How do I disable this Co-Pilot bubble when Microsoft also removed the Co-Pilot options menu?

Question

How do I disable this Co-Pilot bubble when Microsoft also removed the Co-Pilot options menu?

Jesse C 20

Word

Version 2511 Build 16.0.19426.20186. Released on 12/09/2025.

Microsoft added the new ALWAYS ON TOP floating bubble to the lower right corner of Word. In the same update they also REMOVED the Co-Pilot options menu to turn it off.

This annoying bubble actually gets in the way of using word, it covers any text behind it, the bubble cannot be moved, and the area surrounding the bubble is also part of the bubble, because if there is a hyperlink you need to click on and the bubble is anywhere near it, clicking the link will actually open the Co-Pilot chat instead of opening the link you wanted to click on.

Adding the Co-Pilot to the ribbon did not remove it.

As far as I can tell, there are only 2 "options" to remove it, and neither of them will work for me because I am on a work PC. Option 1, force a downgrade to a version from before 12/09/2025. or 2, cancel/downgrade you subscription to Office 365 to one of the free versions (since apparently this is an bonus feature that only comes with paid subscription versions of O365).

Is there any other way to disable this ANNOYING thing that is ALWAYS in the way and was NEVER asked for?

B 0 Reputation points

2025-12-10T20:39:22.49+00:00

I'm having the same issue. I even clicked on it to ask how to disable it, and got given 3 different sets of instructions for options that don't exist in the options menu. Why is it made so difficult to get rid of these things?
Charles Kenyon 159.1K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-12-10T20:46:31.5833333+00:00

Hi B,

You should click on "I have the same question" at the bottom of the question to get any answers or updates posted. The people who can make changes to Word or answer the "why does Microsoft do this?" questions do not see anything posted here. While you are free to vent here, the only people reading what is posted are your fellow users.

See: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/giving-feedback-on-microsoft-word-or-other/8df81a9b-84aa-46ef-bf88-24fb7fec96ba

You are not alone in your frustration with the intrusiveness of CoPilot. (Others seem to love it!)
Killian-N 6,720 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-10T20:47:14.06+00:00

Hi @B,

Thank you for your feedback.

You can follow my guide on how to submit feedback directly with the product team, this is the most effective way to help engineering prioritize fixes or restore user‑level controls as many users report the same impact.

2 answers

Your answer

B 0 Reputation points

2025-12-10T20:39:22.49+00:00

I'm having the same issue. I even clicked on it to ask how to disable it, and got given 3 different sets of instructions for options that don't exist in the options menu. Why is it made so difficult to get rid of these things?
Charles Kenyon 159.1K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-12-10T20:46:31.5833333+00:00

Hi B,

You should click on "I have the same question" at the bottom of the question to get any answers or updates posted. The people who can make changes to Word or answer the "why does Microsoft do this?" questions do not see anything posted here. While you are free to vent here, the only people reading what is posted are your fellow users.

See: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/giving-feedback-on-microsoft-word-or-other/8df81a9b-84aa-46ef-bf88-24fb7fec96ba

You are not alone in your frustration with the intrusiveness of CoPilot. (Others seem to love it!)
Killian-N 6,720 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-10T20:47:14.06+00:00

Hi @B,

Thank you for your feedback.

You can follow my guide on how to submit feedback directly with the product team, this is the most effective way to help engineering prioritize fixes or restore user‑level controls as many users report the same impact.

Answer 1

Hi @Jesse C,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Thank you for sharing the build details and the screenshot, I can understand when the floating Copilot bubble is always on top in Word and the usual Copilot options seem to have disappeared, it can genuinely get in the way of work.

Here are some steps that often help:

1/ Try the built‑in toggle (If available):

In Word, go to File > Options > Copilot.
Uncheck “Enable Copilot”, select OK, then restart Word. This disables Copilot features in Word on that device.

Reference: Turn off Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps

2/ Work offline (workaround):

You can disconnect briefly and restart Word, the bubble typically disappears while offline, then returns when connectivity is restored. It’s not ideal, but you can use this as a workaround for immediate work.

3/ Ask your IT admin to:

Remove the Copilot service or license for your account: removing “Microsoft 365 Copilot” (or the “Copilot in Productivity Apps” service plan) disables in‑app Copilot UI for Word/Excel/PowerPoint/Outlook. Your IT admin can do this per user or by group in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
Enforce app‑level policies: your IT admin can use Office cloud policy or Intune to turn off connected experiences that power Copilot features. When all connected experiences are disabled tenant‑wide, the Copilot experiences in Word are unavailable, even if icons remain.

4/ Submit feedback:

If this feature is bringing bad effect to your workflow, I highly recommend submitting a suggestion directly with the product team:

You can do this in Word by selecting Help > Feedback, or through the Microsoft 365 Feedback Hub > Send Feedback > Describe your proposal in detail so the team can consider it for future improvements.

User's image

Once you've submitted your feedback, feel free to share the link here in the comments. I’ll be happy to upvote it to help bring more visibility.

As community moderators, we kindly ask for your understanding that our access to internal development details is limited. Our primary role is to guide users toward the appropriate resources and support channels. While we may not have influence product design decisions and have limited access to internal development details, we’ll continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities.

Additionally, since many other users have expressed similar concerns but may not know where to submit feedback, if my response has helped you better understand the situation and guided you toward a possible next step, please mark it as the “Accepted Answer.” Your action will help pin this post to the top, making it easier for others in the community who are experiencing the same issue to find your feedback and support it.

Thank you again for your time and for raising this important usability concern. If you have any questions or need further support, please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time.

I look forward to your update.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Jesse C 20 Reputation points

2025-12-10T18:51:28.7833333+00:00

Your very first "suggestion" is impossible, because as my picture clearly shows, the option menu you said to use has been removed by Microsoft as part of the very same update that caused the issue.

What Microsoft NEEDS to do is change the Co-Pilot to NOT be on by default, AND they need to change it so that the option to disable/enable it is at the USER level access and not the Admin level. Because I can guarantee you that absolutely no system admin on the planet would opt for this to be on by default, nor do they want to have to deal with having to find and turn off the option.

So basically, Microsoft needs to stop trying to force unwanted and useless AI "Features" onto its users.

Seriously, Who at Microsoft thought it would be a good idea to make an annoying pop up ALWAYS be in the way of using an app and ALSO make it SUPER difficult to turn off? Like, are you trying to drive away customers?

Because from what I have read online, the EASIEST way to get rid of this, is to CANCEL your subscription for the PAID version of Office 365 because apparently, only paying customers deserve to be annoyed with useless pop-ups that get in your way.
Killian-N 6,720 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-10T19:17:01.1833333+00:00

Hi @Jesse C,

Thank you for your response.

You are right to point out that, on this build, the Copilot options pane can be missing, so my first suggestion was not helpful in your situation, I just provided it as if it's available.

Currently, there's no option to fulfil your needs and I'm sorry that my first reply couldn't help. I am not asking you to do either yourself, these are admin actions that avoid subscription cancellation and let you keep your current build because you're working on a work PC that couldn't downgrade the version.

As community moderators, we do not have control over product design or tenant‑level settings. The Feedback tool in Word sends your scenario, build, and logs directly to the product team’s telemetry pipeline. When many users report the same impact (for example, “bubble blocks hyperlink clicks”), it helps engineering prioritize fixes or restore user‑level controls. That is why I encouraged you to submit feedback and why I offered to upvote a public suggestion link so your case is visible and actionable beyond this thread. Just to make it clear, we're not trying to drive away customers, I provided the feedback guide step just to make sure your experience and feedback reach the right engineering and product teams.

Thank you again for taking your time thorough this process and sorry if there's any miscommunication.

Wish you have a great day.

Answer 2

Charles Kenyon 159.1K Volunteer Moderator

If this is a business subscription, you need to take it up with your IT person as described by Killian. Although his first suggestion was a non-starter, the rest is spot on.

With a Family subscription, the Copilot tab still appears.

User's image

For personal/family subscriptions, you can go to the Classic (old) subscription without Copilot. Killian indicates that this can be done by your IT department for you or company-wide.

Note: This is a user-to-user support forum.

You are not talking to the people at Microsoft who can make changes in the product. They do not see anything you post here. Your thoughts are valid, but to have any effect, they really should come from your IT department via the feedback mechanisms or a support ticket. You likely can give direct feedback yourself. Here is more on how that works:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/giving-feedback-on-microsoft-word-or-other/8df81a9b-84aa-46ef-bf88-24fb7fec96ba

Charles Kenyon 159.1K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-12-10T19:14:09.11+00:00

Note: This is a user-to-user support forum.

You are not talking to the people at Microsoft who can make changes in the product. They do not see anything you post here. Your thoughts are valid, but to have any effect, they really should come from your IT department via the feedback mechanisms or a support ticket. You likely can give direct feedback yourself. Here is more on how that works:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/giving-feedback-on-microsoft-word-or-other/8df81a9b-84aa-46ef-bf88-24fb7fec96ba

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How do I disable this Co-Pilot bubble when Microsoft also removed the Co-Pilot options menu?

2 answers

Note: This is a user-to-user support forum.

Note: This is a user-to-user support forum.

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