Microsoft's most recent Patch Tuesday update, released on March 11, 2025, mistakenly removed the AI-powered Copilot assistant from select Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs.
The company has acknowledged the issue and confirmed that the cumulative updates KB5053598 (Windows 24H2) and KB5053606 (Windows 10 22H2) caused the unintended removal of Copilot.
According to Microsoft, the update uninstalls and unpins the Copilot app from the taskbar. However, this problem doesn't affect the Microsoft 365 Copilot app. While Microsoft has yet to provide a thorough explanation for the bug's source, it has not been posted to the Windows release Health dashboard, where known issues are generally documented.
Microsoft recommends that customers affected by this issue reinstall Copilot from the Microsoft Store and manually re-pin it to the taskbar until an official fix is released. While this workaround restores Copilot's functionality, some users may appreciate the unintentional removal, as not all Microsoft customers are fans of the AI assistant.
This isn't the first time Microsoft has had to resolve unexpected changes involving Copilot. In June 2024, the company removed a mistakenly installed Copilot app from Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems after a defective Microsoft Edge update in April.
At the time, Microsoft informed its users that the wrongly installed Copilot program didn't collect or transfer data to its servers and was only meant to prepare devices for future Copilot features.
Microsoft has been actively improving its AI assistant, including removing Copilot. The company recently introduced a native Copilot app with a new user interface and a press-to-talk hotkey (Alt + Spacebar for 2 seconds) for voice interaction.
Additionally, Microsoft plans to introduce additional Copilot features during its 50th-anniversary event on April 4. AI CEO Mustufa Suleyman is expected to announce developments in Microsoft's AI initiatives at this event.
While Microsoft is actively working on a reservation for the March update issue, relying on Copilot will require manual reinstallation and reconfiguration of the app.