Personalization Add or Remove Copilot and "Find results in Web" in Windows Search in Windows 11


Copilot_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the "Ask Copilot" and "Find results in Web" (Web) icons on Windows Search toolbar for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Windows Search lets you search from your taskbar to find what you’re looking for, whether it’s on your device, in the cloud, or on the web.

The Search button on the taskbar allows you to quickly use Windows Search (Win+S) to find your apps, files, settings, help, and more on Windows—plus unlock the power of the web with quick access to online information like time zone conversions, fact lookup, trending searches, and search results for navigating to websites faster. You can also use Search to find files and people in your work or school organization through  Microsoft Search.

When you start typing into the Search Box, you will then see a toolbar to select All, Apps, Documents, Web, Settings, Folders, Photos, or Ask Copilot to find search results in.

Reference:

Search for anything, anywhere - Microsoft Support

Search Windows and the web on the taskbar, and search for answers, apps, files, and settings from the web and your PC.
support.microsoft.com support.microsoft.com


If you disable (remove) the "Ask Copilot" and "Find results in Web" (Web) icons in Windows Search, it will also disable Search Highlights.

This will show a Some of these settings are managed by your organization message at the top of the Settings > Privacy & security > Search permissions page.



Contents

  • Option One: Add or Remove Copilot and Web Icons in Windows Search with "BingSearchEnabled"
  • Option Two: Add or Remove Copilot and Web Icons in Windows Search with "DisableSearchBoxSuggestions"


EXAMPLE: "Ask Copilot" and "Find results in Web" (Web) icons on Windows Search toolbar enabled and disabled

Copilot_and_Web_icon_in_Windows_Search.jpg
Remove_Copilot_and_Web_icon_in_Windows_Search.jpg






Option One

Add or Remove Copilot and Web Icons in Windows Search with "BingSearchEnabled"


1 Do step 2 (enable) or step 3 (disable) below for what you want to do.

2 Add Copilot and Web Icons in Windows Search

This is the default setting.


A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4.​

Add_Copilot_and_Web_to_Windows_Search_option1.zip​


(contents of .bat file)
Code: 
@echo off

REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search" /V BingSearchEnabled /T REG_DWORD /D 1 /F

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

3 Remove Copilot and Web Icons in Windows Search

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4.​

Remove_Copilot_and_Web_from_Windows_Search_option1.zip​


(contents of .bat file)
Code: 
@echo off

REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search" /V BingSearchEnabled /T REG_DWORD /D 0 /F

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

4 Save the ZIP file to your desktop.

5 Unblock the ZIP file.

6 Extract the BAT file from the ZIP file.

7 Run the BAT file.

8 You will now see a command prompt quickly open and close, and your screen flicker as the explorer process is restarted to apply the registry changes.

9 You can now delete the BAT file if you like.




Option Two

Add or Remove Copilot and Web Icons in Windows Search with "DisableSearchBoxSuggestions"


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

If you disable search the web with Bing in Windows Search using this option, it will also disable search box suggestions (aka: recent searches) in File Explorer.


1 Do step 2 (enable) or step 3 (disable) below for what you want to do.


 2. Add Copilot and Web Icons in Windows Search

This is the default setting.


A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4.​

Add_Copilot_and_Web_to_Windows_Search_option2.zip​


(contents of .bat file)
Code: 
@echo off

powershell -windowstyle hidden -command "Start-Process cmd -ArgumentList '/s,/c,REG Delete "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer" /V DisableSearchBoxSuggestions /F' -Verb runAs"

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe


 3. Remove Copilot and Web Icons in Windows Search

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4.​

Remove_Copilot_and_Web_from_Windows_Search_option2.zip​


(contents of .bat file)
Code: 
@echo off

powershell -windowstyle hidden -command "Start-Process cmd -ArgumentList '/s,/c,REG Add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer" /V DisableSearchBoxSuggestions /T REG_DWORD /D 1 /F' -Verb runAs"

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

4 Save the ZIP file to your desktop.

5 Unblock the ZIP file.

6 Extract the BAT file from the ZIP file.

7 Run the BAT file.

8 If prompted by UAC, click/tap on Yes to approve.

9 You will now see a command prompt quickly open and close, and your screen flicker as the explorer process is restarted to apply the registry changes.

10 You can now delete the .bat file if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


Related Tutorials

 

Attachments

Last edited:
Click to expand...
Brink said:
Hello, and welcome to the forum. :alien:

Basically, they do the same thing of disabling Copilot and "Web" search results in Windows Search, but DisableSearchBoxSuggestions also affects search suggestions in File Explorer Search. Search suggestions in the search box of File Explorer hasn't worked in a while though.

The "BingSearchEnabled" and "DisableSearchBoxSuggestions" settings are both related to controlling web search results in Windows, but they serve slightly different purposes:

BingSearchEnabled: This setting was used in earlier versions of Windows 10 (up to build 2004) to enable or disable web search results from Bing in the search box. Setting it to 0 would disable Bing (web) search results.

DisableSearchBoxSuggestions: This setting is used in Windows 10 (build 2004 and newer) and Windows 11 to disable web search suggestions in the search box. Setting it to 1 will prevent web search results from appearing in the Start menu and File Explorer search box.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the prompt response, I am using the solution with BingSearchEnabled = 0, mostly because that's what the WinToys app uses, and I thought it has to be a best practice, maybe it is the wrong assumption.

My results are, from the Start Menu search works fine locally, no web or cloud results. When I search in File Explorer is ONLY searching locally, depending where I start the search, Home, Gallery, This PC, etc., also, it never gives me the option to search the web or neither provides results from the web.

Are these the expected results? Thank you
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Intel Lunar Lake 258V
    Memory
    32GB
br_web said:
Thank you for the prompt response, I am using the solution with BingSearchEnabled = 0, mostly because that's what the WinToys app uses, and I thought it has to be a best practice, maybe it is the wrong assumption.

My results are, from the Start Menu search works fine locally, no web or cloud results. When I search in File Explorer is ONLY searching locally, depending where I start the search, Home, Gallery, This PC, etc., also, it never gives me the option to search the web or neither provides results from the web.

Are these the expected results? Thank you
Click to expand...

Both options will only allow local searches, but you just wouldn't have any search suggestions in File Explorer using DisableSearchBoxSuggestions.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
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