how to disable co-pilot

Question

how to disable co-pilot

Brigitte Dempsey 0

A co-pilot symbol suddenly pops up on every word document. I have spent 2 hours with Chat GPT trying to get rid of it. Nothing works. I have the student version on a Mac Version 16.103 (25110922). There is nothing in Tools, nothing in the ribbon, nothing anywhere to get rid of this infuriating distraction. I DONT WANT IT IN MY DOCUMENTS. Any advice?

Brigitte Dempsey 0 Reputation points

2025-11-15T01:34:11.9766667+00:00

Does not work on my Mac, even though I am the Admin.
Brigitte Dempsey 0 Reputation points

2025-11-15T01:46:15.27+00:00

This is a blatent invitation for every school-kid to cheat! How can Microsoft force this co-pilot onto the very face of documents and no way to turn it off?
Brigitte Dempsey 0 Reputation points

2025-11-16T01:22:13.1333333+00:00

I followed the instructions to go to privacy and turned off connected experiences. It removed the icon BUT now I can no longer save PDF files!!! That won’t do—I write complex newsletters with images (which is why that colorful icon at the bottom of my page completely throws me) but I have to be able to save it and send it out to members of my organization in PDF.

4 answers

Your answer

Brigitte Dempsey 0 Reputation points

2025-11-15T01:34:11.9766667+00:00

Does not work on my Mac, even though I am the Admin.
Brigitte Dempsey 0 Reputation points

2025-11-15T01:46:15.27+00:00

This is a blatent invitation for every school-kid to cheat! How can Microsoft force this co-pilot onto the very face of documents and no way to turn it off?
Brigitte Dempsey 0 Reputation points

2025-11-16T01:22:13.1333333+00:00

I followed the instructions to go to privacy and turned off connected experiences. It removed the icon BUT now I can no longer save PDF files!!! That won’t do—I write complex newsletters with images (which is why that colorful icon at the bottom of my page completely throws me) but I have to be able to save it and send it out to members of my organization in PDF.

Answer 1

Austin-H 6,990 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Brigitte Dempsey
Thank you for posting question to Microsoft Q&A Forum.
Update November 16, 2025.
Based on Bob's finding, updating to 16.103.1 (Current Channel Preview) should remove this Copilot symbol.
User's image

My apology for inconveniences caused by this issue, please look at this article for instruction to turn off Copilot.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/turn-off-copilot-in-microsoft-365-apps-bc7e530b-152d-4123-8e78-edc06f8b85f1
In Word, please click on Word > Preferences > Privacy > uncheck the box "Turn on optional connected experiences".
User's image

Please try this and let me know if you have any further updates.

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Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 429.6K Reputation points

2025-11-16T02:47:11.5133333+00:00

Doesn't address the question.
Austin-H 6,990 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-16T11:52:44.8966667+00:00

Hello @Brigitte Dempsey
Thank you for your feedback above.
May I know if you could specify that you could not save to PDF file? A screenshot is appreciated.
According to Bob's explanation, I got the chance to upgrade my testing device to 16.103 and I saw the same icon with you. Did it look like the screenshot I posted below?

I tried to change the Update Channel to Current Channel (preview) (in Word > Help > Check for Update > Advanced > change Update Channel) and got it to 16.103.1 and that button disappeared. However, this is preview build so it's not released now until later as Bob said.
In your scenario, I might need your detailed description about you not able to save PDF file after confirming that turning off connected experience did make that button go away in your scenario.
Here is my screenshot of Word's window after updating to 16.103.1 (Current Preview build) that Copilot button disappeared.

For now, if you could not do it via your Word desktop application, please consider opening online version (Word online) - where you could find the option to Export to PDF if you could not export it in desktop app.

I also updated my initial response based on Bob's update as well.
Austin-H 6,990 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-17T07:22:02.0466667+00:00

Hello @Brigitte Dempsey
May I know if you have any updates from your end?
I am looking forward to your reply.
Brigitte Dempsey 0 Reputation points

2025-11-17T20:01:48.9333333+00:00

I’ve been traveling for two days, unable to write. But I turned connectivity on again before I left home, then shut the computer down. Just re-booted and was able to save the PDF file AND the AI symbol is no longer showing on my document. Holding fingers crossed it stays that way.
Austin-H 6,990 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-18T01:22:11.31+00:00

Hello @Brigitte Dempsey
Thank you for your response.
I'm glad to hear that everything works normally as it should.

My apology for any previous confusions caused by this issue.

Answer 2

Unfortunately there is no means provided for the user to eliminate that logo. It needs to be addressed at the developer level. It isn't just a matter of turning off Copilot in Preferences.

Neither does turning off Connected Experiences dismiss the logo. Further, doing so also disables numerous other web-based features

All Word versions have been infected with the useless symbol even if Copilot isn't included in that version.

The only remedy is to use Help> Feedback in the Word menu bar to express your opinion to Microsoft. Feedback goes directly to the development group. You won't get a personal reply but every submission counts. You also can Vote for the numberous other postings on the subject at Word · Feedback

Answer 3

Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 429.6K

UPDATE: The 16.103.1 update appears to have removed the intrusive logo from the Word window.

The update is available to those who use the Current Channel (Preview) option but should be released to everyone a bit later this month.

Answer 4

Brigitte Dempsey 0

I just have the student version, so no on-line Word. This is what I get when I try to save as PDF. I’m not very computer savvy, and the paths are constantly changing, which is why it takes me hours of misery. I’m not sure I understannd what kind of screen shot you want.

Austin-H 6,990 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-16T14:01:47.66+00:00

Hello @Brigitte Dempsey
Thank you for your response.

In Word, when you click on File > Save > Select the format as "PDF"

Were you able to click on "Export" after choosing file format as PDF? If it shows an error message, then please take that screenshot and show it here. It helps me to check on this and provide you further troubleshooting steps.

If you are using student's account, you should still be able to go to https://office.com/ and sign-in as student account and use Word online. This step I provided was meant for trying to export PDF file temporarily.
Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 429.6K Reputation points

2025-11-16T19:56:30.0966667+00:00

The option to export a PDF for electronic distribution fails due to Connected Experiences being disabled due to the misinformation you've been given.

Please see my responses in this thread.
Austin-H 6,990 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-16T23:19:42.7533333+00:00

Hello @Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP
Thank you for your response.

On my own device, I turned off the Connected Experiences and I was still able to export the PDF file on version 16.103.1 (Current Preview)
If you have the error message, could you share with me your screenshot if you had the issue on your end?
I am looking forward to your answer.
Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 429.6K Reputation points

2025-11-17T03:05:56.48+00:00

Here it is:

Did you restart the program after shutting Connected Experience off? The change doesn't go into effect until the program restarts.

As I wrote, the Electronic Distribution option is not available unless Connected Experiences is enabled. It relies on an online service.

The Best for Printing option still works because it uses the local OS printing service.
Austin-H 6,990 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-17T07:20:21.07+00:00

Hi,
Thank you for your response.
I tried to restart my computer, quit Microsoft Word many times and re-opened again. I was still able to export the PDF file under the option Electronic Distribution.

I only had this issue when trying to export the PDF file without internet connection. I also kept my "Connected experience" turned off since.
It seems to me that I did not encounter the issue like your provided screenshot.
Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 429.6K Reputation points

2025-11-17T18:08:58.5466667+00:00

Well, we've gotten way off topic here but you can see that my Privacy Preferences screed differs from the one you showed earlier:

If you read the top of your Privacy Preferences screen you'll see that your installation is managed by your organization. That would account for the difference in behavior because the user doesn't have full control.

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how to disable co-pilot

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