Copilot and Microsoft 365 – Unwanted

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Apologies for creating this in the Windows 10 area, but the link to Office – where it would have been more appropriate – didn’t work.

A recent Microsoft 365 Family subscription update brought with it Copilot, so now every time Word is started I see the following:

My understanding is that not everyone will have been lucky enough to get stuck with it yet – only those in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and several other countries.

I don’t like it, and don’t want it, but can’t find any way to disable it.

An internet search has brought up lots of discussion about it, and seems like millions of people who don’t like it, but no-one can hit on a way to disable it.

Does anyone here have a suggestion?

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See https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/microsoft-365-gets-copilot-lite/

* You will have to wait for end of subscription, un-subscribe and subscribe to 365 classic with no copilot.

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AusJohn

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Thanks @Alex5723.

I realize that’s a possibility, but not really a solution to the problem in my opinion.

Ideally I would prefer to maintain my current Family subscription, and not have to un-subscribe and then subscribe to Classic, but we’ll see what eventuates in the next month or so.

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As a *guess*, I’d look into trying to resolve this need with a combination of O&O ShutUp 10++, and a Dr. Card-like, itty-bitty script to disable Microsoft automation.

Human, who sports only naturally-occurring DNA ~ oneironaut ~ broadcaster

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AusJohn

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Apparently there’s no way to disable Copilot in Microsoft 365, according to “Why is Copilot appearing in Office / Microsoft 365?” where it states:

There’s no way to control or hide the Copilot elements.

That’s Microsoft for you!

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John,

I don’t see it on any of my machines. Have you tried logging in to Windows with a Local Account? I do this then when in Office I login with my 365 account. No COP!

BTW: DON’T click on that yellow triangle! Especially if you use a Local Account, it will switch you to a Microsoft Account for your Windows logon!

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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Cybertooth

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I don’t see it on any of my machines.

Only a guess, but I suspect you’re not seeing it because you’re not in one of the countries where it’s already been rolled out.

As mentioned in my initial post, only a few countries – Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and a couple of others – have been lucky enough to get it.

But don’t worry, I’m sure your turn will come soon enough.

 

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There is a way offered by a Microsoft Agent:
1) Unsubscribe to your current subscription and switch to Classic subscription to automatically start when the other expires.
2) While waiting for the subscription to expire for the Co-Pilot version, perform a rollback of your Office to a point before the Co-Pilot released(February 2024).
3) Turn off Office updates.
4) When the Co-Pilot subscription expires and switches to Classic turn the updates back on.

The above method removes Co-Pilot and the subscription change keeps it from being added again.

The link below is to the detailed instructions that this Microsoft Agent provides.

Remove Copilot from Word

HTH, Dana:))

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AusJohn, Mr. Austin

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Thanks for your suggestion @Drcard:))

I think that’s a sort of workaround, not really a solution to the problem.

Reading through the several pages on the link that you provided, there are lots of reasons offered as to why it’s not a viable alternative for lots of people, including myself.

The sooner Microsoft wake up and offer a decent solution, the better it will be for both them and their users.  I can see many 365 users cancelling their subscriptions because of this farce.

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From the Wall Street Journal:

Microsoft Is Forcing Its AI Assistant on People—And Making Them Pay

The tech company recently added Copilot to its consumer subscription service for software including Word, Excel and PowerPoint in Australia and several Southeast Asian countries. Along with the AI feature, it raised prices for everyone who uses the service, called Microsoft 365, in those countries.

What about people who don’t want to pay for an AI assistant to spruce up their documents and summarize emails? They are out of luck.

Wonder if this is a trial run, testing customer response in preparation for a broader rollout.

“It was very keen to be used, and this was irritating to me as a user,” Fleming said.

Fleming also noticed his monthly bill for 365 increased to 16 Australian dollars from A$11.

Some users said on social media that Copilot pop-ups reminded them of Clippy, Microsoft’s widely derided Office helper from the late 1990s, that would frequently offer unsolicited help.

A Microsoft spokesman wouldn’t comment on the strategy behind the forced addition of Copilot in certain regions and whether the company plans a similar approach in other markets.

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AusJohn, Bob99

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Slightly off topic, but…

@Cybertooth –

Thanks for posting a link to a Wall Street Journal article that’s actually hosted elsewhere (with proper licensing, of course) so that folks don’t have to deal with an obstinate paywall. Because of your efforts, they can actually read the whole article!  👍

Especially important when dealing with reports about a controversial topic or practice such as CoPilot and MS’s other AI-related efforts!

After reading the entire article, I was left convinced that I still don’t want to have anything to do with CoPilot, no matter what it might promise for making life easier or anything else for that matter, especially with MS resorting to the heavy-handed tactics described in the article and subsequently having no comment about their practices afterwards.

 

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AusJohn, Elly, Cybertooth

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Cybertooth wrote:

Wonder if this is a trial run, testing customer response in preparation for a broader rollout.

I’m sure it is; can’t imagine they would have some customers with it, and some without, in the long run.

Thanks for posting the pertinent details from the article, and the link to the non-paywalled version of it.

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Cybertooth

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Cybertooth wrote:

monthly bill for 365 increased to 16 Australian dollars from A$11

Might be partly due to the low AUD vs USD, although a 45% increase is a bit steep. Glad I use LibreOffice at $0 per month.

cheers, Paul

 

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