How can I remove Co-pilot as a search engine?

LiWright 140

Okay, I've had it with co-pilot. As soon as I go to the URL field and enter a term, it reverts to co-pilot and co-pilot starts to give me a description or information - when all I want is the URL and link.

For example, I went to the URL box and typed in amazon.com and it went direct to the co-pilot field to ask a question see image above.

I don't want to ask a question, I want to go direct to the site. How can I change it so that I don't get the co-pilot asking a question?

LiWright 140 Reputation points

2026-01-23T08:45:27.2566667+00:00

I hate Co-pilot and I want to remove uninstall Windows Edge!

Answer accepted by question author

Drew - 810

Removal is not an option nor is it needed.
DON'T use
OR
Shut OFF

The search engine is Bing or other non-Microsoft search engines, NOT Copilot.

The alternative to using Copilot is NOT using it. Copilot comes into play exclusively IF & WHEN it is evoked by a User.

By default, if something is put in a search bar and hit ENTER (NOT Copilot) it will use a traditional Bing search.

Same with Edge toolbar Copilot icon, which can be used OR NOT, which can SHOW there OR NOT.

And if it is not there, Copilot is shut off in Edge. Summarise is gone from pages and articles, the Copilot flyout is non-existent, Edge becomes Copilot-free.

See the snip — NO Copilot User's image

User's image

AND... Edge sidebar is history. It has been deprecated. The toggles for it are inert, ON or OFF, they are inert, do nothing, have no impact on anything because sidebar IS GONE... Even with Copilot ON, there is, NOW, the Copilot flyout and NO sidebar, not even with the toggles ON.
User's image

Vikki-T 10,015 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-27T14:27:45.8133333+00:00

Dear Drew -,

Thanks for sharing these details, I really appreciate you taking the time to contribute to the discussion. Information like this can be valuable for other users who experience similar behavior.

Your input helps strengthen the forum as a reliable reference for the community and makes it easier for others to troubleshoot the issue more efficiently.

Answer accepted by question author

Vikki-T 10,015 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Dear LiWright,

Thank you for your question and for sharing the details into Microsoft Q&A Forum.

I understand you’d like Microsoft Edge to go directly to a website when you type a URL, instead of switching to the Copilot experience. At the moment, I’m not able to see the image you mentioned so could you please re-attach the screenshot again

In the meantime, please try the steps below to turn off the Copilot-focused experience and restore normal address bar behavior:

Turn off Copilot Mode

Open Microsoft Edge
Go to Settings
Select AI innovations
Locate Copilot Mode and toggle it Off
Close and re-open Edge, then test typing a URL in the address bar

Change “Focus on new tab page” back to the Address Bar

If you see an option related to focus on the New Tab page:

Open Microsoft Edge > Settings
Go to AI innovations
Open Copilot Mode preferences
Find Focus on new tab page
Set it so that focus goes to the Address bar
Open a new tab and test typing a URL again

Confirm the search engine used in the address bar

Open Microsoft Edge > Settings
Go to Privacy, search and services
Scroll to Search and connected experiences/services
Open Address bar and search
Under Search engine used in the address bar, choose your preferred search engine, then test again
For more information, please visit Change your default search engine in Microsoft Edge

Kindly try the steps above and let me know your results, along with the requested screenshot/version details, so I can continue assisting you further. I hope the steps above help restore the normal address bar behavior in Microsoft Edge so you can type a URL and go directly to the website without being redirected to Copilot.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Vikki-T 10,015 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-24T14:41:40.4366667+00:00

Dear LiWright,

It has been a while and I am writing to see how things are going with this issue.

Have you had a chance to check the replies provided?

Any update would be appreciated.
LiWright 140 Reputation points

2026-01-26T23:23:51.0133333+00:00

Hello, I just use a different browser. Frustration!
Vikki-T 10,015 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-27T14:25:00.5533333+00:00

Dear LiWright,

I’m sorry for the frustration this has caused, and I understand how disruptive it can be when you simply want to type a URL and go straight to a website, but the browser redirects you into the Copilot experience.

If using a different browser works better for you right now, that is a reasonable workaround to keep your browsing uninterrupted.

If you decide to use Microsoft Edge again and would like to reduce or remove the Copilot prompts from the New Tab/address bar experience, the steps shared earlier (turning off Copilot Mode, adjusting “Focus on new tab page,” and confirming “Search engine used in the address bar”) are the available settings to check.

I hope you have a smoother browsing experience going forward, and I wish you success in keeping the address bar behavior working the way you expect.

Thank you so much for your understanding.
Kilby, Spencer 0 Reputation points

2026-02-04T14:48:44.2633333+00:00

this entire response is a farse, there's no "AI innovations" options in edge settings, there's no option to turn it off, was your response just hallucinated by another AI or are you paid to give false information to edge users so they'll shut up?
Vikki-T 10,015 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-05T09:14:13.3766667+00:00

Dear Kilby, Spencer,

Thank you for your question and for sharing the details into Microsoft Q&A Forum.

I understand your concern. The Settings layout in Microsoft Edge can differ depending on the Edge version/channel, region, and whether the browser is managed by an organization, so a menu label or section may not appear the same on every device.

I hope the information shared above is helpful for you. Thank you so much for your understanding.

1 additional answer

Greg Thompson 0 Reputation points

2026-04-21T18:44:46.07+00:00

The always show sidebar (3rd image) Always turns itself back on once you toggle it off. I have tried all the above from toggling off show side bar to toggle off copilot from the toolbar, changing the focus to address bar, changing the search engine to google & all the others( I hate bing as much as I hate copilot, yet you are not given the option to delete either, 2nd image) Everytime I go through all the different steps to get rid of copilot from the search bar on the main web page. The damn copilot remains in the search box. I hate the ******** thing!!!! & all of this AI Rubbish!!!!! solution!!!!.... Deleting my google & microsoft accounts & associated gmail & outlook email accounts & going with brave & firefox web browsers with a stand alone email services, proton.me & tuta mail. copilot & microsoft edge & google chrome & ai mode totally Suck!!!!!
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Greg Thompson 0 Reputation points

2026-04-21T18:48:50.8633333+00:00

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Greg Thompson 0 Reputation points

2026-04-21T18:56:28.3+00:00

Greg Thompson 0 Reputation points

2026-04-21T18:58:00.9033333+00:00

Greg Thompson 0 Reputation points

2026-04-21T19:04:16.77+00:00

The goal with the above two images is to get rid of Copilot from the microsoft edge address bar & get rid of AI Mode from the google chrome address bar & there is not a way of doing it, as I stated in my above post comments, I have tried all the above & adding code lines to properties etc. & nothing ******** works!

Ian-T 11,040 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-28T13:51:20.3733333+00:00

I understand the frustration that you are having. I would love to help more but this needs the backend team to get involved in and as forum moderator, I do not have that authority.
Best thing to do right now is to provide your feedback via https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback.

Thank you for your understanding

LiWright 140 Reputation points

2026-04-28T19:22:02.5733333+00:00

This was resolved thank you all.
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How can I remove Co-pilot as a search engine?

Hello, I just use a different browser. Frustration!

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