Windows Insider Preview: Microsoft tests Copilot uninstallation

In current Windows Insider Previews, Microsoft wants to test the uninstallation of the AI tool Copilot App. The test versions are available in the Dev and Beta Insider channels for Windows 11 25H2.

Microsoft announced this on the Windows Insider Blog. Microsoft lists what is probably the most important change only in second place: “Uninstalling the Microsoft Copilot App on managed devices” should become possible by activating a new policy. It is named RemoveMicrosoftCopilotApp. It can be applied to devices and users under certain conditions. Both Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Copilot must be installed. However, the Microsoft Copilot App must not have been installed by users and must not have been started in the past 28 days. Only then will activating the policy for Windows editions Edu, Enterprise, and Pro uninstall the Microsoft Copilot App – once.

Users can then reinstall it if they wish. Microsoft has placed the policy in the path “Configuration” – “Administrative Templates” – “Windows AI” – “Remove Microsoft Copilot App.”

Further AI Changes

The speech output should now also provide Copilot-based image descriptions. Microsoft had already introduced this before Copilot+ PCs, and now the developers are making the function accessible to all Windows 11 devices. This should particularly help blind people or people with visual impairments to receive detailed descriptions of images, charts, and graphs. The shortcut “Narrator key” (defaulted to the “Caps Lock” and “Insert” keys in Windows) combined with “Ctrl” and “S” describes the entire screen, while “Narrator key” combined with “Ctrl” and “D” describes the image in the currently focused window. Microsoft is not activating the function within the EU for now; however, the functions are usually available here after a certain period.

Developers can now use another option to deploy applications seamlessly across devices. As early as August 2025, Microsoft tested the function to seamlessly continue using Android apps on the PC. This was based on the “Link to Windows” app. Now Microsoft has added a possibility through the use of the Windows Notification System (WNS). Microsoft suggests that developers try this variant alongside the existing method. Microsoft lists further minor improvements and fixes in the Windows Insider Preview versions in the blog post.

Uninstallation of Windows AI Components

In principle, there are also projects like “RemoveWindowsAI” that enable scripts to remove AI components from Windows installations. The script has several thousand lines of code. It not only deactivates and removes the modules but also modifies Windows so that AI functions can no longer be used without reinstallation. It uses DISM to install a package that is also intended to prevent AI components from being reinstalled with subsequent updates. This could lead to problems with upcoming Windows updates or major feature updates. Therefore, its use on production systems should be very carefully considered.

(dmk)