Microsoft confirmed that Edge updates may install the Copilot app on Windows devices. The company calls the app “Microsoft chat provider for Copilot in Windows”.
Microsoft added a new known issue on the Windows 11 version 23H2 dashboard. It confirms an issue that was first observed in March 2023.
Some Windows users noticed that Microsoft was installing a Copilot app on their devices. This app appeared after Microsoft Edge updates, including the update to Microsoft Edge 123 at the end of March 2024.
While sporting the Copilot name, it did not power the Copilot feature of the Windows operating system.
How to check if the app is installed: Select Start > Settings > Apps >Installed Apps, and search for Copilot.
Microsoft confirms the bug
Today, Microsoft confirmed that the installation of the application is a bug. The company writes:
Updates to Edge browser version 123.0.2420.65, released on March 28, 2024 and later, might incorrectly install a new package (MSIX) called ‘Microsoft chat provider for Copilot in Windows’ on Windows devices. Resulting from this, the Microsoft Copilot app might appear in the Installed apps in Settings menu.
Microsoft says that the app “does not execute any code or process” and that it “does not acquire, analyze, or transmit device or environment data in any capacity”.
What it does: Microsoft explains that the app is “intended to prepare some Windows devices for future Windows Copilot enablement” and that it is not intended for all devices.
Microsoft plans to remove the Microsoft Copilot app from Windows devices it is not intended for.
The company does not define “devices that it is intended for”, which makes it difficult to figure out if it was installed by error on a particular device. The only hint Microsoft provides is that it is not intended for most Windows Server devices.
How Microsoft plans to rectify the issue: Microsoft plans to release an update for Microsoft Edge to resolve the issue.
This is not the first Edge bug in recent time. Back in January, Microsoft Edge started to import tabs from Chrome automatically on user devices.
Have you used Copilot?
I do not believe for one second that this ‘installation’ of Copilot was a bug. More like Microsoft got caught red-handed and are doing damage control.
Nor do I believe that Microsoft’s January ‘accident’ of Microsoft Edge importing tabs from Chrome without the user’s permission.
And to answer your question, I do not use Copilot.