Take control of Microsoft 365 by learning how to enable or disable Copilot in each app—Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote. This guide provides step-by-step instructions to customize Copilot settings per application and explains why sometimes you can’t turn it off.
Copilot integration into Microsoft 365 is a mess. Microsoft is focused on adding more and more AI features while giving little attention to basics like consistent on/off options for Copilot in each app, clearly displaying the AI credits available to each customer or even whether the current Microsoft 365 account has a paid Copilot plan at all!
If you see a grayed out Copilot button on the Home tab, that means your Microsoft 365 apps have Copilot but it’s turned off in that app. Microsoft 365 Personal or owners of Family plans will have this choice.
Go to the Copilot section in the File | Options dialog to check the ‘Enable Copilot’ option.
No switch for paid Copilot plans
All Microsoft 365 users with some included Copilot access should have a Copilot on or off for each app; Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook.
I say ‘should’ because paid licenses like Copilot Pro or Copilot for Microsoft 365 don’t have the on/off options, even though they should.
Why doesn’t Copilot Pro have these obvious on/off choices? Who knows? Maybe it’s been overlooked or perhaps Microsoft arrogantly assumes that anyone paying for their beloved Copilot could not possibly want to turn it off?
CoPilot coverage at Office Watch
AI Credits in Microsoft 365: What They Are and How They Impact Your Copilot Usage
