answer 3

In PowerPoint for Mac, Copilot can be disabled in two ways, depending on what is available in the app and version.

1. Try turning Copilot off with the "Enable Copilot" checkbox

For supported Mac versions (including recent 16.9x+ builds), PowerPoint has its own Copilot setting:

1. Open PowerPoint.
2. From the PowerPoint menu bar, select PowerPoint > Preferences.
3. In Authoring & Proofing Tools, select Copilot.
4. Clear the Enable Copilot checkbox.
5. Close and restart PowerPoint.

When this works, the Copilot icon remains on the ribbon but is dimmed and inactive, and Copilot features are disabled in that app.

If the checkbox is present but cannot be changed (stuck on), use the privacy-based method below instead.

2. Turn off Copilot via privacy settings (works across Word/PowerPoint/Excel)

If the in-app Copilot toggle cannot be turned off, Copilot can be disabled by turning off content-analyzing connected experiences for the account:

1. Open any Office app on the Mac (for example, Word or PowerPoint).
2. From the app menu, go to Preferences > Personal Settings > Privacy.
3. In the Privacy dialog, go to Connected Experiences > Manage Connected Experiences.
4. Clear the Turn on experiences that analyze your content checkbox.
5. Select OK, then close and restart the app.

This setting only needs to be changed in one app; it will apply to the other Microsoft 365 apps the next time they are opened. Disabling “experiences that analyze your content” turns off Copilot’s ability to work with document content, effectively disabling Copilot behavior across the desktop apps for that account.

Note: Copilot cannot be turned off in the web, iOS, or Android versions of PowerPoint; only the desktop apps on Windows and Mac support these disable options.

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References:

• Turn off Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps
• How to disable co-pilot on Mac - Microsoft Q&A