Microsoft Cuts 8 Copilot Features From Windows 11 Explorer

Microsoft continues to adjust its artificial intelligence strategy in Windows 11. A few months after promising structural changes, the tech giant confirmed it will remove several Copilot actions integrated into File Explorer. The company is not abandoning its assistant entirely, as it will keep reinforcing it in other areas that offer clear value to users.

According to Windows Latest, Microsoft will eliminate eight Copilot features currently available from the File Explorer context menu. When you right-click, you will no longer be able to access options to summarize documents, compare files, extract text, or explain image content. These functions were tied to OneDrive and Copilot services, and they will disappear starting in December 2026.

“We’re simplifying how people use Copilot with their OneDrive files in File Explorer,” the company said in a Microsoft Admin Center update. “Users can continue working with their OneDrive files in Copilot from a central place by right-clicking a file and selecting Ask Copilot, or hovering over a file in File Explorer Home and selecting the Copilot icon.”

Copilot actions will not vanish completely, as they will remain available in the OneDrive activity center.

What Copilot features are disappearing from File Explorer?

The Copilot features being removed from the File Explorer context menu fall under the OneDrive category. When you right-click a file, the menu displays various AI functions for OneDrive that change depending on the content type. These include:

Summarize
Create FAQ
Compare files
Ask a question
Explain image
Explain images
Compare images
Extract text

If you have never seen these features, it is because you do not have OneDrive installed or you uninstalled the Copilot app for Windows 11. If you do use them, you only have a few weeks before Microsoft removes them from the context menu. The company confirmed the rollout of the removal will begin in mid-November and conclude in December 2026.

Pulling Copilot back from File Explorer marks a new phase in Microsoft’s plan to reduce the footprint of AI across the operating system. Months ago, Windows chief Pavan Davuluri promised the company would focus on improving performance and user experience. The executive had to reverse a strategy aimed at turning Windows 11 into an agent-driven system, a proposal that drew immediate backlash from thousands of dissatisfied users.

Microsoft won’t eliminate AI from Windows 11 entirely

Since March of this year, Microsoft has stripped Copilot integrations from Snipping Tool, Photos, Notepad, and Widgets. Xbox also walked back other AI-backed features intended to enhance gaming sessions, which never gained the necessary traction among players.

Despite this, the company remains firm in its goal of making Windows 11 a platform built for AI agent workflows. The most recent proof came at the Surface event, where the first computers featuring NVIDIA’s RTX Spark chip were confirmed. Both companies will push laptops powered by these processors, capable of running language models directly on the device—something Qualcomm promised two years ago with the Copilot+ PC lineup, which never fully caught on with consumers.