AI Clutter Solved? Windows 11 Adds Setting to Disable AI Actions in File Explorer Menu

Microsoft is currently weaving a wide array of AI capabilities into Windows 11. Notepad, for instance, has already integrated Microsoft Copilot, enabling it to rewrite or summarize content — yet these additions remain contained within the application and have little impact on the average user.

File Explorer, however, has been burdened with a cascade of AI-driven menu options. When right-clicking an image, users are greeted with an assortment of AI actions: searching with Bing, removing or replacing backgrounds via the Photos app, substituting elements, or stripping backgrounds with Paint.

Beyond these AI actions, the bottom section of the context menu redundantly displays entries such as Ask Copilot, Edit with Clipchamp, Edit with Paint, and Edit with Photos. The result is an unwieldy, overcrowded menu filled with options that many users neither want nor need. Frustrated by this clutter, a significant number of users submitted feedback requesting their removal — and Microsoft has at last responded. In the newly released Windows 11 Build 26220.7344 (DEV & BETA), the company now offers a setting to disable AI actions entirely.

According to Microsoft, if no AI actions are available — or if the user chooses not to enable them — these menu entries can remain hidden during interaction. Users may also manually deselect all related features within Settings → Apps → Actions, including those tied to Paint, Photos, and Microsoft Teams.

Unfortunately, at least for now, users can only hide the AI action menus; the redundant entries at the bottom cannot be concealed. Although these items merely serve as shortcuts to applications already installed, and users can open those apps manually even after hiding the shortcuts, Microsoft could — and arguably should — allow all such entries to be hidden. As it stands, the menu becomes excessively long and undermines the overall experience.

This change will likely take additional time before it reaches the stable release of Windows 11, meaning users on the official build will need to wait a bit longer.

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