Windows is the most popular operating system in the world, especially when it comes to PC gaming. While I mostly use macOS for work, I also have a gaming desktop running Windows 11 that I use both for gaming and for covering Windows-related topics.

Truth be told, I kind of like Windows, but I’m anything but fond of it in its default state. It’s bloated and filled with unnecessary features that can sometimes do more harm than good, but there’s no denying that despite the rise of SteamOS and other gaming-focused Linux distributions, Windows is still the best option for PC gamers, if you ask me.

I don’t mind the Windows experience, but only after I make the necessary modifications, including disabling useless features, tweaking various settings, and removing unneeded apps. There are a number of features I disable on most PCs I install Windows on, but the first one to go is always Copilot.

Copilot is first on the chopping block

I really don’t have any use for it

Credit: Tony Phillips/How-To Geek

I do use LLMs, but there’s a time and a place for them—in a browser, when I actually need them. I don’t need one constantly running in the background. Microsoft’s AI chatbot is also integrated into many Windows apps while providing nothing of substance in most of them. I don’t need AI-powered writing tools in Notepad (instead of removing Copilot from Notepad, Microsoft simply rebranded it as Writing Tools while keeping the same AI integration), nor do I need Copilot integration in Teams. I especially don’t need the standalone Copilot app since I use LLM chatbots in my browser.

Worse still, instead of making the Copilot app lighter on system resources, Microsoft released a new version a few months ago that is no longer a native WinUI app. Instead of being a native Windows app, the latest version of Copilot ships with its own instance of Edge, can use around 500MB of memory while idling in the background, and can eat up to about 1GB of RAM while in use. Compare that to the old native version, which used less than 100MB of memory, and I have yet another good reason to disable the thing on every PC I install Windows on.

Here’s how to remove Copilot from your PC

Straightforward and effective

There are a couple of ways to remove Copilot from your PC. I used a PowerShell script on my own PC, but I no longer remember which one exactly. The one I find the most straightforward and effective, and the one I’ve used on multiple PCs, is the RemoveWindowsAI script, which you can launch with a single PowerShell command. I like it because it’s simple to run, open source, and capable of removing Copilot integration for good. The script can also install classic Windows 10 versions of certain Windows apps that now include Copilot integration, such as Paint, Notepad, and more.

What you need to do is type a single command into PowerShell and run it. Note that the script doesn’t play nicely with PowerShell 7, so make sure to use it with PowerShell 5.1 instead. PowerShell 5.1 should be the default version on your Windows 11 PC, since PowerShell 7 is designed to coexist with it and installing it won’t remove PowerShell 5.1. In other words, even if you have PowerShell 7 on your PC, you should also have access to the 5.1 version.

PowerShell 5.1 is the version that should appear when you type PowerShell into the Windows Search bar, and it’s labeled Windows PowerShell. Once you launch it, you should see its version at the very top of the window. If it says Windows PowerShell 5.1, you’re golden. If you don’t see the version at the top, type $PSVersionTable, press Enter, and look for the PSVersion entry, which should start with 5.1. Also, make sure to open PowerShell as an administrator before executing the command.

Once you’ve confirmed you’re running PowerShell 5.1 and have opened PowerShell as an administrator, type or paste the following command and press Enter:

& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zoicware/RemoveWindowsAI/main/RemoveWindowsAi.ps1"))) 

Wait a moment for the script to load, and you should soon see its interface appear. From there, you’ll find a number of checkboxes you can enable depending on which Copilot-related components you want to remove. Before you click Apply, I recommend enabling Backup Mode so you can restore AI features if you change your mind, which you can do by running the same script and enabling Revert Mode. Once you’re done, click Apply and wait for the script to finish. After that, restart your PC. Once Windows boots back up, you should be Copilot-free.

Copilot is not the only Windows feature I disable

Naturally, Copilot is not the only Windows feature I disable or remove after installing Windows 11. I also remove OneDrive (always on my own PCs, but only if the person whose PC I’m installing Windows on doesn’t need it), disable ads and promotions, turn off optional telemetry and diagnostic data collection, and make a few other tweaks. While I still like Windows, I think it’s far too bloated for its own good. You can whip it into shape, but doing so requires disabling or removing a number of apps and features.