How to Disable Copilot in Excel

5 methods — from a simple settings toggle to permanent registry-level blocking. Pick what works for you.

Last updated: February 2026

Microsoft Copilot in Excel can read your cell values, formulas, and table structures. If you work with sensitive data — financial models, HR records, client information — you may want it off. This guide covers five methods to disable Copilot in Excel, from built-in settings to permanent registry-level blocking. Each method has trade-offs in durability, scope, and ease of reversal.

"Pops the copilot sparkles button up every. time. you. click. a. cell."

— r/excel community (730K+ weekly visitors). Copilot complaints were the #2 issue in the Excel team's own AMA.

Quick comparison

Method	Difficulty	Admin?	Survives updates?	Reversible?
1. Excel Settings	Easy	No	Sometimes reset	Yes
2. Customize Ribbon	Easy	No	Usually	Yes
3. Privacy Settings	Easy	No	Usually	Yes
4. Registry Edit	Hard	No	Yes	Manual
5. SheetGuard Companion	Easy	No	Yes	One click

Disable via Excel Settings

Best for: Quick toggle if the option is available in your version.

Open Excel and go to File > Options
Click Copilot in the left sidebar
Clear the "Enable Copilot" checkbox
Click OK and restart Excel

Limitations: This setting only applies to Excel on the current device. You need to repeat it for Word, PowerPoint, and other Office apps individually. Microsoft has been known to reset this toggle during major Office updates. Not all Office versions show the Copilot tab in Options — if you don't see it, skip to Method 3 or 5.

Source: Microsoft Support — Turn off Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps

Hide Copilot from the Ribbon

Best for: Removing the visual distraction without fully disabling Copilot.

Open Excel and go to File > Options > Customize Ribbon
In the right panel, find and uncheck "Copilot"
Click OK

Limitations: This only hides the Copilot button from the ribbon. Copilot features may still run in the background. If you want to prevent Copilot from accessing your data, this method alone is not sufficient — it's a cosmetic change.

Disable Connected Experiences

Best for: Blocking Copilot when the Copilot tab doesn't appear in Options.

Open Excel and go to File > Account > Account Privacy > Manage Settings
Under "Connected experiences," uncheck "Turn on experiences that analyze your content"
Close and restart Excel

Limitations: This is a broad setting — it disables all connected experiences that analyze content, not just Copilot. Features like Smart Lookup, Editor suggestions, and certain data types will also stop working. It applies across all Office apps on the device.

Source: Microsoft Docs — Manage privacy controls for Microsoft 365

Manual Windows Registry Edit

Best for: Persistent blocking that survives Office updates (for technical users).

Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter
Navigate to HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\AI
If the AI key doesn't exist, right-click Common and create it
Right-click in the right panel > New > DWORD (32-bit) Value
Name it DisableCopilot and set the value to 1
Close Registry Editor and restart Excel

Limitations: One wrong registry key can cause unexpected behavior. Reversing requires navigating back to the same location and deleting or changing the value. If you make a mistake, there's no undo. This method works but is error-prone for non-technical users.

Prefer a safer option?

SheetGuard Companion writes these exact same registry keys for you — with one click, no manual editing, and a clean "Unblock" button to reverse everything.

SheetGuard Companion (Recommended)

Free, one-click, fully reversible

Best for: Everyone. Does the same thing as Method 4 (registry-level blocking) but without touching Registry Editor.

Download SheetGuard Companion for Windows (free, no account needed)
Open the app — no installer required
Choose Standard Block (disables Copilot) or Deep Block (also blocks AI data analysis and reduces Office telemetry)
Restart Excel — Copilot is disabled

To bring Copilot back, open the app and click "Unblock." All registry changes are cleanly reversed.

Why this method: It writes to the same registry keys as Method 4 but eliminates the risk of manual errors. No admin rights needed (writes to HKCU). The registry-level approach survives Office updates, unlike the Settings toggle. And unlike the Privacy Settings method, it targets Copilot specifically without disabling other connected experiences you might want to keep.

Download for Windows (Free) Learn more about Companion

For IT administrators: Group Policy & Intune

If you manage devices for an organization, you can disable Copilot across all machines using Microsoft 365 Cloud Policy or Intune configuration profiles. This requires:

Microsoft 365 Apps admin center or Intune access
Domain-joined or Entra ID-joined devices
Organization-level Microsoft 365 license

Set the policy "Turn off experiences that analyze content" to disable Copilot across the fleet. Note that this disables all content-analyzing connected experiences, not just Copilot. For more granular control, deploy the DisableCopilot registry key (Method 4) via a login script or Intune remediation.

Source: Microsoft Docs — Manage privacy controls for Microsoft 365 Apps

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Methods 1-3 (Excel Settings, Ribbon customization, Privacy Settings) require no admin rights. SheetGuard Companion also requires no admin rights — it writes to your user-level registry (HKCU). Only Group Policy requires administrator access.

The Excel Settings method (File > Options > Copilot) only disables Copilot in Excel. You need to repeat it in each Office app separately. The Privacy Settings method disables connected experiences across all Office apps. SheetGuard Companion targets Excel specifically by default.

Microsoft has been known to reset Copilot settings during major Office updates. The Excel Settings method is most vulnerable to this. Registry-level methods (manual or via SheetGuard Companion) are more durable because they use policy keys that Office respects across updates.

On Mac, go to Excel > Preferences (or Settings) and look for the Copilot toggle. The registry-based methods and SheetGuard Companion are Windows-only. Mac support for SheetGuard Companion is coming soon.

If your organization manages your device via Intune or Group Policy, IT admins can override user-level settings. In that case, contact your IT department to request Copilot be disabled for your account. SheetGuard Companion writes to HKCU (user-level), which typically takes precedence unless HKLM policies explicitly override it.

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