Microsoft has begun stripping out AI from Windows 11 — but it's already being criticized for not going far enough

Al removal blitz is simply a case of 'rebranding to reduce backlash'?

10 Apr 2026, 13:00 by https://www.techradar.com/uk/author/darren-allan · TechRadar

News By Darren Allan published 10 April 2026

(Image credit: Getty Images)

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Microsoft's drive to remove AI from Windows 11 has started
The Snipping Tool and Notepad apps have seen some changes
However, the Notepad tweak doesn't remove the AI features, it just rebrands them away from Copilot – and that hasn't gone down well

Microsoft has begun the process of removing AI from Windows 11, which is good news on the face of it for many, but the catch is that one of the first moves made here is disappointingly minor in its nature.

Windows Latest noticed that Snipping Tool has had Copilot completely removed from it, and this is for all Windows 11 users. On top of that, there's been a change for Notepad, although this is still in testing, and it's where things get more complicated.

That's because in the case of the preview version of Notepad, all that's been ditched is the Copilot icon itself. The AI tools remain in the text editor; it's just that they're now called 'writing tools' and are accompanied by a new icon, which is just a generic graphic of a pen (and isn't colored, like the Copilot button, so it is a lot more subtle).

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In other words, this is about ditching the Copilot branding, but not the actual AI functionality from Notepad (in testing).

As you might imagine, the reaction to this has not been favorable. As one Redditor puts it: "So it's still Copilot, just in disguise and called writing tools."

Someone else observes: "Yeah, this feels less like removal and more like rebranding to reduce backlash."

And another Redditor laments that: "The world is no longer about reality. It's fully shifted to 'optics.'"

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