Remove Copilot from Word

This has been a recent development for Word only at this point, with possible roll out to other apps like PPT and Excel later.

EDIT -- Apparently, as of Feb 24, it now applies to PPT and Excel, or so says the Microsoft help page.

But this still means that copilot is being paid for. This is an opt-out rather than opt-in. So you get stung for the price of something most didn't ask for and most do not want or need.

If you roll back to the now called 'Classic' version you do not get other updates for stuff that may be useful - such as making files inclusive through accessibility updates.

ABC News has an article about the backlash.

So annoying, frustrating and everything else that Co-Pilot was added as a default and it's difficult to figure out how turn it off!

I'm in Malaysia and the check box has now appeared. This project was definitely rolled out by Microsoft with inadequate thought.
Now I have a more fundamental concern:
The check box states that I am "disable"'ing Copilot.
But of course all the code is still there on my computer.
So what guarantee do I have that the AI core is not scanning everything I am doing on my computer and reviewing/learning from it, EVEN THOUGH the interface to my work screen is disabled.
Like many users I deal with confidential information which should not be capable of being read outside my office except by my permission. Say I am drafting a contract for some project, and the name of the project, and the preliminary estimate of the cost of the project, are in my documents. If CoPilot has "scanned and learned" from my document and someone else asks CoPilot: "What will be the cost of the XX Project", they can give a figure gleaned from my document.
Microsoft should provide a legal statement to the effect that CoPilot when disabled is unable to access any information on a client computer.

Perhaps you are using a different language version or are in another country?

This was being rolled out to different regions at different times - so your region specific version is not yet updated to include?

This is only a GUESS. Who knows what Microsoft is doing? I don't think they know either.

I have turned off CoPilot without changing my subscription......

For those who have a family subscription, [I am on an iMac] - if you go into Word, open a document [not sure a document is necessary but it is the order I did this], and go into preferences suddenly a new icon has appeared under authoring and proofing tools.

It wasn't there yesterday. It gives you the option to click a box to enable Co Pilot ...and MUCH MORE IMPORTANTLY TO UNCLICK THE BOX to disable...which I have done and the nasty little thing has disappeared from my word documents..... hope this works for all.....