Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs include nine local AI components, but only one can actually be removed
Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs are built around local artificial intelligence features, using dedicated hardware to run AI tasks directly on the device. On the surface, Microsoft’s consumer-facing documentation highlights four AI components inside these Windows laptops. But Microsoft’s own update records tell a broader story: Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs currently receive updates for nine AI components.
The important detail for users is this: only one of those components can be removed. The rest can either be disabled in limited ways, controlled through app permissions, hidden through policies, or left running as part of Windows itself.
That makes the situation more complicated than a simple “turn off AI” switch.
Microsoft lists nine AI components for Copilot+ PCs
Microsoft’s public support page for Copilot+ PCs describes four main AI components. However, its separate release information for AI components lists nine items that are updated through Windows Update.
The full list includes familiar names such as Phi Silica, Image Processing, and Image Creation, but it also includes several less visible components:
Execution Provider
Content Extraction
Image Search
Semantic Analysis
Settings Model
The last few are especially notable because their names suggest deeper analysis of local content, search behavior, and system settings. Yet they are not all explained in the same way on Microsoft’s general consumer pages.
This does not appear to be an accidental mismatch. Microsoft’s AI component release information is where the company tracks versions, update dates, and related Windows update packages. In other words, it is the technical record of what is being serviced on eligible devices.
The only removable AI component is Image Creation
The one AI component Microsoft now allows users to remove is Image Creation, also referred to in some update notes as Image Generation.
This is the local AI model used for generating images on supported Copilot+ PCs. Interestingly, Microsoft only began listing Image Creation as a separate package on July 28, 2026. That same day, a Windows 11 preview update introduced the option to remove it from supported Copilot+ PCs.
That timing matters.
Before that update, Image Creation was not treated as an individually removable AI package. Microsoft made it separately serviceable at the same time it made it removable. By comparison, other AI components such as Phi Silica, Image Processing, and Execution Provider have long update histories with dozens of entries over many months.
This helps explain why users cannot remove most of the other AI components. They are not packaged in the same removable way. Microsoft describes some of them as part of the Windows operating system, and Phi Silica is described as shipping “inbox” with Windows.
The July update removed one AI feature and updated four others
The July 28 preview update for Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2 added the ability to remove the Image Generation component. But that was only part of the story.
In the same update, Microsoft also updated four other AI components to version 1.2607.840.0:
Image Search
Content Extraction
Semantic Analysis
Settings Model
So while users gained the ability to remove one AI image-generation package, Windows also received updates for several other AI components at the same time.
That is the key takeaway: one local AI component became removable, while other AI systems continued to be serviced as part of Windows.
The removal option arrived broadly with the August update
The feature became widely available with the August 11, 2026 Windows update for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2. That update included the earlier July preview changes and rolled them out broadly to eligible devices.
If you install the August update on a supported Copilot+ PC running Windows 11 24H2 or 25H2, the option to remove the Image Creation or Image Generation component should be available.
Windows 11 26H1 is different. Its August update followed another update path and did not include the same removal option. Earlier, the July preview had also been part of a gradual rollout, meaning not every eligible device saw the option immediately.
So if the setting was missing before the August update, that did not necessarily mean your PC was broken or unsupported. It may simply not have received that part of the rollout yet.
Image Creation and Image Generation mean the same thing
Microsoft uses two names for the same component depending on where you look.
Some update notes call it Image Generation.
The AI component list calls it Image Creation.
Both names refer to the local image-generating AI component on supported Copilot+ PCs.
What any Windows 11 user can remove or disable
Not every AI-related setting requires a Copilot+ PC. Some options are available on standard Windows 11 devices, including Windows 11 Home.
Remove Recall completely
Recall can be removed through Windows Features.
Open “Turn Windows features on or off,” untick Recall, and restart the PC. Microsoft says previously saved Recall snapshots are deleted when Recall is removed.
Power users can also remove it through PowerShell with this command:
Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName “Recall” -Remove
Remove the Copilot app
The Copilot app can be uninstalled like a normal app.
Go to Settings, then Apps, then Installed apps. Find Copilot and uninstall it.
Remap the Copilot key
If your keyboard has a Copilot key, Windows now lets you reassign it.
Go to Settings, then Bluetooth and devices, then Keyboard. From there, you can change what the Copilot key does.
Older guides may point to Personalisation and Text input, but that route is no longer the current one.
Block local AI use by app
One of the most useful settings is found under Privacy and security.
Go to Settings, then Privacy and security, then Text and image generation. This page shows which apps have recently used local AI models and lets you block access on an app-by-app basis.
This works without Group Policy and does not require Windows Pro.
Turn off Notepad AI features
Notepad includes its own AI-related settings. These can be switched off directly inside Notepad’s settings menu.
This is one of the few built-in Windows apps with a clearly documented AI toggle.
What Windows Pro and Enterprise can control
Some AI controls are only available through policy settings, and this is where Windows edition differences become important.
Microsoft’s policy documentation does not list Windows Home for its AI policies. That means Home users generally do not get the same documented controls as Pro, Enterprise, or Education users.
Windows Pro can control several items, including:
Recall policies
Copilot key behavior
Click to Do
Some Paint AI policies
However, some controls go beyond Windows Pro. Policy-based removal of the Copilot app and certain Recall blocklist options are limited to Enterprise and Education editions.
Recall export is also region-limited and applies in the European Economic Area.
Photos AI features have no documented policy controls
The Photos app is a special problem.
Microsoft does not provide a documented Group Policy route for removing or disabling several AI features in Photos, including:
Restyle
Image Creator
Relight
That means users looking for an official way to remove those Photos AI tools do not currently have a clear Microsoft-documented path, regardless of Windows edition.
Registry tips for Windows Home remain unofficial
Many online guides suggest registry changes for disabling AI features on Windows Home.
The issue is documentation. Microsoft does not clearly state that Windows Home honors all of these keys, and it also does not clearly state that it ignores them.
In practice, some registry tweaks may work. But they are not the same as documented, supported controls.
Users who want to remove multiple AI features at once often turn to third-party tools, but that comes with its own risks and should be approached carefully.
What cannot be removed
Several AI-related features can be disabled, hidden, or restricted, but not actually removed from Windows.
Click to Do
Click to Do can be turned off, but Microsoft says it cannot be removed. If disabled, its entry points may still exist, but they lead nowhere or produce an error.
Semantic Analysis
Semantic Analysis is one of the most interesting components because it is listed as a separate AI component and receives its own updates.
However, there is no clear user-facing switch to remove it.
Microsoft also indicates that semantic searches can remain active even when the settings agent is switched off. That makes Semantic Analysis one of the least transparent parts of the current Copilot+ PC AI stack.
Copilot in Edge
Copilot in Microsoft Edge can be hidden or restricted through policy, but that does not remove the underlying code.
This distinction matters. Hiding an AI assistant from the interface is not the same as uninstalling it from the system.
Bing in Windows Search
Controls for Bing integration in Windows Search are also limited. The relevant policy is not available for Windows Pro and is not available for Windows Home either.
Telemetry
Windows telemetry cannot be reduced to zero on Home or Pro editions. The lowest level available there is Required. Full zero telemetry is reserved for Server, Enterprise, and Education editions.
Microsoft’s own logging also recognizes non-removable AI components. There is a specific event for cases where a package belongs to an AI component that cannot be removed.
Could removed AI components come back later?
One unanswered question remains: if a user removes an AI component, could a later Windows AI update reinstall it?
Microsoft’s documentation does not clearly answer that. Since AI components are serviced independently through Windows Update, users may need to keep checking after major updates to confirm that removed features remain removed.
This is especially relevant for Copilot+ PCs, where local AI components are updated separately from ordinary app updates.
Windows 11 support timelines matter
Windows 11 24H2 Home and Pro support ends on October 13, 2026. Windows 11 25H2 remains supported until October 12, 2027.
That means users setting up a Windows 11 24H2 system with AI features removed or disabled may soon face another upgrade cycle. After moving to a newer release, they may need to review the same settings again.
The bottom line
Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs include more AI components than Microsoft’s consumer-facing pages make obvious. The company’s update records list nine AI components, but only one, Image Creation or Image Generation, can currently be removed as a separate package.
Other AI features may be disabled, hidden, blocked per app, or controlled through policies depending on the Windows edition. But many remain part of the operating system.
For users who want less AI in Windows 11, the practical approach is to remove what Microsoft allows, disable what can be disabled, review app permissions, and recheck settings after major Windows updates.
