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
    2023-04-12T23:43:56+00:00

    For Word, Excel, etc. it does not show up on Task Manager as AI.EXE, only as Artificial Intelligence (AI) Host for the Microsoft Windows Operating System and Platform x64. I have to click on details to see that that tracks back to AI.EXE. See snip below.

    It will likely take Germany and Italy suing Microsoft for privacy violations for the issue to become better known. I agree that it is invasion of privacy, as well as serious drain on computer resources.

    The whole AI thing right now is illegal, from OpenAI misrepresenting purpose of its IP database in its application for 501(c)(3) status, to IP theft by ChatGPT and other AI software. It is going to take a few major lawsuits asserting IP theft -- and winning big bucks -- before a real solution is found. I am not anti-AI, but I am against its current iteration.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-04-13T02:01:20+00:00

    In another post which is referenced in this thread but has since been locked, someone said:

    >In other words, Office

    >desktop apps (like Word,

    >Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.)

    >now communicate with

    >another program ( ai.exe )

    >to perform most local AI.

    I want to know what is this communication? What is this "local AI" doing? What functions is it performing? How are we the users supposedly benefiting from it?

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-04-15T14:10:21+00:00

    I suspect what we are seeing may be part of something called "Microsoft 365 Copilot": https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/03/16/introducing-microsoft-365-copilot-your-copilot-for-work/

    at the end of this post it says:

    "We’re testing Copilot with a small group of customers to get feedback and improve our models as we scale, and we will expand to more soon."

    I wonder if we are all part of the "small group of customers" that they are testing it with, but if so, they didn't warn us. Maybe someone screwed up and pushed the changes out to a wider group than planned.

    I agree that something that intrusive, particularly if we are unofficial beta testers, needs to have an "off" switch.

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-04-17T22:09:34+00:00

    What Microsoft, Google, et al do not seem to realize: If they continue with egregious data privacy violations like this, they will find that the USA adopts the harsh data privacy measures common in Europe. I don't know why they did not learn their lesson.

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