How to Turn Off Copilot in Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams and Windows
Bottom line: with a personal Microsoft account you can switch Copilot off yourself, one app at a time. With a work account you can't. At work, that's your admin's call. On Windows, you uninstall the Copilot app from Settings. And hiding the Copilot button doesn't turn anything off.
Full disclosure: I train people to use Copilot, so I'd rather you gave it a real try first. But it's your computer, so here's every switch Microsoft documents.
First: are you on a work or a personal account?
This decides everything. Microsoft's turn-off settings for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote only exist when you're signed in with a personal Microsoft account. Signed in with a work or school account, you won't find them. Your organisation's admin controls Copilot instead.
Not sure which you're on? In Word or Excel on Windows, go to File > Account and look at the account name.
Turn off Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote
1On Windows
In the app, go to File > Options > Copilot. Clear the Enable Copilot checkbox, select OK, then close and restart the app.
2On a Mac
Open the app menu, then Preferences > Authoring and Proofing Tools > Copilot, and clear the Enable Copilot checkbox.
3 things Microsoft is clear about:
It's per app, per device. Each app has its own checkbox, and it only applies on that device. Turning it off in Word leaves Excel alone. And turning it off on a shared computer turns it off for everyone who uses it.
You need a recent version. On Windows: Word 2412, Excel 2501, PowerPoint 2501, OneNote 2502. On Mac: Word 16.93, Excel and PowerPoint 16.93.2. No checkbox? Update first.
Web and mobile have no switch. You can't turn off Copilot in the iOS, Android or web versions of Word, Excel or PowerPoint.
And removing the Copilot icon from the ribbon doesn't turn it off. Copilot is still there through other routes.
Want to get rid of the summary at the top of Word documents? Microsoft is retiring that spot from September 2026 and moving summaries elsewhere in Word, so it's going away on its own.
Turn off Copilot in Outlook
Outlook works differently: a Turn on Copilot toggle instead of a checkbox.
1Outlook on the web and new Outlook for Windows
Settings > Copilot.
2Outlook for Mac, iOS and Android
Quick Settings > Copilot.
3Classic Outlook for Windows
Microsoft's turn-off page (March 2026) had no date for this. Since then Microsoft announced a new Copilot settings entry under the File menu, rolling out July to end of August 2026. Look under File.
The good news: the Outlook setting follows your account. Switch it off once and it applies to Outlook on all your devices where you sign in with the same account.
Turn off Copilot in Teams meetings
As a meeting organiser you control Copilot for your meetings, even without a licence, as long as your admin's policy lets you. Open the meeting's options, find Copilot and other AI, and choose Off. Know the trade-off: Off also disables recording and transcription for that meeting.
The other 2 values are During and after the meeting (needs transcription) and Only during the meeting (no transcript saved). Under Microsoft's default policy, the option is locked to During and after the meeting and organisers can't change it. Then it's a conversation with IT.
For admins, the Teams admin center has a Copilot setting in Meeting policies with 4 values: On, On with saved transcript required, On with transcript saved by default, and Off. The default is On with saved transcript required.
One more change to know: from October 2026 Microsoft removes the Copilot entry from the Teams chat list and sends users to the Copilot app instead. So it moves, it doesn't disappear. More in my Copilot for Teams guide.
Remove Copilot from Windows 11 and 10
On new Windows 11 PCs the Copilot app comes preinstalled. To remove it:
1Windows 11
Settings > Apps > Installed apps. Find Copilot, open the More options menu (the 3 dots) and choose Uninstall.
2Windows 10
Settings > Apps. Find Copilot and choose Uninstall.
3The Copilot key
Remap it: Settings > Personalization > Text input, then Customize Copilot key on keyboard. You can choose Search, Custom, or another app.
For IT: disabling Copilot across the organisation
1Block Copilot Chat
Admins can block Copilot Chat for all users or for specific groups, including licensed users. Blocked users lose it in the Copilot app, Outlook, Teams and the web. Unpinning it doesn't remove access.
2Remove licences
Microsoft 365 admin center > Billing > Licenses.
3Block the Windows app with AppLocker
Microsoft's recommended route (package MICROSOFT.COPILOT). The old Turn off Windows Copilot policy is deprecated.
4The Remove Microsoft Copilot app policy
One-time and conditional: both Copilot apps installed, the user didn't install it, and it wasn't launched in the last 28 days. Users can still reinstall.
5Stop the automatic install
Windows devices with Microsoft 365 desktop apps install the Copilot app automatically (not in the EEA). Clear Enable automatic installation of Microsoft 365 Copilot app in the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center.
2 warnings from Microsoft. It doesn't support blocking Copilot at network level (domains, URLs, IPs). And turning off optional connected experiences restricts far more than Copilot. Also note Copilot in Excel can't be switched off on its own: it follows the Copilot Chat admin settings.
Before you switch it off
If the worry is data, read up on what Copilot does with it first. Signing in with a work account to Copilot Chat puts you under Microsoft's enterprise data protection commitment. For European teams I cover the details in Copilot, GDPR and EU data residency.
If the complaint is that nobody knows what to do with it, turning it off hides the problem. And if you change your mind, here's how to get Copilot back in Outlook and Word.
Questions about turning off Copilot
How do I turn off Copilot in Word?
With a personal Microsoft account on Windows, go to File > Options > Copilot, clear Enable Copilot, select OK and restart Word. On a Mac, go to Preferences > Authoring and Proofing Tools > Copilot. With a work account, only your admin can control it.
Can I turn off Copilot with a work account?
Not in Word, Excel, PowerPoint or OneNote. Those settings exist only for personal Microsoft accounts. At work, admins decide, for example by blocking Copilot Chat for users or groups.
How do I turn off Copilot in Outlook?
Use the Turn on Copilot toggle: Settings > Copilot in Outlook on the web and new Outlook, or Quick Settings > Copilot on Mac, iOS and Android. The setting applies across your devices on the same account.
How do I remove Copilot from Windows 11?
Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps, find Copilot, open the More options menu and choose Uninstall. In organisations, IT can block it with AppLocker.
How do I turn off Copilot in Teams meetings?
As the organiser, open the meeting options, go to Copilot and other AI and choose Off, if your admin's policy allows it. Under Microsoft's default policy the option is locked. Off also turns off recording and transcription for the meeting.
Give your team 1 session with it first.
I run live online Copilot workshops for groups of up to 20 people, from 1.5 to 4 hours. Then decide.