How to Disable the “Discover” Bing Chat Button in Microsoft Edge

How to Disable the “Discover” Bing Chat Button in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft has updated Edge with the new Bing AI Chat as promised. The Bing icon can be found in the upper right corner of the Edge browser window, and Microsoft has made it annoyingly difficult to remove it.

You might have noticed a new button with the Bing logo in the top-right corner of the browser window if you are using Microsoft Edge on Windows 11 or 10. By pressing this button, a sidebar that Microsoft refers to as “Discover” or “Edge Copilot” will open, allowing you to communicate with the Bing chatbot. The Bing chatbot can answer complex questions for you, use AI to create draft emails and other types of content, and give you information about the website you are currently viewing.

Also: How To Try The New AI-Powered Bing Search

However, not everyone may find this feature useful or convenient. The sidebar appearing even when a user just hovers over the button may irritate some users. Others may prefer to use a different search engine or chatbot service. If you are one of those users who want to get rid of the Bing Chat button in Microsoft Edge, we’ll show you how to turn it off.

The Bing AI Chat button was added to Microsoft Edge 111. The update includes the new “Discover” sidebar as well, which Microsoft also refers to as “Edge Copilot.” The sidebar can easily be turned off, but the Bing Chat button is harder to get rid of. If that wasn’t annoying enough, it opens even if you just hover your mouse cursor over it.

There are two ways to disable the Bing Chat button in Microsoft Edge: from the browser settings or from the Registry Editor. The first method is easier and safer, but it may not be available for all users depending on their Edge version. The second method is more advanced and risky, but it works for any version of Edge. We will explain both methods in detail below.

Method 1: Disable Bing Chat Button from Browser Settings

To disable the Bing Chat button from Microsoft Edge settings, follow these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Edge on your Windows 11 or 10 device.

2. Click the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner and select Settings.

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3. Click on Sidebar from the left pane.

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4. Under the “App and notification settings” section, click on Discover.

5. Turn off the Show Discover toggle switch to remove the Bing Chat button from Microsoft Edge.

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6. (Optional) Turn on the Show Discover toggle switch to enable the button again.

That’s it! You have successfully removed the Bing Chat button from Microsoft Edge using the browser settings. 

Method 2: Disable Bing Chat Button from Registry Editor

You can remove the Bing button by editing your registry. There’s no graphical setting in Edge to disable it. We will take you through the steps to disable the Bing Chat button in Edge on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

How to Remove the Bing Button in Edge on Windows

To disable the Bing Chat button from Microsoft Edge on Windows using the Registry Editor, follow these steps:

1. Open the Start Menu and search for “Registry” to find and open the Registry Editor.

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2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Policies\\Microsoft in the left sidebar.

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3. Right-click on a blank space in the “Microsoft” folder and click New > Key.

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4. Name the subfolder “Edge“.

5. In the “Edge” subfolder you just created, right-click and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.

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6. Name it “HubsSidebarEnabled“.

7. Double-click the newly created value and set its value data to 0 (zero).

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8. Click OK to save the changes.

9. Now, open Microsoft Edge and navigate to edge://policy. Click “Reload Policies.”

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10. Close the Registry Editor and restart Microsoft Edge.

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You have successfully removed the Bing Chat button from Microsoft Edge using the Registry Editor on Windows. 

Also: How To Launch The New Bing Or ChatGPT As A Windows App

How to Remove Bing Button in Edge on Mac

On a Mac, you can use a command to disable the Bing button instead.

First, open the “Terminal” app. Copy and paste the following command and hit Enter:

open -n -a "Microsoft Edge" --args --disable-features=msEdgeSidebarV2
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The Microsoft Edge browser will launch, and the Bing button should be gone!

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Check that Edge is completely closed before running the command again.

How to Get Rid of the Bing Button in Edge on Linux

Microsoft Edge runs on Linux, too, and Linux users can also remove the button. On Linux, it works just like it does on macOS.

To launch Edge with the button disabled, open a Terminal and run the following command:

microsoft-edge-stable --disable-features=msEdgeSidebarV2
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You can also customize the Edge launcher in your desktop environment. When you add the flag to the command field, it will also take effect when you launch Edge from there.

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How do you do it? This depends on the Linux desktop environment you’re using, but you can usually find configuration options by right-clicking the Edge launcher icon.

Fortunately, removing the button on Edge for Mac and Linux is a little easier, but it’s still annoying. Microsoft has added many features to Edge over time, and it has become somewhat bloated. Another step in the wrong direction is not letting users decide whether or not they want some features.