Skip to main content

How to enable or disable ChatGPT from Windows taskbar

ChatGPT is built right into Windows 11, making it super easy to use and play around with, whether you want to use it as an alternative to Google search, or to teach you board games. If you don't like this feature, though, you can easily disable it with just a few clicks.

Re-enabling it is a cinch too. Here's how to do both.

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

How to disable ChatGPT in Windows 11

Windows 11 has ChatGPT built into its Bing search tool, making it easier than ever to access ChatGPT's conversational chats and to help with your search results. Here's how to disable it so that you can go back to the more straightforward search tool it started out as.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings menu.

Step 2: Select Privacy and security from the left-hand menu.

Windows 11 settings menu.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 3: Select Search permissions.

Privacy and security menu.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Step 4: Under More Settings, toggle Show search highlights to Off.

Turn off ChatGPT.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

How to enable ChatGPT in Windows 11

If ChatGPT doesn't seem to be working for you, or you previously disabled it and want to enable it once more, follow these steps.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings menu.

Step 2: Select Privacy and security from the left-hand menu.

Step 3: Under More Settings, toggle Show search highlights to On.

When you do want to play around with ChatGPT again, consider trying it out on OpenAI's website. You can use plugins to have it do some incredible things, and there are Chrome extensions to further augment its abilities.

Editors' Recommendations

Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is the Evergreen Coordinator for Computing, overseeing a team of writers addressing all the latest how to…
How to build your own GPT chatbot without coding
Infinix Zero 30 5G Android phone in gold color with ChatGPT virtual assistant.

For $20 per month, a ChatGPT Plus subscription unlocks far more than just access to GPT-4. With a little know-how, you’ll actually be able to use some of OpenAI’s more advanced features to build a custom GPT chatbot all your own. We did it ourselves, and the results were simply astounding! And while this may sound like an intimidating task to undertake, you won’t even need to know any coding.

Read more
How to disable VBS in Windows 11 to improve gaming
Highlighting VBS is disabled in Windows 11.

Windows 11's Virtualization Based Security features have been shown to have some impact on gaming performance — even if it isn't drastic. While you will be putting your system more at risk, if you're looking to min-max your gaming PC's performance, you can always disable it. Just follow the steps below to disable VBS in a few quick clicks.

Plus, later in this guide, we discuss if disabling VBS is really worth it, what you'd be losing if you choose to disable it, and other options for boosting your PCs gaming performance that don't necessarily involve messing with VBS.

Read more
How to delete your ChatGPT account
Infinix Zero 30 5G Android phone in gold color with ChatGPT virtual assistant.

It’s hard to deny the amazing capabilities of an AI chatbot like ChatGPT. That being said, maybe you’ve been an OpenAI devotee (the makers of ChatGPT) for some time, and you’re ready to cancel your account. Fortunately, putting a pin in your ChatGPT profile isn’t overly difficult, and can be accomplished using a desktop PC or mobile device. We also know a thing or two about all of the above, so we put together this guide to help you through your day of deletion.

Read more