Getting rid of the Bing or Co-Pilot sidebar in Microsoft Edge
Okay, so here’s where I got pretty annoyed. That Bing or Co-Pilot button in Edge? Sometimes it feels like it shows up out of nowhere, and honestly, it can be a real distraction if you’re not into using those features. I’ve definitely spent way too long trying to figure out how to just make it disappear — because it’s not always straightforward, especially if Edge updates or Windows updates change things around. So, here’s what finally worked for me, with some caveats.
Starting with Edge itself
You obviously need to open Microsoft Edge first. Might sound obvious, but I kept forgetting I was messing with Edge and not Chrome or something. Once it’s open, look around the window—usually near the top right. There should be a three-dot menu (the ellipsis). That’s your gateway to all the customization. Click on that, and then click “Settings” from the dropdown. Sometimes, depending on the version, grabbing Settings can be a bit buried or moved, so don’t get thrown if it’s not exactly where I said—look for the gear icon or the menu that’s titled “Settings.”
Digging into Appearance or Sidebar Settings
Once you’re in the settings tab (usually at edge://settings), you want to find the section called Appearance. On my setup, it was pretty straightforward, but on others—especially newer builds—it seems moved around a bit. Sometimes it’s under Features, or there’s a section called Side toolbar. The key here is to look for options related to “Show Sidebar” or “Sidebar”. If you see an option labeled “Sidebar visibility”, toggle it off.
Slap that toggle to “Off” or uncheck it, and the sidebar should vanish. It’s usually that simple, but sometimes, even after toggling, the Bing or Co-Pilot button still stubbornly appears. That’s when you need to double-check other settings.
Stopping the Co-Pilot from showing up
Look out for a specific option called “Show Co-Pilot” or “Enable Co-Pilot”. This might be listed directly under Appearance or within the sidebar settings itself. Disabling it often involves turning a toggle to “Off.” Some people report it’s also somewhere in edge://settings/privacy or content settings, especially if it’s more related to notifications or prompts. If you see anything about “Show notifications,” consider turning that off as well, because sometimes Bing or Co-Pilot sends prompts or notifications on their own.
If you’re still seeing the Bing button or Co-Pilot after these steps, don’t panic — there’s another trick I came across involving experimental features.
Advanced control with edge://flags
You can try typing edge://flags into the address bar. This reveals experimental features or hidden toggles. Search for keywords like Bing Button or Sidebar Features. If you find a setting that controls the Bing button or sidebar behavior, try disabling it. But be warned — changing flags can be risky, and sometimes it breaks stuff or causes weird UI glitches. Proceed cautiously, and only if the normal settings didn’t do it.
Final cleanup: Restart everything
After toggling off all these options, close the settings tab, and then fully quit Edge (sometimes just closing the window isn’t enough, a full restart is needed). Relaunch Edge, and check if the sidebar or the Bing/Co-Pilot buttons are gone. Honestly, sometimes these changes need a refresh or even a Windows restart — browsers can hold onto cached states even after toggling settings.
And if it’s still alive and kicking after all that, go back and double-check again. You’d be surprised how often I had to toggle settings a couple times to get everything to stick. Also, it’s worth verifying your Edge version at edge://settings/help. Sometimes, UI elements change with updates, so what worked before might be different now.
Wrapping it all up
Basically, if you want that sidebar gone, your best bets are checking Appearance and related sections for toggle options, especially “Show Sidebar” or “Show Co-Pilot”. Also, explore edge://flags if needed, but do so cautiously. Don’t forget to fully restart Edge—sometimes also Windows—to really make sure the changes take. The whole process is a bit trial-and-error, but once you get it, it’s such a relief to have a cleaner UI.
Hope this helped — it took me way too long to figure out all these hidden settings. Double-check that the sidebar is gone, and that notifications or prompts aren’t popping up anymore. Anyway, fingers crossed this saves someone else from spending a frustrating weekend fighting with Edge’s UI!