{"slug": "microsoft-is-force-installing-its-copilot-app-on-windows-11-again", "title": "Microsoft Is Force-Installing Its Copilot App on Windows 11… Again", "summary": "Microsoft has resumed automatic installation of its Microsoft 365 Copilot app on commercial Windows 11 devices, six months after pausing the rollout due to a technical issue. The app is delivered via the Office updater and is enabled by default, requiring IT admins to manually opt out through the admin center. The European Economic Area is excluded due to regulatory compliance concerns.", "body_md": "Company laptops across commercial organizations sprout a new app nobody requested. No ticket, no approval, no heads-up from IT. That’s the reality rolling out right now across commercial [Windows 11 machines worldwide](https://www.techpowerup.com/350160/microsoft-will-again-force-install-microsoft-365-copilot-app-on-windows-11). Microsoft has resumed automatic installation of the [Microsoft 365 Copilot app](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/deploy-microsoft-365-copilot-app) on devices running [Microsoft 365](https://www.gadgetreview.com/hackers-are-using-your-home-router-to-spy-on-microsoft-365-users) desktop software — **six months** after pausing the same plan due to what Microsoft described as a “technical issue.” The pause is over. The app is back. And unless an admin acts first, it’s arriving through the same updater that patches Word and Excel.\n\n## What’s Actually Landing on Your Machine\n\n*The Microsoft 365 Copilot app is not what you think it is — and it’s already on the way.*\n\nThis isn’t the “Copilot in Windows” sidebar ([Microsoft already removed that](https://www.gadgetreview.com/rare-win-microsoft-actually-reverses-course-starts-removing-copilot-from-windows)). It’s not the personal Copilot app tied to a Microsoft account. The **Microsoft 365 Copilot app** is the rebranded Office Hub — a desktop shell for Microsoft 365 content with [AI features](https://www.gadgetreview.com/ai-powered-websites-you-didnt-know-can-supercharge-your-productivity) welded on. It rides the Microsoft 365 Apps update mechanism, slipping onto machines like a roommate who moves in while you’re at work.\n\nWhat you need to know about the rollout:\n\n- Targets commercial Windows 11 devices with Microsoft 365 Apps installed\n- Delivered via the Office updater — not Windows Update, not the Microsoft Store\n- Phased rollout runs late June into early July 2026;\n**Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel** is excluded initially - Default setting is\n**ON**— admins must explicitly disable it **EEA** tenants are fully excluded; everyone else is opted in automatically\n\n## How to Stop It Before It Arrives\n\n*The opt-out exists, but Microsoft made sure you have to go looking for it.*\n\nIT admins can block the install through the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center. In the left navigation, go to **Customization > Device configuration > Deployment configurations > Modern Apps settings**, select the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, uncheck Enable automatic installation, and save. Admin-focused communities at windowsforum.com recommend testing on pilot devices first to confirm the setting propagates correctly across the tenant, and completing these steps before the update wave hits.\n\nAs one [discussion on windowsforum.com](https://windowsforum.com/threads/microsoft-defender-email-security-benchmark-platform-wins-on-pre-and-post-delivery.426380/) put it, Microsoft “deserves some credit” for providing the toggle, but making it default-on “still creates unnecessary work for organizations not ready to deploy Copilot at scale.”\n\nIf an admin doesn’t act, the app can be removed through **Settings > Apps > Installed apps**. Here’s the catch: removing the hub app doesn’t disable Copilot inside Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. That requires opening each app individually — **File > Options > Copilot** — and unchecking **Enable Copilot**. Microsoft doesn’t make the multi-step cleanup obvious.\n\n## The EEA Exception Says Everything\n\n*When Microsoft won’t auto-install something in Europe, that tells you plenty about the practice itself.*\n\nThe **EEA** carve-out isn’t generosity. It’s compliance math. Commentators attribute the exclusion to GDPR and competition-law risk — the same regulatory muscle that once forced Microsoft to offer browser-choice screens across Europe. Meanwhile, [PCWorld notes](https://www.pcworld.com/article/3160796/microsoft-is-force-installing-m365-copilot-again-after-a-brief-pause.html) Microsoft is resuming forced installs “while simultaneously experimenting with tools to uninstall AI bloat.” The irony is difficult to miss. If admin frustration keeps building — and [regulators outside the EU](https://www.gadgetreview.com/europe-restricts-microsoft-amazon-and-google-from-handling-government-health-financial-and-legal-data) start paying attention — opt-in may eventually stop being optional.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/microsoft-is-force-installing-its-copilot-app-on-windows-11-again", "canonical_source": "https://www.gadgetreview.com/microsoft-is-force-installing-its-copilot-app-on-windows-11-again", "published_at": "2026-06-23 19:03:13+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-24 00:38:36.266816+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-products", "ai-tools", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["Microsoft", "Microsoft 365 Copilot", "Windows 11", "Microsoft 365", "Office", "EEA"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/microsoft-is-force-installing-its-copilot-app-on-windows-11-again", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/microsoft-is-force-installing-its-copilot-app-on-windows-11-again.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/microsoft-is-force-installing-its-copilot-app-on-windows-11-again.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/microsoft-is-force-installing-its-copilot-app-on-windows-11-again.jsonld"}}