How do I disable the "Artificial Intelligence (AI) Host [etc]" feature?

Anonymous
2023-02-09T16:34:50+00:00

We have started getting complaints from our customers over this "feature" as it appears to be quite the resource hog, and of course they are blaming our add-ins.

Killing the ai.exe process appears to have no ill effect on the usability of Office programs such as Word, Outlook or Excel.

So I need to know how we can disable it. I'd prefer to give an instruction to our users on how they can switch off a feature they do not want, they feel they do not need, and that causes their old PCs to start sounding like a Harrier Jet taking off.

Thank you

Microsoft 365 and Office | Install, redeem, activate | Other | Other

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Anonymous
2024-02-07T21:10:13+00:00

This seems to work. There are all sorts of solutions put out there that involve things like editing the Registry. Here's a much easier fix that seems to have worked for me (and this is from The Geek Page https://thegeekpage.com/how-to-disable-the-artificial-intelligence-ai-host-feature/).

First, the obvious: delete the AI executables from the OFFICE folder:
ai.exe

ai.exe
aitrx.dll

Second - this is incredibly easy. Deleting the executables does not completely work because Office automatically updates itself with new copies of those files.

Since the AI Host runs when you use an Office app:
Disable the Office app updates.

To do this, open any Office application, like Word.

– Click the “File” menu and then the “Account” menu item - this may be under the "More..." menu item, in which case click "More..." and then click "Account"

– There, click on “Update Options”, which brings up a popup menu - on the popup menu, set that to “Disable Updates” to disable Office updates for all Office apps

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-08-24T13:46:35+00:00

    What a Cluster **** MS!!!
    So many bugs in Windows and Office and you choose to make the whole thing even worse, with a feature literally NO ONE asked for.

    I have user PCs grinding and pointless processes running, all so MS can use the acronym "AI" in Office!
    Damn, I wish there were a viable alternative.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-08-13T11:43:52+00:00

    We have started getting complaints from our customers over this "feature" as it appears to be quite the resource hog, and of course they are blaming our add-ins.

    Killing the ai.exe process appears to have no ill effect on the usability of Office programs such as Word, Outlook or Excel.

    So I need to know how we can disable it. I'd prefer to give an instruction to our users on how they can switch off a feature they do not want, they feel they do not need, and that causes their old PCs to start sounding like a Harrier Jet taking off.

    Thank you

    Please add an off switch to AI. It is annoying that it interrupts what I AM DOING WITH IRRELEVANT INFORMATION.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-08-04T12:48:58+00:00

    TMF 03, Thanks for this script!! I rewrote it to search for the files in both program files folders.:

    Define the base paths for Program Files directories

    $programFilesX64 = "C:\Program Files"

    $programFilesX86 = "C:\Program Files (x86)"

    Define the relative paths to the files

    $relativePaths = @( 

    "\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX64\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE16\ai.exe", 

"\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX64\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE16\ai.dll", 

"\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX64\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE16\aimgr.exe", 

"\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX64\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE16\aitrx.dll", 

"\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX86\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE16\ai.exe", 

"\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX86\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE16\ai.dll", 

"\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX86\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE16\aimgr.exe", 

"\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX86\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE16\aitrx.dll"

    )

    Combine base paths and relative paths to form full file paths

    $filePaths = $relativePaths | ForEach-Object { 

    if ($\_ -match "ProgramFilesCommonX64") { 

    Join-Path -Path $programFilesX64 -ChildPath $\_ 

} else { 

    Join-Path -Path $programFilesX86 -ChildPath $\_ 

}

    }

    Kill AI process

    Stop-Process -Name "ai.exe" -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

    Remove AI files if they exist

    foreach ($filePath in $filePaths) { 

    if (Test-Path -Path $filePath) { 

    Remove-Item -Path $filePath -Force 

}

    }

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-07-24T13:29:22+00:00

    Quite obvious NOBODY wants or needs this ill concieved process to create major problems. so GET RID OF IT. permantely

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