How to Disable or Remove Copilot in Windows 11

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Ankit Kumar
Windows 11SystemTips

The Problem

Windows 11 puts Microsoft's Copilot assistant on the taskbar, binds it to a dedicated key on newer laptops, and reinstates it through updates. If you do not use it, it occupies taskbar space, a keyboard key, and some background resources.

There are four levels of removal, from mildest to most thorough: hide the button, uninstall the app, block it by policy so updates cannot restore it, and reclaim the keyboard key. All are reversible.

Which Level Do You Need?

| You want | Do | |---|---| | It off the taskbar | Step 1 | | It not running at all | Steps 1 and 2 | | It never to come back | Steps 1, 2, and 3 | | The Copilot key doing something useful | Step 4 | | Edge's sidebar gone too | Step 5 |

Step 1: Remove the Taskbar Button

  1. Right-click an empty part of the taskbar → Taskbar settings, or Settings → Personalization → Taskbar.
  2. Turn the Copilot toggle off.

The button disappears immediately. The app remains installed, and the keyboard key still opens it.

Step 2: Uninstall the App

Copilot ships as an ordinary Store app.

  1. Settings (Win + I) → Apps → Installed apps.
  2. Search for Copilot.
  3. Click ⋯ → Uninstall.

If it is not listed, remove it from Terminal (Admin):

Get-AppxPackage *Copilot* | Remove-AppxPackage

To remove it for every user account on the PC:

Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers *Copilot* | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers

A future Windows update or Store sync can reinstall it. Step 3 prevents that.

Step 3: Block It by Policy

Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, Education — Group Policy

  1. Win + R → gpedit.msc → Enter.
  2. User Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Windows Copilot.
  3. Double-click Turn off Windows Copilot → Enabled → OK.
  4. Restart.

Windows 11 Home — Registry

Before editing the registry: an incorrect change here can cause system problems. Follow the steps exactly, and create a system restore point first.

  1. Win + R → regedit → accept the UAC prompt.
  2. Navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
  1. Right-click Windows → New → Key, named WindowsCopilot.
  2. Inside it, right-click → New → DWORD (32-bit) Value, named TurnOffWindowsCopilot, set to 1.
  3. Restart.

Or do it in one line from Terminal (Admin):

reg add "HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsCopilot" /v TurnOffWindowsCopilot /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

To undo: set the policy to Not Configured, or delete the TurnOffWindowsCopilot value.

Step 4: Reassign the Copilot Key

Many laptops from 2024 onwards have a dedicated Copilot key, which is wasted if Copilot is disabled.

  1. Settings → Personalization → Text input.
  2. Find Customise Copilot key and choose Search, Microsoft 365, or a specific application.

On some machines the option only appears once Copilot is uninstalled. If you want full freedom over the key, Microsoft PowerToys' Keyboard Manager can remap it to anything.

Step 5: Turn Off Copilot in Edge

Edge has its own Copilot sidebar, entirely separate from the Windows one.

  1. In Edge: Settings → Sidebar.
  2. Under App and notification settings, select Copilot and turn off Show Copilot.
  3. Also under Sidebar → turn off Always show sidebar if you want the whole strip gone.

For Microsoft 365 apps, the Copilot button is controlled per-app under File → Options → Copilot.

What You Are Actually Turning Off

Windows Copilot is a web app in a window—it does not run a language model locally, and it consumes very little while idle. Disabling it is a reasonable preference decision rather than a meaningful performance fix. If a slow PC is the real concern, the causes are elsewhere: speed up a slow Windows 11 PC.

Note also that Recall, Windows Studio Effects, and other AI features on Copilot+ PCs are separate settings with their own toggles. Disabling Copilot does not disable those.

What Not to Do

  • Don't run a script that strips every AI-related package. Several of them also remove components that Search, Photos, and the Store depend on.
  • Don't edit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE policy keys copied from forums without knowing what they set—the per-user path above is the supported one and is trivially reversible.

Doing a broader cleanup? Removing preinstalled extras is covered in how to debloat Windows 11, trimming telemetry in disable Windows 11 telemetry and tracking, and controlling patches in stop Windows 11 automatic updates.

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