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Stop Copilot appearing in Microsoft 365

Here’s how to stop Copilot prompts appearing in your documents, sheets and slides. Microsoft 365 customers are now seeing Copilot appearing in their Microsoft 365 apps, Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

There is now a way to Disable Copilot available to some Microsoft 365 customers

A Microsoft executive expressed surprise that customers didn’t want Copilot appearing in their apps.  Microsoft staff wouldn’t be so surprised if they listened more to customers and less to their inhouse echo chamber.

Copilot is important to Microsoft, getting more money from customers to pay for the enormous investment the company has made in AI – billions of dollars. That financial reality is combined with a semi-religious fervour in pushing Copilot into the face of every customer, whether they want it or not.

It’s only slowly and reluctantly dawning on Microsoft that customers want an uncluttered workspace without what amount to ads for Copilot AI.

The good news

Off or hide switches for Copilot are in Word 365 and promised for Excel 365 and PowerPoint 365.

Unfortunately it’s a simplistic ‘off’ switch. Not an option to hide Copilot until requested via a menu or the Alt + I shortcut. 

Hiding Copilot for now

Until Microsoft gets its act together, here’s what you can do. Admittedly, it’s not much.

Word

The main annoyance is this huge screen space grab when opening a new document.

There’s no option to block those intrusions. Microsoft might call them “suggestions” while customers have been using ‘fruitier’ language in response.

All you can do is IGNORE them Copilot suggestions and start typing.

As soon as you do something to the blank document, that Copilot opening block disappear.

Alas, nothing can be done about the Copilot bug in the left column.

All you can do, for now, is ignore it.

Excel

Excel 365 has an annoying little Copilot bug that appears next to the selected cell like a baleful and persistent nuisance.

All you can do, turn the bug off for the current workbook session.

Click on the bug and choose “Hide until I Reopen this Document”

PowerPoint

PowerPoint’s Copilot isn’t as bad as either Word or Excel.

There’s just a mercifully little icon at top-left of each slide. No way to hide the bug but at least it’s discreet.

Click on that icon for short menus.

What does NOT work

The usual gang of ‘experts’ on social media are offering their ‘wisdom’ with tips on how to hide Copilot.

Connected Services

The main suggestion is to disable “Connected Services” which does NOT work. 

Copilot isn’t covered by any of the “Connected Services” so turning them off won’t affect Copilot.

Disabling “Connected Services” will block many other Microsoft 365 features.

It’s just a rehash of the “AI spying fix” that spread late last year.

Internet Access

Turning off Internet access – doesn’t work either.

The Copilot icons and menus still appear but can’t do anything.  You’ll just get an error message if you ask for something.

In other words, Copilot isn’t smart enough to know there’s no Internet access.  It’s a simple check that’s noticeably missing from Copilot in Office.  A check so basic that a Programming 101 student would get a failing grade for skipping an online test in their app.  Another example of Microsoft’s Copilot rush to release.

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