Windows Copilot is a new feature and AI assistant for Windows 11 devices and it is integrated with Bing Chat and first and 3rd party plugins. You can click on the Windows Copilot taskbar icon to invoke it and then it will appear as a side bar (on the right section) so that you can use it while working with other programs, apps, etc. By default, the icon of this personal assistant remains on the taskbar, but you can also hide its icon from on taskbar and show it again when needed. This post covers all the possible ways to show or hide the Copilot button on the taskbar in Windows 11.
Currently, there is only an early preview available of Windows Copilot. This feature is provided with a controlled rollout to users with insider preview build 23493 or higher, so not all users have this feature. In addition, make sure you are using Microsoft Edge version 115.0.1901.150 or higher. Then only you would be able to get this feature and use the options to show/hide the Copilot icon on Windows 11 taskbar.
How do I enable Copilot in Windows 11?
By default, the Windows Copilot feature remains enabled in Windows 11. You only have to activate it or turn it on (if it’s off) using the native options. But, if you can’t enable the Copilot feature and you see that the Copilot button is greyed out in your Windows 11 PC, then it can happen if an associated setting is configured in the Group Policy Editor window or Registry Editor that disabled Windows Copilot. You need to access that particular setting and then change the configuration to enable Windows Copilot again. We have covered the steps to enable/disable Copilot in Windows 11 using Group Policy and Registry as well in this post below.
How to Show or Hide Copilot Button on Taskbar in Windows 11
There are four ways to show or hide the copilot button on the taskbar in Windows 11:
- Show or Hide Copilot button on Taskbar using the Settings app
- Show or Hide the Copilot icon on Taskbar using the Registry Editor
- Enable or Disable the Copilot button on Taskbar using the Group Policy Editor
- Enable or Disable the Copilot button on Taskbar using the Registry Editor.
Let’s check each option in detail.
1] Show or Hide Copilot button on Taskbar using the Settings app
Use the following steps to show or hide the Copilot button on the taskbar using Windows 11 Settings app:
- Press the Win+I shortcut key. The Settings app will open
- Select the Personalization category
- Access the Taskbar page
- Expand the Taskbar items section
- Use the Copilot toggle to show/hide the Copilot icon from the taskbar.
2] Show or Hide the Copilot icon on Taskbar using the Registry Editor
The steps to show/hide the Copilot icon on Windows 11 taskbar using the Registry Editor are given below. We recommend backup Windows Registry before making any changes to it.
- Press the Win+R shortcut key to open the Run Command box
- Type regedit in the text field
- Hit the Enter key to open the Windows Registry
- Select the Advanced Registry key under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER root key. The path is as follows:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
- You will see multiple DWORD (32-Bit) Values on the right section
- Double-click on the ShowCopilotButton DWORD Value to edit it. This will open a small box. If you don’t see this value, then first, right-click on an empty area > New > Key. Rename the new key to ShowCopilotButton
- Put 0 in the Value data field of ShowCopilotButton DWORD value
- Press the OK button.
This will turn off the Copilot button in the Settings app of Windows 11, which will hide or remove the Copilot icon from the taskbar.
To show or add the Copilot icon on Windows 11 taskbar using the Registry Editor, you can follow the steps mentioned above. You only need to put 1 in the Value data field of the ShowCopilotButton DWORD value and press the OK button for it.
Related: How to use Microsoft Copilot in Word
3] Enable or Disable the Copilot button on Taskbar using the Group Policy Editor
This method overrides the Settings app option and Registry Editor option (covered above) and completely disables the Copilot button. As a result, the Copilot button or icon is removed from the taskbar in Windows 11.
In addition, the Copilot button is greyed out in the Settings app and you will see a Some of these settings are managed by your organization message there. Don’t worry, you can also undo the changes when needed. Here are the steps to enable or Copilot button on the taskbar using the Group Policy Editor in Windows 11:
- Press the Win+R hotkey. It will open the Run Command box
- Type gpedit.msc in its text field and press the OK button. This will open the Group Policy Editor window
- Navigate to the following folder in the Group Policy Editor window:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar
- Access the Hide the Copilot button setting by double-clicking on it. This action will open another window
- Click on the Enabled option in that window
- Click on the Apply button and OK button
- Restart your Windows 11 PC.
This will disable the Copilot button for all users on your Windows 11 PC.
Later, to enable the Copilot button in Windows 11, use the steps covered above, and access the Hide the Copilot button setting. Click on the Not Configured option for this setting, press the Apply button, and then the OK button. Restart your system for applying the changes.
Now you can open the Settings app and turn on the Copilot button from the associated section and this will show Copilot icon on your Windows 11 taskbar.
4] Enable or Disable the Copilot button on Taskbar using the Registry Editor
While the Registry Editor method that we covered above only shows or hides the Copilot button from the taskbar, this option lets you remove the Copilot button from the taskbar as well as disable the Copilot button or feature present in the Settings app (just like the Group Policy Editor option). You can always enable the Copilot feature later as well. Carefully follow the steps below to enable or disable the Copilot icon on the taskbar using the Registry Editor:
- Type regedit in your Windows 11 Search box
- Hit the Enter key to open the Registry Editor window
- Access the Windows Registry key using the path given below:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
- Select the Explorer Registry key. If you don’t see an Explorer key there, then right-click on Windows Registry key > New > Key. When the Registry key is added, rename it to Explorer
- On the right-hand section of that key, create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value. Set the name of this value as HideCopilotButton. This Registry value is associated with the Copilot button and you need to change its Value data to hide the Copilot button from taskbar
- Double-click on the HideCopilotButton value and an Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value box will pop up
- Add 1 in the Value data field
- Press the OK button.
That’s it! You might also need to restart the PC for applying the changes.
In case, you have to enable the Copilot icon on the taskbar using the Registry Editor on your Windows 11 PC, follow the above steps. You can delete the HideCopilotButton DWORD value and then restart the PC. Once done, use the Settings app to turn on the Copilot button and show it on the taskbar.
Also Read: Taskbar icons not showing, missing, invisible, blank in Windows PC
How do I not combine Taskbar buttons in Windows 11?
If you don’t want to combine taskbar buttons in Windows 11, then you need to use the Settings app. Open the Settings app > access Personalization > select Taskbar section > and expand Taskbar behaviors section. Open the drop-down menu for Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels and select the Never option. You can also change this taskbar behavior to Always or When taskbar is full.
The option to never combine taskbar buttons in Windows 11 has come with insider preview build 23466. We can expect this feature to come in the stable version of Windows 11 soon.
Hope this is helpful.
Read next: Taskbar has disappeared from the Desktop in Windows PC.
