How to enable new Copilot on OneNote (preview)

The OneNote app will also have Copilot, and in this guide, you will learn how to enable an early preview of the AI chatbot on Windows 11.

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@Pureinfotech
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OneNote enable Copilot AI
OneNote enable Copilot AI

On Microsoft OneNote, you can now enable a really early preview of Copilot, and in this guide, you will learn how. Copilot is the new AI chatbot designed for Office apps and other products from Microsoft. The experience is similar to Bing Chat, but it’s been optimized to help users get the most out of the note-taking app.

The Copilot features will depend on the application. In the case of OneNote, the AI chatbot can help you to create content, including text, pages, and more. In the interface, you can also ask Copilot to do virtually anything, including things like creating a list, summarizing notes, recalling information, generating ideas, and more.

It’s not clear when Copilot will become available to everyone, but XenoPanther on Twitter has spotted an early preview of the feature hidden in the OneNote Preview, which you can enable through the Registry. Copilot can also be enabled for Excel and Word.

Warning: It’s crucial to note that modifying the Registry can cause serious problems if not used properly. It’s assumed you know what you’re doing and created a full backup of your system before proceeding. Also, since this feature is still under development, the steps below may or may not work for everyone. You have been warned.

Enable Copilot in Microsoft OneNote

To enable the Copilot in OneNote, use these steps:

  1. Open Start on Windows 11.

  2. Search for regedit and click the top result to open the Registry.

  3. Navigate to the following path:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\ExperimentConfigs\ExternalFeatureOverrides\onenote

  4. Right-click the OneNote key, select the New menu, and select the String Value option.

    Microsoft.Office.OneNote.Copilot

  5. Name the key Microsoft.Office.OneNote.Copilot and press Enter.

  6. Double-click the newly created key and set its value to true to enable Copilot in OneNote.

    OneNote enable Copilot

  7. Click the OK button.

  8. Restart the computer.

Once you complete the steps, the Microsoft OneNote app should now open with a preview of the Copilot experience.

In the case that you want to revert the changes, you can use the same instructions outlined above, but on step 4, right-click and delete the Microsoft.Office.OneNote.Copilot string inside the “OneNote” key.

If you are not using the latest preview of the OneNote app, you will have to enroll your Office installation to the Insider program. This process requires a Microsoft 365 Family or Personal subscription.

To enroll in the Microsoft 365 Insider program, open Microsoft OneNote and navigate to File > Account, click the “Office Insider” menu, choose the “Join Office Insider” option, select the “Beta Channel” option, and click the “OK” button. After the enrollment, close the Office applications, open OneNote, and from the “Account” page, check for updates to make you have the latest preview version.

About the author
Avatar for Mauro Huculak

Mauro Huculak is a Windows expert and the Editor-in-Chief who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He is also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 12 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows, software, and related technologies, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.