Microsoft Accidentally Uninstalls Copilot in Latest Windows 11 Update

Recently, some Windows 11 users have noticed that the Microsoft Copilot application on their devices was "unexpectedly uninstalled" due to the latest monthly update. The Patch Tuesday update, which started rolling out on March 11, caused the Copilot app to be unpinned from the taskbar and uninstalled.

Addressing this issue, Microsoft acknowledged the problem in the support documentation for the March update of Windows 11. The company stated that it is working on a fix and recommended that affected users temporarily reinstall the Copilot app from the Microsoft Store and manually pin it back to the taskbar.

Although this is clearly a bug in the latest Windows update, it is undeniable that for some Windows 11 users who are not particularly interested in Copilot, this "accident" might actually be a welcome outcome. Notably, Microsoft is gradually rolling out the local version of the Copilot for Windows app, nearly a year after transforming the app into a basic web application. The new version of the Copilot app features an improved user interface and adds a press-to-talk hotkey function, enabling users to interact with Microsoft's AI assistant much like they did with Cortana in Windows 10.

In addition, Microsoft is working on more updates for Copilot and plans to unveil them at its 50th-anniversary special event on April 4. At the event, Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, will take the stage to announce the new functionalities of Copilot. Meanwhile, rumors suggest that Microsoft is developing its own AI inference model to compete with OpenAI.