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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.
A family of Microsoft word processing software products for creating web, email, and print documents.
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Point taken.
And, perhaps you should stop responding to such however relevant but what you characterize pointless snark.
Thanks. Fingers crossed!
When I click on the Copilot icon in my toolbar, it brings up a window that says:
Microsoft Word for Mac
Version 16.93 (25011212)
License: Microsoft 365 Subscription
I'm running the same build, and Preferences > Copilot contains only a Collapse Copilot summary automatically checkbox. I'm assuming you're running the Mac App Store version because the (build number) is the same, but maybe that's now how MS rolls. Maybe they use the same build number for both store and direct-download versions?
Well, at least I know there's a solution "out there." Hopefully the fix will be coming to all versions (however they're numbered) soon.
... and today for Word on the Mac. They are promising to get similar fixes out for the other desktop applications real soon. I believe them.
Again, for Word users, there is a switch to turn it off.
There is a new release in the Mac App Store today, but it doesn't include this fix.
Maybe there's an approval-process delay and the update with this fix is still to come in the App Store version.
I wish information about the version numbers and sources were available.
I agree with you Walrus. It's even more than just bloating out an app with unasked for features - it's about the issue of AI and the politics that surround it, plus the lack of control over it. Why must everybody be forced into AI? The response by Sjmanning is devoid of any concern about the invalidity of forcing spyware on people. Essentially, the AI feature is spyware in disguise. Who's to say it's not reading your documents even if you have it disabled (versus completely removed). I suspect it is still capable of spying, even though the icon is not visible in the ribbon anymore. Then there is the highly annoying "disabled icon" hovering in every Word document, following your cursor around like a pesky mosquito on the page.
Of course people love this AI feature, for the writing it can do for them. And for that they are willing to pay the price of giving up control over their own documents and privacy. However, there are people who do NOT appreciate that. And it behooves them to be vocal about it. Sjmanning wants to stifle these opinions. Why? What's his vested interest in this AI stuff? Where are the cogent responses by Microsoft about this fraudulent issue?
It's fraud MS is committing, fraud in the sense that they appropriate your writing without your consent! And I'm paying for this software! If MS feels that they are entitled to appropriate my writing, why do they want me to pay for their software? The issue is quite serious, and I'm taking the time to write about it, because it is important to share these things with the community that uses word MS processing software for their work or private matters. This issue is completely sidestepping any privacy protocols. We should take them to court.
Posting this here is like finding a good empty canyon where you can get a good echo and shouting your frustration, anger, and hurt at the way you are being treated at work. It may feel good, but nobody who can make a difference is hearing it. I would suggest if you want to get to Microsoft you might try to find a letters to the editor in PC periodicals and local newspapers. At least there, you might put a dent in the market share.
Nobody who can change anything at Microsoft reads anything posted here. We are your fellow users.
By using the feedback mechanisms the people who messed this up hear from you. So do their supervisors, and their supervisors!
This is the quickest I've ever seen Microsoft step up to fix something and I've been watching for more than twenty years. This debacle started about two weeks ago. The feedback started coming in that weekend from Word users. They added the fix by the following Tuesday for Word for Windows and today for Word on the Mac. They are promising to get similar fixes out for the other desktop applications real soon. I believe them.
Again, for Word users, there is a switch to turn it off.