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Microsoft isn't removing Copilot from Windows 11, it's just renaming it

winjer

winjer

Gold Member

Microsoft isn't removing Copilot from Windows 11, it's just renaming it

At the start of the year, Microsoft generated a lot of goodwill among Windows 11 fans when it announced its big plan to fix the operating system in 2026. It highlighted numerous ways to approach and remediate user concerns such as giving them more control over Windows Update and adding back some highly requested features. Another key point in the company's announcement was pulling back on inserting Copilot everywhere, and being more mindful about how AI features are integrated into the OS. Microsoft began rolling out some changes in this regard a couple of days ago, and unfortunately, people are a little underwhelmed.

Microsoft seems to have stripped away mentions of the "Copilot" brand in the Windows Insider version of the Notepad app. The Copilot button in the toolbar is gone, and instead, you'll find a writing icon which will present you AI-powered writing assistance, such as rewrite, summarize, tone modification, format configuration, and more. Additionally, "AI features" in Notepad settings has been renamed to "Advanced features" and it allows users to toggle off AI capabilities within the app.

As is evident from the changes mentioned above, Microsoft is not doing away with AI capabilities completely in Windows 11. At least, not right now. This has led to complaints from Windows 11 users on public forums (such as our comments section here) who feel like they've been hoodwinked by Microsoft into believing that the firm is getting rid of AI integrations in Windows 11 altogether.
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To be fair to Microsoft, if you check out our coverage of this topic, you'll notice that Redmond did not claim that it will eradicate AI from Windows 11. In fact, its wording was more around the idea that it would be more "intentional" about how and where the Copilot branding shows up, while also ensuring that AI capabilities are actually useful. It also emphasized its intention to get rid of unnecessary Copilot entry points in Windows 11 apps. Looking at the latest Insider update for Notepad, it can be argued that Microsoft did exactly all that.

The problem once again seem to lie in the huge gap between what users actually want versus how Microsoft responds to customer feedback. Looking at the vocal backlash around "microslop" online, it would seem rather obvious that customers don't want "AI slop" in their desktop OS. But, of course, Microsoft can't get rid of AI features entirely and get left behind in the latest race involving big tech. So, in the company's eyes, a middle ground would be to erase references to the Copilot brand and continue integrating AI capabilities that it deems useful. And, of course, that isn't good enough for me.

At this point, Microsoft is walking a tightrope. It cannot appease everyone since it also has its shareholders and investors to think about, but then there's also a rather large Windows 11 user base which really is fed up of AI experiences being shoved down its throats. Looking ahead, it seems unlikely that Microsoft will be able to "fix" Windows 11 in this regard in 2026, because it seems like simply rebranding Copilot to something generic just isn't good enough for many.
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mfer-samuel-l-jackson.gif


 
Ai features ain't so bad, like writing tools and copying text out of photos being innate to Mac OS instead of being tied to specific apps like snipping tool. Microsoft's implementation and branding is just total garbage
 
And Microsoft was able to burn another trademark (in this case, 'Copilot'). GOd, how can a company can be so useless in termos of brand ?!
 
Co-Pilot in Excel is like the best thing that has ever happened. I actually signed up for 365 Premium after seeing what it can do. There are a lot of things wrong with Windows, but for me the Co-Pilot integration isn't among them. Notepad might be a little unnecessary, but it's bad ass in the Office suite.

I make spreadsheets I would never dream of making if I had to handle all the syntax. I can barely bang out a BOM. Now I'm throwing in all the "nice to haves" that I never felt like figuring out myself.
 
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BE EXCITED FOR HELIX MATTRESSES

As if this company deserves some kind of favor with all the blunders they have done in management. Other than some woke people, the devs have been the least part of the bad.
 
simpatico said:
Co-Pilot in Excel is like the best thing that has ever happened. I actually signed up for 365 Premium after seeing what it can do. There are a lot of things wrong with Windows, but for me the Co-Pilot integration isn't among them. Notepad might be a little unnecessary, but it's bad ass in the Office suite.

I make spreadsheets I would never dream of making if I had to handle all the syntax. I can barely bang out a BOM. Now I'm throwing in all the "nice to haves" that I never felt like figuring out myself.
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Wait till you try the same thing with Claude. Copilot in Excel is not nearly as good, at least from what I tested.
 
StereoVsn said:
Wait till you try the same thing with Claude. Copilot in Excel is not nearly as good, at least from what I tested.
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If I ever hit the ceiling on Co-Pilot I certainly will. I only make a few spreadsheets a year. Being able to just dictate into that and PowerPoint have legit saved us a ton of labor. IDK how they hold up to jobs where using Office is the primary function. For me it's just ancillary paperwork shit and there's no one to be disappointed in their quality. I run my own little contractor and that's a whole ass person I didn't have to hire and don't have to find work for 65% of the week.
 
Yeah ms .. make your os even more of a joke. They will show them!
 
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What's stopping you from leaving Windows ?
Your game won't work on Linux ? Well be prepared to be Microsoft little bitch and love it.
 
Mercador said:
Anyone on Bazzite?
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Rocking CachyOS as daily though. I think analog_future analog_future and Topher Topher joined Cachy gang recently too, lmao.

Edit: Can't wait for AerynOS to get out of alpha, since it's an Atomic distro like Bazzite but it's not immutable like Bazzite. Could be awesome if one wants to tinker and have essentially non-breakable OS Topher Topher .

It's being made by Solus devs, I believe S Shockwave_Fox . I'm tagging you Shockwave, since if I remember right you've liked Solus.
 
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BeardSpike said:
Rocking CachyOS as daily though. I think analog_future analog_future and Topher Topher joined Cachy gang recently too, lmao.

Edit: Can't wait for AerynOS to get out of alpha, since it's an Atomic distro like Bazzite but it's not immutable like Bazzite. Could be awesome if one wants to tinker and have essentially non-breakable OS Topher Topher .

It's being made by Solus devs, I believe S Shockwave_Fox . I'm tagging you Shockwave, since if I remember right you've liked Solus.
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Aeryn Os looks really cool.

Yeah the main guy who started Solus is making it.
Hopefully he doesn't drop off it halfway through like he did with Solus tho.....

As for Solus, I love it. Really smooth, fast and great for gaming.
Highly recommend it.
 
BeardSpike said:
Rocking CachyOS as daily though. I think analog_future analog_future and Topher Topher joined Cachy gang recently too, lmao.

Edit: Can't wait for AerynOS to get out of alpha, since it's an Atomic distro like Bazzite but it's not immutable like Bazzite. Could be awesome if one wants to tinker and have essentially non-breakable OS Topher Topher .

It's being made by Solus devs, I believe S Shockwave_Fox . I'm tagging you Shockwave, since if I remember right you've liked Solus.
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It's for an old PC that would serve as a Moonlight client so my needs aren't extensive. If it can run a few old games locally on my old 1070, that would be great but I can always Moonlight everything.
 
Renaming is the best retarded way to erase all the bad history and start anew. Well, until things end up pretty bad again and they have to rename it a third time.
 
Saber said:
Renaming is the best retarded way to erase all the bad history and start anew. Well, until things end up pretty bad again and they have to rename it a third time.
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As long as there's no technology that can propagate information around quickly so people can be informed of the details I think the strategy could work.

Such a solid plan for a trillion dollar company.
 
Entire French government just ditched Windows and is switching to Linux infrastructure:


I didn't saw any news outlets mention this like at all.
 
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Lucie Goosey said:
Modded ElderScrolls titles.
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Yeah, I tried to like mod OG Oblivion on Linux and gave up.

Skyrim seems to work I think though.

So I'm waiting for Skyblivion instead lmao.

I'm curious if they finally make Native GOG Galaxy app and Nexus Mods all on Linux, if it will work but from what I remember modding Oblivion was pretty complex, not your simple drop down mods and be done with it.
 
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Shouldn't surprise anyone at this point. This is probably the only company in the world that has a track record of several decades of bullshit, at least on the level MS is reaching millions of users across the globe, not just B2B stuff etc.
 
Braindead nonsense as usual from MS. Yea the Copilot brand is kinda tainted, but thats because they keep pushing half baked bloat onto all but the largest enterprise users.

The people who will notice Copilot is "gone" aren't going to be fooled by this. Those that didn't care will just be confused by features being renamed.
 
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