Remove Copilot from Word

This is BS. I should not have to do this, and I fear it will compromise my account. Future updates will be necessary for functionality and will likely bring Copilot back (unless MS wakes up to the problem it is for many people). I do not pay Microsoft for an Office sub to have them 'help' me by gleaning my data, 'learning from me', and appearing (as an annoying icon) on each line of my intellectual property / my work.

There are also enormous legal ramifications for students and academic writers who have no desire to 'cheat' by allowing AI to write or organize their work.

And for those of us who are currently writing creative texts / fiction, that line by line icon is unbelievably annoying as I certainly do not want Microsoft contributing to or sampling / mining my work in any way at all. Microsoft must remove Copilot from user accounts which did not opt in.

Simply does not work. I rolled back to the Office version 17531.20120, opened Word and - presto - there was Copilot again.

Also: the steps you describe above ("“Switch to a subscription that suits you better") do not appear on my page as described.

Hello Ben,

I understand the concern and inconvenience this change causes.

Since Copilot is a connected service, it is my understanding that disabling the Microsoft 365 online experience accomplishes the same thing.

Please see Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps for home: your data and privacy - Microsoft Support

But this can also cause other online services to be unavailable. In the meantime, click File->Feedback in the Office app to let Microsoft development team hear your valuable thoughts.

Sincere greetings,

Ian - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

There are other aspects of the updated Word features that i want kept for accessibility but i want to turn off copilot. Is this able to be done?

Consider university students that are forbidden to work with AI when writing their thesis! Any use of that, by inadvertently clicking that always shifting icon violates their terms!

What will happen when the next update is automatically downloaded? Is there a timeframe for the next update and how do I protect my documents?