# How to Disable or Remove Copilot in Windows 11

URL: https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/how-to-disable-copilot-windows-11/
Published: 2026-07-04 | Updated: 2026-08-10 | Author: Ankit Kumar
Tags: Windows 11, System, Tips
Summary: Want Copilot gone from Windows 11? Remove the taskbar button, uninstall the app, and block it with Group Policy or Registry — every method, step by step.

## 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)**:

```powershell
Get-AppxPackage *Copilot* | Remove-AppxPackage
```

To remove it for every user account on the PC:

```powershell
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](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/create-system-restore-point-windows-11/) first.

1. `Win + R` → `regedit` → accept the UAC prompt.
2. Navigate to:

```
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
```

3. Right-click **Windows** → **New** → **Key**, named `WindowsCopilot`.
4. Inside it, right-click → **New** → **DWORD (32-bit) Value**, named `TurnOffWindowsCopilot`, set to `1`.
5. Restart.

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

```cmd
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](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/speed-up-slow-windows-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](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/how-to-debloat-windows-11-remove-bloatware/), trimming telemetry in [disable Windows 11 telemetry and tracking](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/disable-windows-11-telemetry-tracking/), and controlling patches in [stop Windows 11 automatic updates](https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/stop-windows-11-automatic-updates/).

---
Source: https://www.mytechnician.tech/tips/how-to-disable-copilot-windows-11/ — My Technician, free Windows 10/11 troubleshooting guides.
More guides: https://www.mytechnician.tech/llms.txt