How-To

How to Disable Bing Chat AI from Windows 11 Search

By Brian Burgess

Updated April 17, 2023

Microsoft is integrating its AI technology within the Windows 11 UI. However, if you don’t like it, you can disable Bing Chat AI from search.

You may have spotted the fresh Bing icon adorning the Windows 11 taskbar’s search box. This symbol, featuring the letter ‘B‘ encircled by a speech bubble, opens up access to the Bing AI chatbot.

Microsoft is currently introducing this enhanced search box and AI system to Windows 11 users. The integration isn’t seamless, however, as your inquiries are directed to the Bing AI Chat page through the Microsoft Edge browser.

If you’re not interested in Bing Chat AI, you can disable it by following the steps below.

Where to Find Bing Chat AI

As noted, this new AI feature is rudimentary and not fully integrated. You can’t just start chatting with Bing AI from the search field on the taskbar—you don’t have the full Bing AI experience merged within Windows 11 just yet.

To use it, you need to type your query and press Enter. Alternatively, you can click the Bing Chat AI button in the top-right or top-left corner of the web results page.

The search feature will open Microsoft Edge to the Bing Chat AI page, where you can continue interacting with the AI. Currently, this is only a launching button for Edge.

How to Disable Bing Chat AI from Windows 11 Search

If you find that the Bing Chat AI button gets in your way while searching for content, you can get rid of it.

To disable Bing Chat AI from the Search field on the taskbar:

1. Press the Windows key and open Settings, or use the Windows key + I shortcut to open it directly.
2. When Settings opens, click Privacy & security from the left panel.
3. Scroll down to the Windows permissions section and click on Search permissions from the list.
4. Now, scroll down to the More settings section and toggle off the Show search highlights option.
5. The Bing Chat AI icon will no longer appear in the search field.

It’s also important to note that turning off this setting will disable web suggestions and remove the AI chatbot shortcut from the search home interface. However, you can still access the AI chatbot from the top left and top right corners of the search home UI.

If you want to reenable the feature, go back to the same section of the Settings app and toggle on the Show search highlights option.

Remove Bing AI Button from Edge Settings

With a recent update, Microsoft is allowing Edge users to turn off the button from within the browser’s own settings.

To turn off Bing AI Chat button:

1. Open Settings in Edge.
2. Select the Sidebar option from the left column.
3. Under the App specific settings section, click Discover.
4. Toggle the Show Discover setting off, and the button will disappear.

Currently, Microsoft is still in the process of rolling out the Bing Chat AI feature in Search to Windows 11 users. If you don’t see it yet, it should arrive soon via Windows Update. If you don’t want to wait, you can manually check for updates on Windows 11 and get the feature sooner.

Managing Search on Windows 11

Whether you are ready for it or not, AI is coming to play a significant role in our lives. Microsoft also plans to integrate its AI service with other products like Office in the future. However, you can get rid of it for now if you don’t care about the feature.

When it comes to searching Windows 11, there are other things you might be interested in. For example, if you are not getting the desired results, you can manage search indexing on Windows 11. Also, if you don’t like search taking up room on the taskbar, you can hide or change the search box.

If you find the search box useful, you might periodically encounter problems. So, check out our tips on how to fix the search box not working. Or, if you only want to search specific files and folders, learn about hiding files and folders from the search on Windows 11.