Windows Is Taking Back Copilot

Microsoft spent the past two years putting Copilot everywhere inside Windows 11. Now, it is quietly taking some of it back.

The company has begun removing Copilot buttons from built-in Windows 11 apps including Notepad, Snipping Tool, Photos, and Widgets, according to Engadget.

The AI features themselves are not going away. The branding is.

In the latest Notepad update for Windows Insiders, the Copilot button has been replaced with a pen icon labeled "writing tools."

The underlying AI writing functionality remains identical, just under a different name.

The Snipping Tool has seen a more significant change.

The Copilot button no longer appears when users select an area to capture. Unlike Notepad, there was previously no option to manually disable it.

Windows Latest reported this change is rolling out to all users, not just those in the Insider preview program.

Microsoft also removed mentions of AI from the Settings menu and moved the option to disable AI writing tools into the "Advanced features" section.

The changes follow a blog post published last 20 March by Pavan Davuluri, President of Windows and Devices, titled "Our commitment to Windows quality." Davuluri framed the move as a deliberate shift in how Microsoft thinks about AI inside its operating system.

"You will see us be more intentional about how and where Copilot integrates across Windows, focusing on experiences that are genuinely useful and well-crafted," he wrote. "As part of this, we are reducing unnecessary Copilot entry points, starting with apps like Snipping Tool, Photos, Widgets and Notepad," according to NotebookCheck.

The criticism of Copilot inside Windows 11 has been building for some time. Microsoft spent much of 2024 and 2025 embedding AI into inbox apps, shell surfaces, and productivity tools, framing Windows 11 as the front door to the AI era, according to Windows Forum.

Users pushed back hard. The most common complaints centered on increased CPU usage, reduced battery life on laptops, and slower overall system responsiveness. Many felt AI was being forced into corners of the operating system where it added friction rather than value, Windows News reported.