Microsoft adds Copilot to the Windows 11 context menu, but you can disable it

Microsoft is finding new ways to promote its AI assistant, Copilot. A new update to the Copilot app for Windows has added a shortcut in the right-click context menu.

Users will now find an option labeled 'Ask Copilot' when they right-click on a file, which has been designed to make it easier to access the AI's features.

However, the integration of this new feature has sparked a backlash from many Windows 11 users. The context menu, once a streamlined hub of shortcuts for regular actions, is progressively becoming cluttered with entries that some find unnecessary. The 'Ask Copilot' option is viewed by users as "yet another Copilot option that nobody asked for".

Even more frustratingly, there is no direct way to disable this "Ask Copilot" shortcut, but there are a couple of workarounds. Users who don't wish to use Copilot at all can simply uninstall the app. Users who may want to use Copilot, but don't need the shortcut, will need to edit an entry in the Windows Registry to remove it from File Explorer.

The instructions spotted on ElevenForum by Neowin explains how to do this.

1. Save the following content as a text file using Notepad.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Blocked]
"{CB3B0003-8088-4EDE-8769-8B354AB2FF8C}"=-

2. Change the file's extension from .txt to .reg. For example, if you named it Copilot.txt, rename it to Copilot.reg.

3. Then, double-click on the reg file, and confirm the action. This will remove the Ask Copilot shortcut from the context menu, but you will need to restart the computer to apply the changes.

Microsoft recently added an AI Agent to the Settings app. Recall is now available for Copilot+ PCs, clearly there are more AI features that are coming to Windows 11, regardless of whether users like them or not.