Microsoft Has Just Removed Copilot From Your Computer
Microsoft’s latest Patch Tuesday update is a major one: it fixes 57 security vulnerabilities (including seven zero-day vulnerabilities). This is an update I would advise all Windows users to install as soon as possible, especially since these zero-day vulnerabilities pose a serious security risk to anyone using a PC.
As it happens, this update includes an additional patch that Microsoft didn’t originally reveal, or, for that matter, intend to: removing Copilot from Windows .
Copilot disappears in latest Windows update
Some users, after installing KB5053598 (Windows 11) or KB5053606 (Windows 10) on their computers, will notice that the update not only unpins Copilot from the taskbar, but also removes the Copilot application. Microsoft hasn’t disclosed why this issue is present in the latest Windows updates, but says it hasn’t found a bug in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app , the version of Copilot directly integrated into Microsoft’s office suite.
The company says it is working on a new update that will fix the problem and hopefully restore Copilot access for affected Windows users. If you’re missing Copilot and want to get it back before Microsoft releases a new update, you can reinstall the app from the Microsoft Store and pin it to the taskbar yourself.
However, you may not want to reinstall Copilot. After all, there are a number of users who are looking for ways to disable Copilot , and there are even tools that will help you remove it from Windows . Microsoft may actually have done you a favor here. There is an irony in the situation: the company is so aggressively promoting its artificial intelligence tools – whether you like it or not – it simply removed them on your behalf as part of a software fix .
That’s not to say Copilot isn’t useful: the AI tool offers a number of potential benefits to Windows users (and now Mac users ). But if you haven’t discovered any benefit from these tools in your work or personal life in the two and a half years since ChatGPT launched this generative AI revolution , you can be happy with Microsoft’s unintentional decision to remove its flagship assistant.