In summary:
- PCWorld reports Microsoft has stopped automatically installing Microsoft 365 Copilot on Windows 11 following significant user backlash against forced AI integration.
- This decision addresses privacy concerns after a previous Copilot bug allowed unauthorized access to confidential Outlook emails.
- Administrators can still manually deploy the AI assistant, while existing installations remain unaffected by this policy change.
Since October, the Microsoft 365 Copilot app has been automatically installed on computers running Windows 11, a move that has upset many users. Fortunately, Microsoft has taken the criticism on board and is no longer automatically installing this app—for now.
Microsoft 365 Copilot is the leveled-up version of Copilot that’s integrated into Office apps like Word, Excel, and Outlook. A Microsoft 365 Copilot license unlocks access to advanced agents like Researcher and Analyst, plus full access to Copilot Studio features.
Unfortunately for Microsoft, users have long been unhappy with Copilot’s takeover of Microsoft 365. Not only does it feel like “AI” is being shoved down our throats at every corner, the “AI” itself is problematic. For example, just last month, a Copilot bug allowed the “AI” assistant to bypass privacy blocks and read confidential Outlook emails.
Existing installations of Copilot aren’t affected by this move. Admins can deploy the app via other methods and should await further updates, Microsoft writes in a statement quoted by Windows Latest.
Just a few days ago, we reported that Microsoft is rethinking its big AI push in Windows 11, which is likely linked to the increasingly fierce backlash directed at the company over Copilot. Perhaps this is just one of many steps in its retreat away from AI obsession.
Further reading: Microsoft bans users who use term ‘Microslop’
This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC för Alla and was translated and localized from Swedish.