Microsoft pulls eight Copilot actions from Windows 11 File Explorer

Right-click a OneDrive file in Windows 11 and the context menu currently offers a Copilot submenu with eight ready-made AI actions. Those shortcuts are going away. Microsoft announced the retirement in the Microsoft 365 Message Center under ID MC1515940, published on October 19 and updated a day later. According to the notice, the retirement will begin in mid-November 2026 and is expected to be complete worldwide by early December. Microsoft has not given dates for individual devices.

The eight actions being removed

The list covers Summarize, Create FAQ, Compare Files and Ask a question, along with the image actions Explain image, Explain images and Compare images, plus Extract text. Microsoft's explanation is brief. It wants to simplify how people use Copilot with their OneDrive files in File Explorer, so it is consolidating everything into a single entry point. If you never used these shortcuts, you will not notice any difference.

What stays in the menu

Ask Copilot stays in the right-click menu. It opens a new Copilot conversation with the file attached, and you then type the task yourself. You can also hover over a file on the File Explorer Home page and select the Copilot icon. Microsoft says files are attached by reference, so their existing permissions and protections still apply. The eight actions are not gone entirely. They remain available in the OneDrive activity center. Admins do not need to do anything, according to Microsoft, but should tell users about the change and update any training or help desk documentation that references the removed actions.

Not the first Copilot cutback in Windows 11

Microsoft has already removed Copilot from other parts of Windows 11. In April, the Copilot buttons disappeared from Notepad and the Snipping Tool, and in May Microsoft confirmed that the Copilot key can be remapped to other functions. Windows Latest links the latest change to ongoing criticism of the AI features in Windows 11. Microsoft does not make that connection in its notice.

I write about IT security and artificial intelligence. Cybersecurity is one of my regular topics, among others for Golem.de. At Notebookcheck, my focus is on practical AI for everyday users. I have worked hands-on with AI for years, most recently with a focus on AI agents and their use in everyday work, and I test tools and models myself rather than just reading about them.