Microsoft Halts Forced Copilot Installs

by Justin Erickson

Microsoft has temporarily stopped automatically installing the Microsoft 365 Copilot app on Windows devices that already have 365 desktop apps. The company said the automatic rollout, originally planned for December 2025 for devices outside the European Economic Area (EEA), is now “temporarily disabled.” Existing installations are not being removed, and admins can still deploy the app through other methods. More information from Malwarebytes: “When and if the Microsoft 365 Copilot app begins rolling out automatically to eligible devices, it will be added to the Windows Start Menu and enabled by default. However, IT administrators responsible for managing Microsoft 365 app deployments will be able to opt out via the Apps Admin Center:

1. Select the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, then clear the Enable automatic installation of Microsoft 365 Copilot app check box.
2. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center with an admin account.
3. Go to Customization > Device Configuration > Modern App Settings.