IT admins can uninstall Copilot from enterprise Windows 11

Microsoft now tells enterprise administrators they can remove the Microsoft Copilot app from managed Windows 11 PCs instead of only hiding parts of it. (learn.microsoft.com) The change appears in Microsoft Learn guidance for “Updated Windows and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat experience,” which applies to Windows 11 version 22H2 or later. (learn.microsoft.com) Microsoft says users signing in to new PCs with Microsoft Entra work or school accounts get the Microsoft 365 Copilot app pinned to the taskbar. That app is the renamed Microsoft 365 app that already bundled Word, PowerPoint and other Office entry points. (learn.microsoft.com) For organizations that do not want the standalone Copilot app on devices, Microsoft says admins can “remove or prevent installation” with AppLocker policies. The package name Microsoft lists for blocking is `MICROSOFT.COPILOT`. (learn.microsoft.com 1) (learn.microsoft.com 2) That is different from the older “TurnOffWindowsCopilot” policy, which was built for the earlier Copilot-in-Windows experience. Microsoft’s current documentation centers the app package and the Microsoft 365 entry point instead. (learn.microsoft.com 1) (learn.microsoft.com 2) The practical effect is narrower than a full network ban. Microsoft’s guidance says the web scope of Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is available at no extra cost for users signed in with a Microsoft Entra account, and paid users can switch between web and work modes inside the app. (learn.microsoft.com) “Web” means answers grounded in internet data. “Work” means responses can use Microsoft Graph data such as a user’s work emails, chats and documents, but that mode requires the paid Microsoft 365 Copilot license. (learn.microsoft.com) This setup grew out of Microsoft’s September and October 2024 rollout on managed Windows PCs. Microsoft said then that the Windows Copilot experience on work devices would shift into Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat with enterprise data protection. (learn.microsoft.com) Microsoft describes that enterprise data protection as the same security, privacy and compliance commitments used for Microsoft 365 Copilot customer data under its product terms and data protection addendum. (learn.microsoft.com) For IT departments, the new documentation turns Copilot from a taskbar setting into an application control decision. The question is no longer only whether the icon appears, but whether the `MICROSOFT.COPILOT` package is allowed to exist on managed endpoints at all. (learn.microsoft.com) The result is a cleaner boundary: remove the app on the device, leave web access governed through account, browser and Microsoft 365 controls, and decide separately who gets work-grounded Copilot. (learn.microsoft.com)