I want to disable Copilot in Word on MacBook Air

relarion wrote:

Thanks, Carol. For me, there is no Options choice under File.

those instructions are for the windows version of Word. The Mac version does not have any options under the file menu, but the windows version does.

Carol B. wrote:

I also find that feature very annoying so I researched the answer. To disable Copilot in Microsoft Word on a Mac, open your Word document, go to File > Options > Copilot, and then uncheck the "Enable Copilot" box. I'm happy to report it works!

I just double-checked in Word. I have no "File>Options". I also followed the instructions in the article you linked to, which say go to Preferences > Authoring and Proofing Tools > Copilot. I don't have Copilot there, either. So, I'm not sure what I would do if I wanted to turn it off. Fortunately, I don't.

relarion wrote:

This morning, I opened a new document in Word, and I got a prompt to "Press the icon or select ⌘+ \ to draft with Copilot." I do not want to use Copilot.

If you don't want to use it, can you simply not press the icon or use that key combination?

If you just start typing in the document, that goes away.

I also find that feature very annoying so I researched the answer. To disable Copilot in Microsoft Word on a Mac, open your Word document, go to File > Options > Copilot, and then uncheck the "Enable Copilot" box. I'm happy to report it works!

You can find more detail here:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/how-to-turn-off-copilot-in-microsoft-365-family-and-personal-subscriptions-bc7e530b-152d-4123-8e78-edc06f8b85f1

Well then, we are back to Barney-15E's suggestion. Contact Microsoft. Somehow I now only see the Co-Pilot icon at the top right of any Word document I'm working on. It's no longer popping up on its own. Maybe if you disregard it enough times, it goes away?

Carol B. wrote:

Well then, we are back to Barney-15E's suggestion. Contact Microsoft. Somehow I now only see the Co-Pilot icon at the top right of any Word document I'm working on. It's no longer popping up on its own. Maybe if you disregard it enough times, it goes away?

I'll have to check on that. I'm usually using Word with a work account that doesn't have Copilot, though.

It works for some but not all users. Many (like me) have the most updated version of WORD on a Mac and still there is no way to turn off copilot. There is no "Enable Copilot" checkbox anywhere. There is no "Options" button under File. I'm glad you were able to fix the problem, Carol. But most of us are out of luck. In the meantime, I'm using Pages to write drafts and then edit them in Word. That's the only way to avoid the Copilot icon from following me.

Disabling the CoPilot functionality (if you can) in Microsoft 365 will not change Microsoft's decision to increase the subscription prices for personal and family. Single-purchase Office 2021/2024 for Mac suites have no access to CoPilot and their pricing remains the same.

I turned on copilot just for fun, I have a Microsoft 365 subscription. It doesn't look very useful or impressive. To remove it (or deactivate it), from Word, open Preferences from the Word menu, then Privacy. In Privacy, under Connected Experiences, choose Manage Connected Experiences, then uncheck all the Connected Experiences boxes. Going through these layers of nested menus that are not intuitive to do something simple that should be one click is very Microsoft-ish!

Relarion and others: IMO this Co-Pilot is a dupe to gather more of our personal information for Microsoft's AI to munch on. No wonder there's no way to disable it! Microsoft and some other tech companies are shills for data-gobbling - but for what? Am I going to see a Word doc I wrote show up in an AI fetch? I don't know but if it smells like a fish then it's probably a fish. I just don't being told what the rules of engagement are with no clear instructions for how to opt out. Look at the other responses - most everyone was unable to get rid of this Co-Pilot. And take a look at this Microsoft document if you aren't convinced of my argument: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-apps/privacy/required-service-data An excerpt to clarify: "As you use a connected experience, data is sent to and processed by

Microsoft to provide you that connected experience. This data is crucial

because this information enables us to deliver these cloud-based

connected experiences. We refer to this data as required service data."

Don't you love this "required service data."? I don't believe tech should have the right to lord this over us. We pay for the use of their programs. That shouldn't allow them unlimited access to and use of our private created information. We let the auto mechanics service our car but we don't have to give them permission to drive our car whenever or however they wish.

Jack, you are preaching to the wrong choir. This is an Apple forum, not a Microsoft forum. Since none of the solutions in this thread seem to work for everyone, your only option is to contact Microsoft directly