Microsoft has acknowledged an error – Copilot is auto-launching for Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel as well as the Canary and Dev builds.

Amid all the excitement of Sudo making an appearance in Windows in [1]February was a new experience for Copilot, which, according to Microsoft, "helps showcase the ways that Copilot can accelerate and enhance your work."

Copilot was intrusive and featured twee animations and a menu of options appeared when the icon was moused over. However, it was also buggy – this is the Windows Insider program, after all – and Microsoft halted the rollout.

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To make the functionality work, Copilot had to launch on startup. While Microsoft has insisted that the latest auto-launch problem is unrelated to February's feature, insiders would be forgiven for feeling a sense of déjà vu as Copilot unexpectedly lumbers into life following a restart.

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Users [5]noted the issue early this month, and Windows Insider supremo Brandon LeBlanc [6]confirmed it was a bug and a fix was on the way.

[7]October 2025 will be a support massacre for a bunch of Microsoft products

[8]Microsoft claims it didn't mean to inject Copilot into Windows Server 2022 this week

[9]Microsoft lifts years-old compatibility hold for Windows 11

[10]Microsoft to use Windows 11 Start menu as a billboard with app ads for Insiders

However, while Microsoft [11]confirmed issues with the Dev and Canary Channels earlier in April, last week's [12]Beta Channel build has now been added to the list of builds confirmed to be afflicted by the Copilot problem.

The addition of the Beta Channel is significant because it is the final channel before Release Preview. While things can still change, it is considerably more stable than the Dev and Canary channels.

Microsoft has made no secret of its desire to get its AI assistant in the hands of as many users as possible, and the Windows Insider program is a valuable way of monitoring the direction of travel as far as the Windows desktop is concerned.

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However, after the termination of the short-lived experiment to have the jumped-up paperclip offer its help - whether a user wanted it or not - you would have hoped that was the end of it. ®

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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/08/windows_11_sudo/

[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZiaJn-MR7sC2fuBLePEK7AAAAAA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZiaJn-MR7sC2fuBLePEK7AAAAAA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZiaJn-MR7sC2fuBLePEK7AAAAAA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[5] https://twitter.com/XenoPanther/status/1777964475468906899

[6] https://twitter.com/brandonleblanc/status/1778983670797545900

[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/18/2025_support_end_microsoft/

[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/18/copilot_on_windows_server_2022/

[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/windows_11_compatibility_hold/

[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/15/microsoft_recommendations_windows_11/

[11] https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/04/03/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26100-canary-and-dev-channels/

[12] https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/04/19/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-22635-3500-beta-channel/

[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZiaJn-MR7sC2fuBLePEK7AAAAAA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/