Microsoft is quietly installing the Copilot app on Windows PCs

[DragonSlayer101]

The big picture: Microsoft launched a dedicated Copilot app for Android last December that offers chatbot-like capabilities, similar to what you would get from ChatGPT. While the company has yet to launch an official Copilot app for Windows, latest developments suggest that Redmond is working on bringing its AI software to the desktop sooner rather than later.

As spotted by German tech site DeskModder, Microsoft has begun automatically installing a Copilot app on Windows 11. The new application doesn't seem to have any functionality, and further investigation revealed that it has 0 bytes of data, suggesting that it's actually a placeholder shell for the most part. Thankfully, users can uninstall the app by simply using the built-in 'Uninstall' option in Windows.

In case you're wondering whether your Windows 11 PC has the new Copilot app surreptitiously installed, you can check by going over to Settings, clicking on Apps, and then selecting Installed Apps. If it's already on your device, it will be listed as "Microsoft Copilot." You can click on the three-dots menu button to the right and select 'Advanced options' to check out more details about it.

It's unclear how the Copilot app is getting installed on systems that have automatic updates turned off, but according to Ghacks, it showed up on their test PC after the Edge browser was updated to the latest version. Interestingly, the application's AppxManifest.xml lists Windows 10 as the minimum compatible version, while the maximum version is listed as Windows 12.0.0.0.

It remains to be seen if this suggests that Microsoft is working on Windows 12 after all, or if it's a legacy entry from a time when the company was actually considering launching a successor to Windows 11 this year. For those unaware, Microsoft recently confirmed that it doesn't plan to launch Windows 12 in 2024, and will instead release Windows 11 version 24H2 (codenamed Hudson Valley) later this year.

Microsoft recently started rolling out Copilot to more Windows 10/11 devices, enabling users to experience the AI features on their desktop. According to the company, users can access up to ten Copilot requests before needing to sign-in with a Microsoft ID. The feature is still in preview as of now, but is enabled by default in Windows 11 version 23H2. It is, however, disabled by default in Windows 11 version 22H2.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/102397-microsoft-quietly-installing-copilot-app-windows-11-pcs.html

 

[JamesBlond]

Of course they do, so they can tap into the power of Every pc on the planet and search everyone's data in split second, makes good business sense, information is more valuable than gold now days

 

[UdyrL]

I've even seen an ai.exe running on Windows 10, which MS justifies as needed for the Office Suite and whatnot. We didn't need this running before, why would we need it now?

They want to collect extra data everywhere.

 

[Uncle Al]

Just another verification to me that going Linux a few years back was a smart idea .....

 

[mbrowne5061]

Just another verification to me that going Linux a few years back was a smart idea .....

Yeah, I am starting to lay the groundwork for a new PC. Unfortunately, between some games and a couple of pieces of productivity software, I still need Windows. Need to figure out the best way to sandbox windows without taking too much of a performance hit. VM if it comes to it? Maybe docker (IDK much of anything about docker)? Dual booting? IDK. I basically want it locked down as much as possible, and secondary to Linux. I'm getting fed up with having to fight Microsoft on how I want to use my own computer.

 

[BobHome]

" is enabled by default in Windows 11 version 23H2. It is, however, disabled by default in Windows 11 version 22H2."

Well, I *was* purposely on 22H2 until this month's updates. After my PC said it needed to Restart and I did so, 23H2 was installed. I never toggled it on.... M$ = $^&%@#$#@$%#

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Just another verification to me that going Linux a few years back was a smart idea .....

Still dont miss windows! I have to use windows 11 at work occasionally, and my god does it SUCK compared to an actual OS. Gutting the right click menu is still one of the dumbest things they ever did.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Yeah, I am starting to lay the groundwork for a new PC. Unfortunately, between some games and a couple of pieces of productivity software, I still need Windows. Need to figure out the best way to sandbox windows without taking too much of a performance hit. VM if it comes to it? Maybe docker (IDK much of anything about docker)? Dual booting? IDK. I basically want it locked down as much as possible, and secondary to Linux. I'm getting fed up with having to fight Microsoft on how I want to use my own computer.

Easiest way is dual booting, with both OS drives encrypted so they cannot screw with one another.

 

[rhavenn]

Yeah, I am starting to lay the groundwork for a new PC. Unfortunately, between some games and a couple of pieces of productivity software, I still need Windows. Need to figure out the best way to sandbox windows without taking too much of a performance hit. VM if it comes to it? Maybe docker (IDK much of anything about docker)? Dual booting? IDK. I basically want it locked down as much as possible, and secondary to Linux. I'm getting fed up with having to fight Microsoft on how I want to use my own computer.

Which games? Proton works pretty well for most things unless it's got some hefty DRM in it.

 

[wiyosaya]

I'll be quietly uninstalling the copilot app whenever it appears on any of my Windohs 11 PCs.

 

[wiyosaya]

Still dont miss windows! I have to use windows 11 at work occasionally, and my god does it SUCK compared to an actual OS. Gutting the right click menu is still one of the dumbest things they ever did.

There's a registry hack to restore that. I think there was an article on TS about it a while back.

Interestingly enough, there's instructions on this Microsoft site on how to do it, too. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...ndows-11/a62e797c-eaf3-411b-aeec-e460e6e5a82a

 

[wiyosaya]

Easiest way is dual booting, with both OS drives encrypted so they cannot screw with one another.

And Linux can be set as the "default" boot OS.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Which games? Proton works pretty well for most things unless it's got some hefty DRM in it.

Multiplayer games struggle. Halo infinite works, but suffers from low quality rendering issues and random crashes depending on MESA version. CoD and Battlefield straight up do not work.

I've also struggled more with games from the likes of GoG that do not have steam proton support. Those still require a LOT of tinkering and obviously non Steam storefronts are a no go either.

Let's not get into trying to make Adobe products run in linux land.....

 

[Aus spot]

I swear I have this running after last update. Sits on the far right of the taskbar.

Didn’t want it. No idea how to remove it.

 

[BSim500]

I swear I have this running after last update. Sits on the far right of the taskbar.

Didn’t want it. No idea how to remove it.

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /v "ShowCopilotButton" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Copilot\BingChat" /v "IsUserEligible" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

reg add "HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer" /v "DisableCopilotButton" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

reg add "HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsCopilot" /v "TurnOffWindowsCopilot" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer" /v "DisableCopilotButton" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsCopilot" /v "TurnOffWindowsCopilot" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

 

[Endymio]

I've defended Microsoft's business practices for decades as ultimately good for the consumer ... but if I see Copilot appear one more time after I've disabled it, I'm on Linux for good.

 

[loki1944]

No thanks

 

[Aus spot]

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /v "ShowCopilotButton" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Copilot\BingChat" /v "IsUserEligible" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

reg add "HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer" /v "DisableCopilotButton" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

reg add "HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsCopilot" /v "TurnOffWindowsCopilot" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer" /v "DisableCopilotButton" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsCopilot" /v "TurnOffWindowsCopilot" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Thank you. But what a croc to remove. It is not a program you can uninstall easily

 

[mbrowne5061]

Easiest way is dual booting, with both OS drives encrypted so they cannot screw with one another.

Encrypted might be the missing ingredient here. My experience since Windows 7 has been that Microsoft, inevitably, eventually hamstrings any instance of Linux that is dual booted onto the same computer. Same drive, different partitions; different drives, each uninitialized in the other OS; didn't matter, Windows would eventually do something that would irreparably break Linux and I'd have to do a clean install to recover. But I am think your encryption idea might be worth a shot. At the very least, it won't be any worse. I can still see windows doing something to ruin the encrypted data (and so, Linux) on a drive its supposed to have nothing to do with, but its worth at least giving a shot - and I was already planning on doing full-disk encryption on all drives on my next build, anyway.

Thanks.

 

[mbrowne5061]

Multiplayer games struggle. Halo infinite works, but suffers from low quality rendering issues and random crashes depending on MESA version. CoD and Battlefield straight up do not work.

I've also struggled more with games from the likes of GoG that do not have steam proton support. Those still require a LOT of tinkering and obviously non Steam storefronts are a no go either.

Let's not get into trying to make Adobe products run in linux land.....

Or a lot of indie games - they either have a dedicated Linux version, or something doesn't play well with Proton.

Also, pretty much every CAD software worth even mentioning is Windows. And the ones that are Linux compatible at genuinely trash. AFAIK, KiCAD is the only decent one with a Linux version, but they're electrical only. No real MCAD seems to be on Linux, to my knowledge. Closest you get is OnShape, which runs in the browser (and is now admittedly quite good - if you're will to have all your files be public, without paying a couple grand a year)

 

[Furriest]

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /v "ShowCopilotButton" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Copilot\BingChat" /v "IsUserEligible" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

reg add "HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer" /v "DisableCopilotButton" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

reg add "HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsCopilot" /v "TurnOffWindowsCopilot" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer" /v "DisableCopilotButton" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsCopilot" /v "TurnOffWindowsCopilot" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

You are a generous man, sir.
Now just to avoid buying the partnered keyboard branded with the button, given the feature will become inert sooner or later, ursurped by yet another to-be-forgotten feature, such as Windows Mixed Reality [which got usurped by complete lack of maintenance and obsolescence in comparison to SteamVR].

 

[whawn]

FWIW, it's not just Win11 -- My HP Win10 laptop just got infected this afternoon while I was working it. Usually, the update mechanism gives warning. Today, my machine simply told me it was going to update, shut itself off, did so, and restarted. I was awarded a little system tray icon that said 'copilot'. How do I get this, and its associated data-dredge, off my machine?