Microsoft Teams just made it easier to shut down Copilot and other AI tools

The Microsoft Teams app on a laptop arranged in New York, US, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. Microsoft Corp. risks a hefty European Union fine after regulators accused the company of abusing its market power by bundling the Teams video-conferencing app to its other business software. Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Microsoft has apparently heard the complaints that make it clear not everyone wants AI in their daily meetings. An upcoming change will make it possible to disable Copilot, Facilitator, and meeting recap within Teams.

Before you get excited about vanquishing the AI features, only licensed meeting organizers will be able to toggle the features on or off.

Here's the planned timeline for the release of the controls:

• Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out early July 2026 (previously early June) and expect to complete by mid-July 2026 (previously mid-June).
• General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out mid-July 2026 (previously mid-June) and expect to complete by end-of-July 2026 (previously late June).

Microsoft sent word of the changes through the Microsoft 365 Message Center. If you're not an admin, you can read them through the Microsoft 365 Message Center Archive.

All versions of Teams will be affected by the change (desktop, web, and mobile).

Meeting AI is a collection of features within Teams. It includes Copilot, Facilitator, and Intelligent recap. Admins can disable all Meeting AI features with a single toggle or enable or disable tools individually.

While it's easy to criticize AI, and there are times for it, these Teams features can be useful. Facilitator can provide information to address knowledge gaps automatically. Intelligent recap uses AI to take notes, create summaries, and gather highlights.

But as is the case with many AI features, people want the option to disable them. The new options coming to Teams make that much easier for admins.

When used as a way to enhance the work of a person, AI can improve productivity. But when people over rely on AI, quality suffers. Earlier this year, analyst Dennis Xu joked about banning AI use on Friday afternoons.

Xu's comments were tongue-in-check, but the general idea was that people would be too lazy on a Friday afternoon to double-check work completed by AI tools.

Considering that even Microsoft researchers suggest AI chatbots get "dumber" the longer you talk to them, it makes sense to give meeting organizers simple toggles to disable AI in Teams.

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