If you are using Windows 11 and are sick and tired of searching something on the start menu only for your computer to open Internet search instead of picking the program, game, app, or file from your system. This article will show you how to disable web results in the Start menu and Search box to keep results focused on local apps, files, and settings.
Takeaways:
- Learn how to disable web search in the Start Menu on Windows 11
- How do you disable Web Search on Windows 11 so it stops searching the Internet not local stuff
Table of Contents
The Problem with Web Search and Bing on Windows 11
By default, when you search from Start or the Taskbar, the system shows results from your device. However, if there is no exact match, Windows 11 pulls in suggestions from Bing. Clicking one of these results opens the page in Microsoft Edge, and selecting the Copilot option also sends the query to the browser.
For most people this is a dumb feature that they have 0 use for. Especially since you're searching start for local things 99.9% of the time anyway.
Important Pre Start Checks
To disable these features, you need to use system level configurations. On devices running Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education, you can use the Group Policy Editor to turn off web search, search highlights, and related cloud content.
However, on Windows 11 Home, you only have the options to use Registry Editor, since Group Policy is not available. So It is important to note that modifying the Registry can cause serious problems if not used properly. It is assumed you know what you are doing and have created a full backup of your system before proceeding.
How to Disable Web Search Results on Windows 11 and Remove Bing Using the Registry Editor (Windows Home Edition)
To disable web search results and remove the Copilot button from Windows Search using the Registry on Windows 11 (Home or Pro), follow these steps:
- Open Start on Windows 11.
- Search for regedit and click the top result to open the Registry Editor.
- Browse to the following path:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
- Right click the Windows key, select New, and choose Key.
- Name the key Explorer and press Enter (if applicable).
- Right click the newly created key, select New, and choose DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- Name the DWORD DisableSearchBoxSuggestions and press Enter.
- Double click the newly created value and change it from 0 to 1.
- Click OK.
- Restart the computer.
- After you complete these steps, Windows Search will no longer offer web results, and the Copilot button will be removed from the interface. However, search will continue to show results for files, apps, and settings.
- If you want to revert the changes, open the Registry, go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer
- Right click the DisableSearchBoxSuggestions DWORD, and select Delete.
Disable Web Search Results on Windows 11 from Group Policy (Other Editions)
To disable web search results and the Copilot button on Windows 11 (Pro) using Group Policy, follow these steps:
- Open Start
- Search for gpedit and click the top result to open the Group Policy Editor.
- Browse to the following path:
User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer.
- Double click the policy “Turn off display of recent search entries in the File Explorer search box”.
- Select Enabled.
- Click Apply.
- Click OK.
- Restart the computer.
Once you complete these steps, web results will no longer appear in Windows Search on the Taskbar or Start menu. In addition, this method will also remove the Copilot button from the interface. If you want to undo any of these changes, just do everything in reverse.
