How to Remove Copilot from Notepad and Reclaim Your Minimalist Text Editor

Notepad was always the one place in Windows that felt safe from the bloat. It was just a white box. You typed things, you saved them, and that was it. But Microsoft’s "AI everywhere" crusade has finally reached the humble .txt file. Now, when you highlight text, a little colorful "Explain with Copilot" icon pops up, or it lingers in the right-click menu, waiting for you to accidentally click it. Honestly, it's annoying. If I wanted an AI to analyze my shopping list or a snippet of code I'm debugging, I’d probably be using a more robust IDE or just a browser tab.

If you’re trying to figure out how to remove copilot from notepad, you aren’t alone. Power users are currently scrambling to clean up their context menus. It’s not that the AI is inherently "bad," it’s just that it feels out of place in a tool that’s supposed to be the digital equivalent of a scrap of paper.

Let's get into the weeds of how to actually get rid of it.

The Problem with AI Bloat in Simple Tools

Microsoft recently updated Notepad (version 11.2401.25.0 and later) to include this integration. It uses the "Explain with Copilot" feature, which basically sends your highlighted text to the cloud-based assistant. For some, it’s a privacy nightmare. For others, it’s just visual clutter.

The main issue is that there isn't a giant "OFF" switch sitting right in the middle of the Notepad settings menu. Microsoft prefers you leave it on. They want the engagement metrics. But Windows is still a modular enough beast that we can poke around under the hood to disable these specific integrations. You have to decide if you want to just hide the button or if you want to gut the Copilot presence from your system entirely.

Disabling the Feature Through Windows Settings

Before you go editing the registry or running PowerShell scripts like a hacker in a 90s movie, check the easy route first. Windows 11 has a "Features" section that sometimes—depending on your specific build and region—allows for a bit of toggle-flipping.

Go to your main Windows Settings. Head to Apps, then Installed Apps. Find Notepad in the list. Sometimes, clicking the three dots and going to Advanced options will show you a toggle for "Experimental features" or "Copilot integration." If it’s there, you’re lucky. Turn it off.

But for most of us? It’s not there. Microsoft usually bakes these things in deeper than a simple toggle.

The Group Policy Method (For Pro and Enterprise Users)

If you’re running Windows 11 Pro, you have access to the Group Policy Editor. This is the "manager" of your computer. It’s much safer than the Registry.

1. Hit the Windows Key + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter.
2. Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Copilot.
3. Look for a policy called "Turn off Windows Copilot."

Double-click that. Set it to Enabled. (I know, it feels backwards to click "Enabled" to turn something off, but you are enabling the turn off command). This is a heavy-handed approach. It doesn't just remove copilot from notepad; it kind of nukes it from the taskbar and other spots too. For many, that’s exactly what they want.

Using the Registry Editor (The "Home" User Fix)

If you’re on Windows Home, you don’t have the Group Policy Editor. You have to use the Registry. Warning: Don't mess around in here unless you follow the steps exactly. One wrong delete and your start menu might stop working.

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Open the Registry Editor by typing regedit in the search bar. You want to navigate to this path:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Right-click in the right pane, create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it ShowCopilotButton. Set the value to 0.

Now, this specifically targets the taskbar, but Windows 11's internal apps often check these global flags to see if they should show AI features. If Notepad is still being stubborn, there's a more specific key people are using to target the context menu itself.

You’ll want to look at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsCopilot. If that folder doesn't exist, you can create it. Inside, create a DWORD named TurnOffWindowsCopilot and set it to 1.

Restart your computer. Don't just close Notepad. A full reboot forces the shell to reload the registry hive.

Why Some Users Prefer OldNotepad

Some people are so fed up with the modern Notepad—which now has tabs, autosave, and AI—that they are reverting to the "Classic" version. There is a charm to the 2015-era Notepad. It was fast. It didn't "think."

You can actually find the old notepad.exe tucked away in C:\Windows\System32, but Windows 11 will try to redirect you to the new Store version. To stop this, some tech enthusiasts use a tool called "Winero Tweaker" or simply unregister the new Notepad package using PowerShell.

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If you want to try the PowerShell route to completely uninstall the new Notepad (which removes the Copilot version):
Get-AppxPackage *Microsoft.WindowsNotepad* | Remove-AppxPackage

Then, you can go to the Microsoft Store and download an older version, or just use a third-party alternative like Notepad++ or EditPad Lite. Honestly, Notepad++ is what most of us should be using anyway. It has a "No-Ghosting" policy and doesn't try to summarize your text with a LLM.

Dealing with the "Explain with Copilot" Context Menu

The most intrusive part of the new Notepad is the right-click menu. You're trying to copy-paste, and suddenly you're looking at an AI prompt.

To remove this specific entry without killing Copilot elsewhere, you have to look at the Shell Extensions. This gets technical. Tools like ShellExView (a tiny, free utility from NirSoft) allow you to see every single thing that populates when you right-click.

1. Open ShellExView.
2. Filter by "Context Menu."
3. Look for anything labeled "Copilot" or "Windows AI."
4. Right-click and "Disable."

This is the "scalpel" approach. It keeps the OS intact but trims the fat off the menus.

Privacy Implications of AI in Text Editors

Why do people care so much? It’s just a button, right?

Well, not really. To "Explain with Copilot," Notepad has to be able to read your buffer and send that data to Microsoft's servers. If you are a developer and you accidentally paste an API key or a piece of sensitive proprietary code into Notepad, and then you click that AI button? That data is now part of a telemetry stream.

Even if Microsoft says the data is encrypted or anonymized, many corporate security policies (and common sense) dictate that you don't send local text snippets to the cloud unnecessarily. Removing these entry points is a matter of "hardening" your workspace.

Keeping Notepad Clean Long-Term

Windows updates have a nasty habit of "resetting" your preferences. You might spend twenty minutes getting your registry perfect, only for the next "Moment" update to toggle everything back on.

One way to fight this is to create a .reg file on your desktop. Every time Windows updates, just double-click it to re-apply your "No Copilot" settings.

Basically, open a new Notepad file (ironic, I know) and paste this:

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Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsCopilot]
"TurnOffWindowsCopilot"=dword:00000001

Save it as disable_ai.reg. Now you have a one-click fix for the future.

Alternatives if You're Done with Microsoft's Decisions

If this feels like too much work just to have a clean text editor, it might be time to move away from default Windows apps. Microsoft is doubling down on "AI PCs." This is the direction they are headed. Notepad is just the start; Paint has it, Photos has it, and File Explorer is next.

• Notepad++: The gold standard. No AI, tons of plugins, extremely fast.
• VS Code: A bit heavy, but you have total control over what extensions are installed.
• Obsidian: Great if you use Notepad for notes rather than code.
• Micro: A terminal-based editor for those who want zero distractions.

Most of these tools respect your "local-first" workflow. They don't try to call home every time you type a sentence.

Actionable Next Steps to Take Now

To effectively remove copilot from notepad and ensure your system stays lean, follow this specific order of operations:

1. Check Version: Open Notepad > Settings (gear icon). If you are on a version lower than 11.2401.25.0, don't update it. Turn off automatic Store updates.
2. Apply Registry Fix: Use the TurnOffWindowsCopilot DWORD in HKEY_CURRENT_USER to disable the broad integration.
3. Clean the Context Menu: If the "Explain with Copilot" option persists, use a tool like ShellExView to disable the specific Shell Extension.
4. Audit Your Apps: Check the "Background Apps" permissions in Windows Settings and revoke Notepad's ability to run in the background if you want to be extra thorough.
5. Consider a Replacement: Download Notepad++ and set it as your default handler for .txt and .log files. This bypasses the Microsoft version entirely without needing to "hack" the system.

Doing this restores Notepad to what it was meant to be: a blank canvas that stays out of your way.