How to disable copilot on microsoft office (excel, word, ppt) on Macbook

Hi Hannah - followed these steps yesterday, and co-pilot is still installed.

Please advise how I can permanently remove it. Seriously frustrating...

Thanks

Steve

It seems you must be right “that Australia, New Zealand and a few other countries are Microsoft's crash test dummies”. I googled “microsoft copilot Australia New Zealand testing” and found the info below. Unbelievable.

Microsoft Tests Bundling Copilot With 365 Personal and Family Plans (for a Price)

https://au.pcmag.com/ai/108179/microsoft-tests-bundling-copilot-with-365-personal-and-family-plans-for-a-price

Nov 08, 2024

Microsoft is addingCopilot and Designer to Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.

The upgrade is not free. Copilot and Designer is available now once Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers in supported regions update to the latest version of the software. But at their next renewal, the price will increase—"to reflect the value we’ve added over the past decade and enable us to deliver new innovations for years to come," it says.

Price hikes vary by market. In Australia, the cost of the Personal plan goes up by $5 AUD, and the cost of the Family plan increases by $4 AUD per month

Microsoft didn't say if this option will roll out in the US, but it seems likely if the test goes well.

From link in above article (from Microsoft Asia Pacific website):

Unlock your potential with Copilot and Designer in Microsoft 365 Personal and Family

https://news.microsoft.com/apac/2024/10/31/unlock-your-potential-with-copilot-and-designer-in-microsoft-365-personal-and-family/

October 31, 2024

The next step in our Copilot journey 

*It’s been nine months since we introduced consumers to Copilot in our Microsoft 365 apps via Copilot Pro. We’ve spent that time adding new features, improving performance, and listening carefully to customer feedback. Based on that feedback,*we’re making Copilot part of our Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions.

There is no option to select a simpler/downgraded/leaner/Classic/dumb version at the moment - hopefully there will be in future (for $40 less per year too!)

When I go to Services & Subscriptions in my Microsoft Account I can’t see any option to downgrade my subscription. You can cancel your subscription, or turn off recurring billing, but there are only two Microsoft 365 subscriptions available to choose from: Personal (for 1 person) or Family (for up to 6 people):

https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/microsoft-365/buy/compare-all-microsoft-365-products

I have Family and it has gone up in price from $140 to $180 per year.

"Listened carefully to customer feedback"?! Doesn't seem likely given the dissenting voices here and in several other similar discussions I've been reading. I hope (although greatly doubt) that they are listening to all the criticism here! I'm in New Zealand. I use Word in my publishing industry work. I will no longer be able to use it if it incorporates AI. It's that simple. And I certainly won't agree to pay more for a 'service' that no one asked for or – let's be real here – needs. Utter BS, Microsoft.

Thank you for your work, Tasha. Much appreciated.