Windows 11 gets a new context menu item, and people already want it removed

Sometimes, a new Windows feature is a nasty game of “good news, bad news.” Well, here’s the good news: Microsoft is making it easier to invoke a particular app via the context menu. Just right-click the file you want to send to the app and click on its new shiny button to ship it over in a snap. The bad news is, that “app” is Copilot, and people are already finding ways to remove this new context menu items from their computer.

As spotted by Neowin, a new “Ask Copilot” context menu has appeared in Windows 11 as part of the 1.25044.93.0 update. The idea behind this new feature is that you can right-click a file and send it to Copilot, then ask the AI questions about it. It’s presumably to speed up the process of having Copilot digest a particularly large file so you can get a summary of it.

There’s just one problem: people really, really don’t want this new feature on their context menu. I mean, it’s already getting a little crowded in there, so adding a new tool that people may not want to use isn’t going to win it any fans.

Fortunately, Neowin also spotted a way to get this new addition off your system:

…a simple tweak in the system registry can remove “Ask Copilot” from the context menu. All you need to do is open Notepad and paste the following text (via ElevenForum):

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Blocked] “{CB3B0003-8088-4EDE-8769-8B354AB2FF8C}”=”Ask Copilot”

After that, save the file, change its extension from txt to reg, and double-click it. Confirm changes in the registry and restart your computer.

Given that these steps require editing important files, I do personally recommend you manually back up your Windows Registry before running the command.

So, why is Microsoft adding a feature that people don’t really want? Well, it’s very clearly a means to gett people to use Copilot more. After all, if it always pops up when you right-click a file, it at least keeps Copilot in people’s minds, regardless of whether they actually use it or not. And given how a recent report claims that Microsoft’s Copilot user base has already plateaued and shows no sign of increasing, it’s also likely a way for Microsoft to encourage more people to use its tool.