This Free Script Disables Every AI Feature in Windows 11
Some people like AI. If you’re not one of them (or have a favorite AI tool that isn’t integrated with it), using Windows 11 can feel increasingly hostile. It seems like every element now exists to nudge you into using Copilot – even notepad.exe currently has a prominent AI button in the UI.
If you want to change your operating system back to an operating system, see
Remove WindowsAI. This free script modifies various registry keys to disable AI features including Copilot, Recall, and Copilot integrations in apps like Edge, Paint, and Notepad. Using various workarounds, it then configures Windows Update to no longer install these updates (the documentation details the process, if you’re interested).
How to run RemoveWindowsAI on your computer
To get started, you need to open Microsoft PowerShell on your computer. Make sure you’re using Windows PowerShell 5.1, not the updated version of PowerShell 7 (this only really applies if you intentionally installed PowerShell 7, so don’t worry about this step if you haven’t actively done so).
To start the script, you will need to copy a command from the Github page for RemoveWindowsAI and paste it into your PowerShell window (I’m not including the command directly here in case it changes in the future). Once you do, the UI will appear, allowing you to choose which AI features you want to disable. Make your choices and watch the changes take place in the PowerShell window.
What do you think of it so far?
Credit: Justin Pot
I tried this by deleting everything. I then opened Notepad – no Copilot icon in sight. The Copilot app was also gone, along with any reference to AI in the Settings app. It would be nice if Microsoft came up with a way to do this without resorting to this type of unofficial workaround, but that’s not the world we live in.
