How to remove Ask Copilot from File Explorer context menu on Windows 11

• The File Explorer context menu now includes an “Ask Copilot” option.
• You can remove it by creating a {CB3B0003-8088-4EDE-8769-8B354AB2FF8C} Registry string and setting it to “Ask Copilot” inside the “Blocked” folder.
• Alternatively, you can uninstall the Copilot app, which removes all the associated entries across Windows 11.

On Windows 11, Microsoft continues the Copilot integration across the desktop and apps. Now, when you right-click on an image file or document, the context menu includes the “Ask Copilot” option. However, if you don’t want to further clutter the experience, you can remove it from the context menu, and in this guide, I’ll explain the steps to complete this configuration.

The Copilot option in the context menu for File Explorer isn’t technically a real integration. Instead, it’s an option that sends the items you’re selecting to the search prompt inside the Copilot app, allowing you to submit the file to the chatbot AI to ask any questions you may have about it.

Although this feature aims to make it easier to interact with Copilot and your files, it’s not for everyone. While the operating system doesn’t include an option to control the feature, you can remove the “Ask Copilot” option from the context menu by modifying the Registry or uninstalling the Copilot app.

In this guide, I’ll outline the steps to remove the Copilot AI integration from File Explorer on Windows 11.

• Remove Ask Copilot from File Explorer context menu using Registry
• Remove Ask Copilot from File Explorer context menu using Uninstall

Remove Ask Copilot from File Explorer context menu using Registry

To remove the Copilot option from File Explorer, follow these steps:

1. Open Start on Windows 11.

2. Search for regedit and click the top result to open the Registry.

3. (Option 1) Open the following path to make the changes for the current user:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions

4. Right-click the Shell Extensions key, select the New menu, and select the Key option.

   

5. Name the key Blocked and press Enter.

6. Right-click the newly created key, select the New menu, and select the “String Value” option.

   

7. Name the key {CB3B0003-8088-4EDE-8769-8B354AB2FF8C} and press Enter.

8. Double-click the newly created key and set its value to Ask Copilot to remove the option from the context menu in File Explorer.

   

9. Click the OK button.

10. (Option 2) Open the following path to make the changes for all users:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\

11. Right-click the Shell Extensions key, select the New menu, and select the Key option.

    

12. Name the key Blocked and press Enter.

13. Right-click the newly created key, select the New menu, and select the “String Value” option.

    

14. Name the key {CB3B0003-8088-4EDE-8769-8B354AB2FF8C} and press Enter.

15. Double-click the newly created key and set its value to Ask Copilot to remove the option from the context menu in File Explorer.

    

16. Click the OK button.

17. Restart the computer.

Once you complete the steps, whether you right-click on the desktop, file, or folder on File Explorer, the classic context menu will appear instead of the modern menu.

If you don’t want to restart the computer, you can also open Command Prompt and run this taskkill /f /im explorer.exe & start explorer.exe to terminate and relaunch all the File Explorer components.

Remove Ask Copilot from File Explorer context menu using Uninstall

To uninstall the Copilot app to remove the Ask Copilot context menu option, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on Apps.

3. Click the Installed apps page.

4. Open the Copilot menu (three dots) on the right side.

5. Click the Uninstall button.

   

6. Click the Uninstall button again to confirm.

Once you complete the steps, the “Ask Copilot” option will no longer appear when right-clicking files in File Explorer. You may also need to restart the computer for the settings to apply.