How to turn off AI features in Windows 11, including Copilot, Recall, Paint, Notepad and File Explorer
Microsoft has been adding AI tools across Windows 11 at a fast pace. You can now find generative features in apps such as Paint, Notepad, Photos, Snipping Tool, File Explorer and more. On Copilot+ PCs, Windows also includes extra AI experiences such as Recall and Click to Do.
The good news is that many of these features can be disabled. The frustrating part is that Microsoft has not provided one simple “turn off all AI” button. Instead, the controls are scattered across different areas of Settings, individual apps and, in some cases, Windows policy tools.
If you want to use Windows 11 with as little AI as possible, here is where to look and what each setting actually controls.
The main AI control is hidden in Privacy settings
One of the most important places to check is the Text and image generation page in Windows 11.
You can find it by going to:
Settings
Privacy & security
Text and image generation
This page controls many on-device generative AI features in Windows. It includes a main switch that can disable supported local AI generation features for every user on the device.
Below the main switch, Windows shows a list of apps that can use on-device text or image generation. Depending on your system, this list may include apps such as:
Notepad
Paint
Photos
Snipping Tool
Clipchamp
Outlook
Xbox
Other supported Windows apps
Each app has its own toggle, so you can turn AI access off completely or disable it app by app.
There is one important limitation: this setting only affects AI features that run locally on the device. It does not disable cloud-based AI tools. If an app sends requests to Microsoft’s cloud services, that feature may need to be turned off somewhere else.
The same page may also show which apps recently used on-device AI. This has caused some confusion because users sometimes assume the list means AI is actively running in the background. In most cases, the list shows which apps have permission, while detailed usage appears separately in the activity information.
Notepad AI must be turned off inside Notepad
Notepad now includes AI-powered tools such as Rewrite and Summarize. These features are not controlled by the main Text and image generation switch because they rely on a cloud-based service and require a Microsoft account.
Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers receive monthly AI credits that can be used for these features. If you do not want Notepad to use AI, you need to disable it inside Notepad itself.
Open Notepad, select the gear icon in the top-right corner, and look for the AI feature settings there.
This is a good example of why disabling AI in Windows 11 can feel confusing. Some tools are controlled by system privacy settings, while others are managed inside the app.
Turn off AI actions in the Windows 11 context menu
Another area to check is the Actions page.
Go to:
Settings
Apps
Actions
This section controls which apps can suggest actions in the Windows context menu. These are the options that appear when you right-click certain files, images or content.
On some Windows 11 devices, this list may include apps such as Paint, Photos and Teams. Photos, for example, may offer actions such as background blur, object erase or visual search through Bing.
If you do not want AI-powered image tools or Bing visual search appearing in the right-click menu, this is where you can disable them.
Each app has a separate switch, so you can keep some actions while removing others.
Copilot in File Explorer is changing
Microsoft has also been changing how Copilot appears in File Explorer.
Some Copilot actions for OneDrive files are being removed from the File Explorer context menu. Instead of multiple separate Copilot options, Microsoft is shifting toward a single “Ask Copilot” entry tied to the Copilot app.
That means what you see in File Explorer may depend on your Windows version, your OneDrive setup and whether the Copilot app is installed.
If you want to reduce Copilot integration, check your installed apps first.
Go to:
Settings
Apps
Installed apps
From there, look for Copilot-related apps and remove what you do not want. Be careful, though: Windows may show more than one app with “Copilot” in the name. The regular Copilot app and Microsoft 365 Copilot are different applications.
On some systems, the Start menu may show a Copilot entry even when the main Copilot app is not installed. In that case, it may actually be Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Recall is only available on Copilot+ PCs
Recall is one of Microsoft’s most talked-about AI features, but it is not available on every Windows 11 device. It requires a Copilot+ PC with specific hardware, including a powerful NPU, 16 GB of RAM and enough free storage.
Recall is designed to capture snapshots of activity on your PC so you can search and return to things you previously viewed. Because of the privacy concerns around this feature, Microsoft says Recall requires user consent before it saves snapshots.
Each user must opt in. Without consent, Recall does not save screenshots.
If your PC supports Recall and you want to remove it, Microsoft says it can be removed through the Windows features menu.
Search for:
Turn Windows features on or off
Then look for Recall and remove it if available on your system.
Click to Do can be disabled, but not removed
Click to Do is another AI feature for Copilot+ PCs. It is designed to recognize content on the screen and offer quick actions.
Unlike Recall, Click to Do is enabled by default on supported systems and cannot be fully removed. However, it can be disabled.
Go to:
Settings
Privacy & security
Click to Do
Once disabled, shortcuts such as Windows key plus mouse click and Windows key plus Q should no longer open Click to Do.
Windows 11 Pro users have extra policy options
If you use Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise or Education, you may have access to Group Policy settings that are not available in Windows 11 Home.
For Recall, the relevant policy is called DisableAIDataAnalysis.
There is also a newer policy related to removing the Microsoft Copilot app, but it only works under specific conditions. For example, it may depend on whether both the Copilot app and Microsoft 365 Copilot are installed, whether the user installed the app manually and whether the app has been launched recently.
For most home users, the practical option is still to use the visible switches in Settings and inside individual apps.
Older Copilot policy advice may be outdated
Some older guides recommend using a policy called TurnOffWindowsCopilot. However, Microsoft now lists that policy as deprecated, meaning it may be removed in a future Windows release.
If you are trying to disable Copilot or other AI features in Windows 11, it is better to rely on the current Settings pages, app controls and updated policy options rather than older instructions.
There is no single switch to disable all AI in Windows 11
At the moment, turning off AI in Windows 11 requires checking several places:
Settings, Privacy & security, Text and image generation
Settings, Apps, Actions
Settings, Apps, Installed apps
Notepad’s built-in settings
Recall settings or Windows features on Copilot+ PCs
Click to Do settings on Copilot+ PCs
Group Policy on Windows 11 Pro and higher
Most AI features can be disabled, removed or limited, but Microsoft has spread the controls across the operating system.
After every major Windows 11 update, it is worth checking these settings again. New AI features may be added, existing switches may move, and some apps may gain new cloud-based AI tools that are not controlled by the main Windows AI privacy page.
