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
    2023-04-12T20:08:02+00:00

    Thanks TMF for the script. I am also going to run this at Windows startup - for the reboot after the updates.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-04-12T20:24:31+00:00

    100% agree. This seems to be egregious unauthorized data privacy breach.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-04-12T20:29:45+00:00

    It's not just Outlook. It's all Microsoft 365 (formerly O365) products. My issue arose when I started working on a 2MB Word document. Yes, it is a large document, but it was generated in 2002 and I have had no issues with it over the past 11 years.

    I'm now editing it. My issues started when my computer would simply freeze and quit working. I checked Task Manager, and it would show only 20% of CPU usage max. Then I started checking Task Manager but very very quickly noting CPU usage. It would be 100%. And Word would be shown as not responding. With only that single doc open.

    Showed my external IT consultants. They confirmed I was not crazy. Apparently Microsoft knows people would be annoyed at 100% CPU usage, with 80% attributable to AI.EXE. So it quickly "shuts down" (but not really, because it is still there) and CPU usage dives back down to 20%. So you think nothing is wrong.

    But something is very, very wrong. This is craziness.

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-04-12T22:31:42+00:00

    The resulting issues you describe I have seen a lot of people mention as well. I open task manager and select "Details" to breakdown all the running process in alpha order. I only see AI.EXE when I have Outlook open. I have tried just opening Word or Excel and it isn't there. So its a curiosity as to "why" that is. Is it crucial I know? No. I just want it gone. I also do not have any load increase on the system. Its a fairly powerful system with lots of CPU and RAM and SSD. Big video card. And I have a number of computers running - this is the only one I use Office on at the present. I will be upgrading a more powerful box soon and move all to it as primary computer. We'll see if symptoms change. Occasionally I will look at details on customer computers or my others and I have not seen this on them yet... And to be honest - If - I see it on a customers machine I am not sure I will do anything unless they have issues resulting from it. Then again I might turn into an anti-AI activist and put my solution on all.

    We all know this is wrong. I am sure they were aware there would be a number of us that would find it and reject it due to the manner it was introduced, Question is will we have enough and be loud enough to make a change. It was forced, unknowingly with no consent... these are OUR machines - not theirs. This isn't a pandemic and they aren't going to force a solution on us that rings of a monitoring feature, Nor are our systems to be used to experiment with. Therefore a spy.

    TMF 03 gave us this link to explain... I scanned it quickly... this might help "someone" understand... but for me its a violation... period.

    OFFICE16 ai.exe - Microsoft Community

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