Windows 11 is already chockful of programs and services that Microsoft wants us all to use, no matter how often we tell the company otherwise. Now, the owners of the operating system are planning to force feed Copilot to anyone running the Microsoft 365 application suite.
According to Bleeping Computer, forced installs of Copilot will begin from October 2025. Worse still, there’s no way to way for users to opt out of the rollout without administrative access.
The outlet cites a bulletin on the Microsoft 365 message center that reads:
“Starting in October 2025, Microsoft will begin automatically installing the Microsoft 365 Copilot app on Windows devices that have Microsoft 365 desktop client apps. This app provides a centralized entry point for accessing Copilot experiences and AI-powered capabilities across Microsoft 365. This change simplifies access to Copilot and ensures users can easily discover and engage with productivity-enhancing features.“
Those in the EEA (European Economic Area) are exempt from this policy. If your Microsoft 365 PC is anywhere else, though, expect to see Copilot force its way without a helping hand from your system administrator.
While this isn’t unprecedented behaviour for Microsoft, it’s no less annoying than previous efforts to force in-house services on us. I know plenty of folks that make it a point to uninstall OneDrive first thing upon completing fresh installations of Windows 11.
Although this policy only affects Microsoft 365 users, I’m left questioning how long it’ll be before Copilot is forced on all Windows 11 installations. Linux is looking more appealing by the day (hurry up SteamOS).
