How do I remove Copilot on Outlook Classic?

Hi @Hubbard Kimberly M, 

I hope you are doing well today.  

Based on the information you shared that you would like to remove Copilot from Outlook (Classic), and additionally, you encountered a licensing message when attempting to switch to the new Outlook stating that the account cannot be added. 

To provide some context, Microsoft introduced Copilot across its Microsoft 365 applications, including Outlook Classic, as part of an update rolled out in 2025. Unfortunately, as confirmed by Microsoft's official support documentation, there is currently no built-in option to fully turn Copilot on or off specifically within Outlook Classic on Windows, and no estimated date has been provided for when this control will become available. Turn off Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps | Microsoft Support 

That said, the steps below to address this will differ depending on the type of account you are using, so please follow the guide that applies to your situation: 

Option 1: If your account is a personal account like outlook.com or hotmail.com, please try the step below first:

You can minimize or prevent Copilot-related features by adjusting application settings directly within Outlook: 

• First, open Outlook (Classic), go to File, then select Options, and use Customize Ribbon to remove the Copilot button from the interface. 
• Next, go to File > Office Account > Account Privacy > Manage Settings, and turn off Connected experiences, which are responsible for cloud-based AI features.  
• Finally, restart Outlook to ensure all changes are applied, which will reduce or remove Copilot visibility and functionality.  Note: Disabling connected experiences can also affect other cloud powered features such as certain online templates or enhanced suggestions, depending on the configuration. 
• Reference: Connected experiences in Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Support 

Option 2: If you don't have a permission, please contact your IT's administrator to follow this steps below: 

Since your account is managed by your organization, please contact your IT administrator to review your permissions and policies. If the issue persists after these checks, ask your IT administrator to submit a support request directly to Microsoft Support team.          

• Copilot availability is governed by your Microsoft 365 license, your IT or system administrator has the ability to disable Copilot for specific users or the entire organization. 
• Request that your admin navigate to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center > Users > Active Users > Licenses & apps and turn off all the list copilot under apps. 

• Also, copilot can be turned off through Group Policy settings. 
• Your IT admin can apply the policy: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Microsoft Outlook > Disable Copilot Features and set it to Enabled. 
•  Once applied, Copilot will no longer appear within your Outlook Classic interface. 
• If the issue persists after these checks, ask your IT administrator to submit a support request directly to Microsoft Support team.           
• They can raise a support ticket by visiting: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn     

In case you do not know who is your IT admin, kindly refer to this article: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support   

As community moderators, we appreciate your understanding that our access to internal development details is limited. Our primary role is to guide users toward the appropriate resources and support channels. While we may not have visibility into deeper backend analysis, we’ll continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities.          

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If you have any updates regarding the issue, please feel free to share them with me.           

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. I look forward to continuing the conversation.  

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