How to remove copilot from Microsoft application (especially Microsoft Word).

Question

Recently the updates have been installed on my work computer. I do not use copilot at all and do not want to see it as decoration that blocks part of my document or spreadsheet. I also want to remove it from my context menu, I wish that we weren't forced to see these tools, but this is what it's come to.

Please any help to remove these would be appreciated.

P.S. I am aware I can hide the copilot icon, but it is still visible on my document.

Answer 1

Hi Emily,

Honestly, Copilot can't be fully "uninstalled" from Office by a normal user on an IT Team managed computer — it's baked into Microsoft 365. But you can disable it so thoroughly it effectively disappears from your workflow.

You can disable it in each individual Office App i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote by following below steps.

1. Open the app (e.g. Word). Go to File → Options → Copilot

2. Uncheck "Enable Copilot"

3. Restart the app. Repeat for each app

There's a separate checkbox in each app, so you'll need to do this in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote individually. This disables the Copilot icon on the ribbon and prevents use of Copilot capabilities in that app.

Note for Outlook: The steps are different — in Outlook there's a "Turn on Copilot" toggle, and your selection applies across all your devices when signed in with the same account.

Remove Copilot from the Right-Click Context Menu requires a quick registry edit and you may need your IT Team's help — but it's worth trying:

How to Remove "Ask Copilot" from the Windows context menu (right-click on files)?

Set this registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced Add a DWORD value: ShowCopilotContextMenu = 0

How to Remove Copilot from Office app context menus (right-click inside documents):

Set this registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\ExperimentConfigs\ExternalFeatureOverrides\officecopilot Add a String value: Microsoft.Office.Copilot = false

To apply these, paste each path into Registry Editor (Win+R → regedit), navigate there, and create the value if it doesn't exist. Then restart Explorer or reboot.

Please note that as of late 2025 builds, Microsoft removed the option to disable Copilot in some versions and added a persistent floating bubble in the lower-right corner of Word. Microsoft has been making this harder over time, so if the checkbox disappears after an update, the registry route above is more durable.

Registry changes typically persist through Windows updates more reliably than Settings-based configurations.

Moreover, You can ask your IT Team since this was an org-wide rollout, your IT team has the real power here:

#Option1. Group Policy: Enable "Turn off Windows Copilot" under User Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Windows Copilot — Group Policy modifications take precedence over individual user settings.

#Option2. Microsoft 365 Admin Center: Admins can block the Copilot app for all users by going to Settings → Integrated Apps → find Copilot → Block App.

If others in your organization share the same frustration, a collective request to IT for a policy-level block is the cleanest permanent solution — and the one most likely to survive future updates.