How to disable Copilot for all applications - Mac

I don't want to use the copilot features that have automatically been added to my Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PPT, etc.) - and I feel that this should be something that we are able to do, without having to purchase a subscription to copilot and then disable it.

How can I disable these features, to stop the shadow offer to use copilot on every new line I start on a word document and remove the icon from the tool bar?

This should be something that is an optional add on, rather than a mandated installation.

None of the "solutions" to remove copilot work. I'm Word ver 16.93 (MS 365 family) on my MacBook. I don't even have access to all the Word features but instead of correcting that, they chose to add a program that we cannot remove.

THANK YOU for sharing this post. I’ve wasted countless hours trying all the remedies that Microsoft suggests to no avail. I’m more than willing to sacrifice months of pre-paid MS 365 to have the solution of copilot being gone & OFF my computer.

This is poorly done on MS’s behalf…especially with their marketing that says how much “choice” they give their purchasers around AI.

Again, thank you, thank you!

Please explain "onboard processor."

Parenthetic to the specifics of this, I have been in the AI world since the '80s. Yet... I continue on my never-ending quest for independent thought. Thanks, Microsoft, for a good alternative to plain Google. Not for substituting your machine-compiled-wisdom for mine. Nor obviating our creativity.

Copilot is now included in Microsoft 365 and Personal https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/01/16/copilot-is-now-included-in-microsoft-365-personal-and-family/