How to Enable or Disable Copilot in New Outlook for Windows and Web

Before configuring Copilot settings, confirm you have the proper licensing. Copilot requires specific Microsoft 365 subscriptions and won't appear without valid licensing.

Open your web browser and navigate to portal.office.com. Sign in with your Microsoft 365 credentials and click on your profile picture in the top right corner. Select View account to access your subscription details.

Look for one of these subscription types in your account:

• Microsoft 365 Copilot
• Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 with Copilot add-on
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard or Premium with Copilot add-on

Ensure you're running the latest version of New Outlook for Windows, as older versions may not display the Copilot toggle or have incomplete functionality.

Open the New Outlook for Windows app. Click the Settings gear icon in the top right corner of the interface. In the settings panel, navigate to General in the left sidebar, then click About Outlook.

Check your current version number and compare it against the latest available. If an update is available, you'll see an Update button or notification. Click it to download and install the latest version.

Alternatively, you can update through the Microsoft Store if you installed Outlook from there. Open Microsoft Store, search for "Outlook", and click Update if available.

Copilot requires specific privacy settings to be enabled in your Microsoft 365 configuration. These settings allow Microsoft to analyze your content and provide AI-powered suggestions.

In New Outlook for Windows, go to Settings > General > Privacy and data. Look for two critical settings:

• Experiences that analyze your content - This must be enabled
• All connected experiences - This must also be enabled

Toggle both settings to the On position if they're currently disabled. These settings are required for Copilot to function properly across all Microsoft 365 applications.

For web users, access these same settings by going to outlook.com, clicking the Settings gear icon, then navigating to General > Privacy and data > Privacy settings.

To turn off Copilot features in the New Outlook for Windows app, you'll access the dedicated Copilot settings panel.

Open New Outlook for Windows and click the Settings gear icon in the top right corner. In the left sidebar of the settings panel, look for and click Copilot. This will open the Copilot-specific configuration options.

You'll see the main toggle labeled Turn on Copilot. Click this toggle to move it to the Off position. The toggle should change color (typically from blue to gray) to indicate Copilot is disabled.

If you want to disable specific Copilot features while keeping others active, look for additional toggles such as:

• Use custom instructions when drafting email - Controls AI drafting assistance
• Email summarization - Controls automatic email summaries
• Meeting insights - Controls calendar and meeting AI features

After making your changes, close the settings panel and restart Outlook completely (close the application and reopen it) to ensure the changes take effect.

For users accessing Outlook through a web browser, the process is similar but accessed through the web interface.

Open your web browser and navigate to outlook.com. Sign in with your Microsoft 365 credentials if you haven't already. Once logged in, click the Settings gear icon in the top right corner of the Outlook web interface.

In the settings panel that opens, look for Copilot in the left sidebar and click it. If you don't immediately see Copilot, it may be under General > Privacy and data > Privacy settings depending on your account configuration.

Find the Turn on Copilot toggle and click it to move it to the Off position. The interface will typically show a confirmation that Copilot has been disabled for your account.

Similar to the Windows app, you may see additional granular controls for specific Copilot features. Configure these according to your preferences.

After making changes, refresh your browser page or close and reopen the Outlook tab to ensure the settings take effect.

If you want to re-enable Copilot after disabling it, or if you're setting it up for the first time, follow these steps to turn on AI assistance.

For New Outlook for Windows: Open the app, go to Settings > Copilot, and toggle Turn on Copilot to the On position. Enable any additional features you want, such as drafting assistance or email summarization.

For Outlook on the web: Go to outlook.com, click Settings > Copilot, and toggle Turn on Copilot to On.

Once enabled, you can configure custom instructions for email drafting by accessing the Use custom instructions when drafting email option. This allows you to set preferences for tone, length, and style of AI-generated content.

Consider enabling these specific Copilot features based on your needs:

• Email drafting assistance - AI helps compose emails
• Email summarization - Automatic summaries of long email threads
• Meeting preparation - AI-generated meeting insights and preparation
• Schedule optimization - Intelligent calendar suggestions

Restart your Outlook application after enabling features to ensure they're fully activated.

If you use multiple Microsoft 365 accounts in Outlook, you'll need to configure Copilot settings for each account individually, as the settings don't automatically sync across different organizational accounts.

In New Outlook for Windows, click your profile picture or account name in the top right corner. If you have multiple accounts, you'll see a dropdown list. Select the account you want to configure.

With the desired account selected, go to Settings > Copilot and configure the Copilot toggle for this specific account. Repeat this process for each additional account you have configured in Outlook.

For web access, you'll need to sign out of your current account and sign in with each different account to configure their individual Copilot settings at outlook.com.

Note that personal Microsoft accounts and work/school accounts have separate Copilot configurations and licensing requirements. Ensure each account has the appropriate subscription level for Copilot access.

If you're experiencing issues with Copilot settings not appearing or not working as expected, follow these troubleshooting steps.

Missing Copilot Toggle: If you don't see the Copilot option in settings, first verify your subscription includes Copilot licensing. Check Settings > General > About Outlook to ensure you're running the latest version. If using an older version, update through Microsoft Store or download the latest from outlook.com/setup.

Settings Not Saving: Clear your Outlook cache by closing the application completely, then navigating to %AppData%\Microsoft\Outlook in Windows Explorer and deleting temporary files. Restart Outlook and reconfigure your settings.

Organization-Managed Restrictions: If Copilot options are grayed out or missing, your organization may have policies preventing individual users from controlling these settings. Contact your IT administrator to check group policies and tenant-level Copilot configurations.

Persistent Copilot Popups: If Copilot notifications continue appearing after disabling, go to Settings > General > Notifications and disable AI-related notifications. Also check Privacy and data settings to ensure connected experiences are properly configured.