Browsers and Mail Enable or Disable Browse with Copilot in Microsoft Edge on Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable browse with Copilot in Microsoft Edge for your account or all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Microsoft Edge is the AI-powered browser. A smarter way to browse. As the only browser built and optimized for Windows, it’s AI-powered tools are designed to help you make the most of your time online. Whether you’re searching, shopping or gaming, AI-powered tools and a security-first approach help you stay productive, save money, and get things done your way.

Browse with Copilot (formerly known as Copilot Actions in Edge) lets Copilot perform actions directly in your browser, such as selecting, typing, and navigating within a tab. You can see each step in real time and take control at any time. All actions run locally in your browser, ensuring full visibility and control.

When you ask Copilot to complete a task, it interprets your request and takes the necessary steps to carry it out. Depending on the task, Copilot can work in your current tab or open a new tab in the same window. It interacts with webpages the same way you do - by selecting, scrolling, and typing. The tab where Copilot is working shows a cursor icon in the tab menu, so you can easily locate it and monitor its actions. You can interrupt or take control at any time.

Browse with Copilot is rolling out as feature for Microsoft 365 Premium subscribers in the US, with additional markets to follow.

Using a simple, conversational prompt as input, you can instruct Copilot to perform tasks on the web using Microsoft Edge. Copilot has access to your Edge profile information and browsing activity to better and more quickly complete your tasks.

You can ask Copilot to do simple tasks like navigating to website, reserving a restaurant, booking an appointment, editing your current webpage, and so much more.

Browse with Copilot includes several safeguards: Edge blocklists prevent Copilot from accessing high-risk sites (adult content, gambling); enhanced security settings let you control site-level access; a first-use consent dialog explains how the feature works and the risks to acknowledge. The feature is experimental and may misinterpret instructions, make mistakes, or be affected by malicious hidden instructions on web pages, so Microsoft recommends monitoring its activity closely.

What security consideration should you be aware of?

• Prompt Injection: Malicious sites may try to trick Copilot into performing unintended actions. For example, you might ask Copilot to order ingredients from a recipe webpage. While processing the page, it could encounter hidden malicious text designed to override your request, for instance, directing it to visit another site to collect sensitive information instead.
• Unintended actions: Copilot may misinterpret your request or act differently than you expect. Please monitor its activity closely.
• Financial risks: Using Copilot for purchases or banking could expose sensitive information or result in unauthorized actions.
• Privacy risks: Copilot may interact with sites that contain personal, sensitive, or confidential data.

Copilot includes safeguards designed to help reduce risks, but you should exercise caution and closely monitor Copilots work.

Microsoft Edge includes several safety measures to help reduce these risks:

• Edge Blocklists: Edge can prevent Copilot from accessing high-risk sites, such as adult content or gambling websites.
• Edge Security lists: Enhanced security settings let you control how much access Copilot has on certain sites. You can also specify sites that Copilot should never be allowed to visit in your Edge Settings.
• Restricted Edge profile information: While Copilot is completing Actions and interacting with webpages in Edge, it cannot access autofill data, saved passwords, or wallet information.

Copilot uses the following data in Edge to do its job:

• Screenshots: Copilot captures screenshots of the webpage it is using solely to browse and act on your behalf. These screenshots are never used for training.
• Edge profile data access: Copilot uses your current browser window to perform tasks, which includes limited information within your Edge profile, it does not have unrestricted access to all your data.
• Cookies: Copilot can access cookies, which means if you’re already signed into a site that Copilot has access to, it will also be signed in automatically. To avoid this, you can either delete all cookies before testing Actions in Edge or start with a brand-new browser profile. View how you can manage your cookies.
• Open tabs in browser window: With Actions in Edge Preview, Copilot has access to the tabs currently open in your browser window to help with tasks. For example, summarizing multiple tabs and performing an action based on that summary. It can also work directly in an existing tab if you explicitly ask, such as reformatting a document you already have open.
• Site Permissions: when you ask Copilot to perform a simple action like going to a web site, the web site that is opened by Copilot will have the same permissions to device capabilities such as camera, location, or microphone, that it would as if you navigated to the site yourself. So, if you have granted a site permissions previously, these permissions still apply. When Copilot is interacting with a site, such as clicking, searching, scrolling, then these permissions are temporarily suspended.

When Copilot is performing an action, Copilot takes screenshots of the pages it visits to “see” and interact with them. These screenshots are limited to the tabs Copilot is working on in the current browser window. They are saved with the conversation in your history, allowing you to review Copilot’s work. Screenshots are not used for training. When you delete a conversation, the associated screenshots are also deleted. Otherwise, screenshots are retained for up to 30 days.

As part of Copilot Actions in Edge Preview, your text prompts and Copilot's responses are saved in the conversation history, along with a record of Copilot’s work it did on your behalf. The information that you enter directly into a webpage, such as personal data in a form, is not saved by Copilot but it may be saved in Edge. While Copilot is in control, it takes screenshots of the pages it visits. If you stop the Action, you will now be in control, so Copilot will not capture or send any screenshots until you start the Action again. This information is stored so there is a clear history to help troubleshoot and review Copilot’s work. Copilot Actions in Edge Preview responses are monitored to help prevent unsafe interactions and outputs. If a task requires your input, such as personal details or payment information, Copilot will ask you to provide it, and you can take control of the tab and enter it yourself. When entering the information on the page, Copilot does not save it, though Edge may save it.

Copilot will ask for your attention and supervision for certain actions such as buying an item, booking a reservation, sending an email, or deleting an event from a calendar. For certain websites, it will ask you to monitor the work or take control, specifically on higher-risk sites like banking or email. It may also ask you to approve a site if it doesn’t seem directly related to your task.

Browse with Copilot does not work with every site. There are also a few important examples where Copilot in Edge will not work, by design:

• Policy-blocked sites: Sites that don’t align to Copilot’s policies, such as sites containing offensive content, will not be accessible. For more information on our policy see Terms of Use and Content Policy.
• Your Allow and Block lists: Actions in Edge are limited to a curated set of sites that are approved. If a site isn’t on this allow list, Copilot won’t be able to interact with it until you approve it. You can also create your own list of sites that Copilot is blocked from accessing when using Actions in Edge. To add sites to the allow or block list in Edge settings, go to Settings > Copilot and AI > Browse with Copilot. Then, select Manage what URLs can or cannot be accessed by Browse with Copilot. There you can add sites to either of these lists.

You can adjust Copilot permissions to control how Copilot handles site security and permissions, and there are three levels:

• Light (least secure): Apply minimal protections, allowing Copilot to navigate and act on most sites without asking for your permission. Using this mode increases the risk of malicious activity.
• Balanced (recommended): Copilot can work on popular, commonly trusted websites without asking for your confirmation. For unfamiliar or less common sites, it will ask for your approval before continuing.
• Strict (most secure): Copilot will always ask for your permission before working on any site.

Additionally, in Settings, you can add sites to an allow list where Copilot is permitted to act, or add sites to a block list where Copilot will never be able to act.

When Copilot needs access to a site it doesn’t already have permission for it will ask you in a prompt within the chat. You can choose from the following options:

• Always allow grants Copilot ongoing permission for this site for multiple actions. It won’t ask again. Only use this for sites you trust.
• Allow once grants Copilot access to this site for a single action. Copilot will ask again next time. This is the safest option.
• Cancel prevents Copilot from taking this action and stops the action.

Reference:





EXAMPLE: Copilot Actions in Edge






1 Open Microsoft Edge.

2 Click/tap on the Settings and more (Alt+F) 3 dots menu icon, and click/tap on Settings. (see screenshot below)


3 Click/tap on Copilot and AI in the left pane, and click/tap on Browse with Copilot in the right pane. (see screenshot below)

If you do not see a left pane, then either click/tap on the 3 bars menu button towards the top left OR widen the horizontal borders of the Microsoft Edge window until you do.

4 Do step 5 (on) or step 5 (off) below for what you want.

These settings control how Copilot handles site security and permissions, and there are three levels:

> Light (least secure): Apply minimal protections, allowing Copilot to navigate and act on most sites without asking for your permission. Using this mode increases the risk of malicious activity.

> Balanced (recommended): Copilot can work on popular, commonly trusted websites without asking for your confirmation. For unfamiliar or less common sites, it will ask for your approval before continuing.

> Strict (most secure): Copilot will always ask for your permission before working on any site.

This is the default setting.

7 You can now close the Settings tab if you like.

You must be signed in as an administrator to use this option.

This option uses the AllowBrowsingWithCopilot policy for Microsoft Edge.

1 Do step 2 (always enable), step 3 (disable), or step 4 (default) below for what you want.

This will prevent using Option One.

(Contents of REG file for reference)

This will prevent using Option One.

(Contents of REG file for reference)

This is the default setting to allow using Option One.

(Contents of REG file for reference)

5 Save the .reg file to your desktop.

6 If you have Smart App Control turned on, you will need to unblock the downloaded REG file.

7 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

9 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

9 If Microsoft Edge is currently open, then close and reopen Microsoft Edge to apply.

10 You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink