Installing Edge Beta on a Windows device will automatically install Copilot

Copilot appears to be non-functional.

3 min. read

Published onMarch 19, 2024

published onMarch 19, 2024

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In a weird turn of events, it seems that installing Microsoft Edge Beta on a Windows device, regardless if the user is on Windows 10, or Windows 11, will automatically install Microsoft Copilot on that device.

Susan Bradly discovered this apparent issue andposted it on X(formerly known as Twitter), but we decided to try it on our own, and we confirm it’s happening.

Even more, we tried it on a Windows 11 device, located in Europe (where Microsoft Copilot is not available), and it works: by installing Edge Beta on your device, Microsoft Copilot will also be installed, as you can see in the image below. (For clarification, I installed Edge Beta on March 7, but I repeated the installation today, and Copilot was already there.)

However, the app appears to be non-functional, and if a Windows device already has Copilot enabled, installing Edge Beta won’t install it once again (at least, this is what I’ve managed to notice, so far, although it might not be the general case).

The AI tool won’t appear in the Windows taskbar either. I tried it on a Windows 10 device, and it didn’t show up. It is also very small in size: Windows 11’s Apps measures it at a mere 16KB.

However, uninstalling Microsoft Edge Beta won’t uninstall Microsoft Copilot, and although it can be uninstalled, you’ll have to do it manually. Ultimately, the app doesn’t do anything, and Copilot will not appear in the Windows taskbar; but it appears as an installed app in Windows’ Settings, even on devices where Copilot is not yet available (such as the EEA region).

It’s worth mentioning that you don’t have to be an Insider, and your device doesn’t need to be enlisted in the Windows Insider Program for this to happen – it’s known that devices enlisted in the program can access special features not yet available in the stable channel.

Regular Windows users can have Microsoft Copilot installed on their devices by simply installing Edge Beta. The app doesn’t seem to affect performance, and in our case, it didn’t even show in Task Manager.

We don’t know yet if the installation is general, or not, but we tried it on two devices, one with Windows 11, and one with Windows 10, and when we installed Microsoft Edge Beta, Copilot appeared, as well.

As the X user said:What is this and what does it do?We don’t know just yet. Have you experienced it?

With KB5043178 to Release Preview Channel, Microsoft advises Windows 11 users to plug in when the battery is low#

Copilot in Outlook will generate personalized themes for you to customize the app#

Microsoft will raise the price of its 365 Suite to include AI capabilities#

Death Stranding Director’s Cut is now Xbox X|S at a huge discount#

Outlook will let users create custom account icons so they can tell their accounts apart easier#

Installing Edge Beta on a Windows device will automatically install Copilot#

With KB5043178 to Release Preview Channel, Microsoft advises Windows 11 users to plug in when the battery is low

Copilot in Outlook will generate personalized themes for you to customize the app

Microsoft will raise the price of its 365 Suite to include AI capabilities

Death Stranding Director’s Cut is now Xbox X|S at a huge discount

Outlook will let users create custom account icons so they can tell their accounts apart easier

Installing Edge Beta on a Windows device will automatically install Copilot