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How do I turn Copilot off in all my Microsoft365 Apps on a Mac

Michael Weinstein 0 Reputation points
2026-05-14T11:46:28.2666667+00:00

Since the most recent upgrade to version 16.109 Copilot is active on Excel, Word, Powerpoint, etc. I don't use it, nor do I want to. It is interfering with my ability to do work. I used to be able, via preferences to unenable it.

How do I turn it off?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | Other | MacOS

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  1. Sumit D - IA 169.2K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-05-15T15:29:30.2166667+00:00

    Hi Michael,

    Do these steps not help? I am seeing some related reports across the forums about this that the setting isn't present.

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/privacy/turn-off-copilot-in-microsoft-365-apps

    Clear the "Enable Copilot" checkbox on Mac devices

    1. In your app (for example, Word), select the app menu, and then go to Preferences > Authoring and Proofing Tools > Copilot.
    2. Clear the Enable Copilot checkbox.
    3. Close and restart the app. If you want to turn Copilot back on, repeat these steps, but select the Enable Copilot checkbox in Step 2. Clearing the Enable Copilot checkbox allows you to turn off Copilot without having to change your account privacy settings. If you previously changed your account privacy settings to turn off Copilot, you can change your account privacy settings back to their previous setting. To change your account privacy settings, see Change privacy settings on Mac devices.

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  2. Sumit D - IA 169.2K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-05-17T08:29:52.76+00:00

    Hi Michael, still no luck?

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  3. Sumit D - IA 169.2K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-05-16T14:08:36.4+00:00

    Hi Michael,

    Are you sure you are not running Microsoft 365 for Business? Users have reported that it needs to be turned off in Admin center.

    If not,

    I see that you pressed No. I am afraid there is no solution right now, as reported by other users:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/MicrosoftWord/comments/1tbfb4d/how_to_get_rid_of_this_latest_incarnation_of/

    You may contact Microsoft and ask them if they plan to add an option in Preferences back in Preferences > Copilot, and turned Copilot off.

    Please contact Microsoft Support for further assistance.

    Please go to the https://support.microsoft.com/contactus page

    Type "Billing" and press Enter.

    Please click on the "Contact support" button at the bottom.

    Select the Product and Category for support based on your requirements.

    Standard 3rd party link disclaimer:

    There may be links to non-Microsoft websites that provide accurate and safe information. Watch out for ads on websites frequently classified as PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). There is no need to buy paid products to fix your computers, as they sometimes do more harm than good.

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  4. AI answer

    2026-05-14T11:46:43.33+00:00

    To turn Copilot off across Microsoft 365 apps on a Mac, use the in‑app Copilot setting where available, and if needed, adjust privacy settings that control Copilot features.

    1. Turn off Copilot per app (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote on Mac)

    For each app where Copilot is available (for example Word, Excel, PowerPoint):

    1. Open the app (for example, Word).
    2. From the app menu, go to Preferences > Authoring and Proofing Tools > Copilot.
    3. Clear the Enable Copilot checkbox.
    4. Close and restart the app.

    Repeat these steps in each app (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote) where Copilot appears. The checkbox is per app and per device, so each app on the Mac must be updated individually.

    1. Turn off Copilot in Outlook (Mac, iOS, Android, web, new Outlook for Windows)

    Outlook uses a different control that applies across devices for the same account:

    1. In Outlook on Mac, open Quick Settings.
    2. Select Copilot.
    3. Turn off the Turn on Copilot toggle.

    This setting applies to Outlook on all devices where signed in with the same account (Mac, iOS, Android, web, new Outlook for Windows).

    1. If Copilot controls are not visible, use privacy settings (affects all apps)

    If the Enable Copilot option is not yet available in the Mac apps, Copilot can be disabled by turning off connected experiences that analyze content. This affects Copilot and other cloud-powered features (such as PowerPoint Designer, suggested replies, text predictions):

    1. In any Microsoft 365 app on Mac (for example, Word), go to Preferences > Personal Settings > Privacy.
    2. In the Privacy dialog, go to Connected Experiences > Manage Connected Experiences.
    3. Clear Turn on experiences that analyze your content.
    4. Select OK, then close and restart the app.

    This privacy change only needs to be done once in one app; it will apply to the other Microsoft 365 apps on the Mac the next time they are opened.

    Note: Turning off these privacy settings disables Copilot in Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word on the device, but it also turns off other features that rely on the same connected experiences.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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