Firefox-maker Mozilla is calling out Microsoft after Redmond said it would scale back some Copilot features in Windows, arguing the rollback shows the company pushed AI too far without enough regard for user choice.

Mozilla VP of global policy Linda Griffin said on Thursday that Microsoft pushing Copilot into every corner of Windows it could find was less of an example of offering a new feature to users, and more about just installing it for them "without user consent." 

"You should decide whether AI is part of your browsing experience at all. Not Big Tech. Not Mozilla. You," Griffin said of Microsoft's Windows AI maneuvering. 

You may recall, at the end of March, when Microsoft EVP for Windows and devices Pavan Davuluri suggested that Copilot had spread across Windows with more enthusiasm than discipline.

"You will see us be more intentional about how and where Copilot integrates across Windows, focusing on experiences that are genuinely useful and well‑crafted," Davuluri said last month. "As part of this, we are reducing unnecessary Copilot entry points, starting with apps like Snipping Tool, Photos, Widgets and Notepad."

It's that move that prompted Mozilla's response, with the company essentially saying that this latest Copilot rollback is too little too late for Windows users. 

"When Microsoft says it now wants to be 'intentional' about Copilot, they're really admitting that they made repeated choices to serve their business over their customers," Griffin said. "When a company with Microsoft's reach continues to control users — and only walks it back when the noise gets loud enough — it shapes what people expect from technology." 

"What we're seeing right now is a broader transition: Tried and tested tactics are degrading user choice and experiences on the web and now translating to AI," Griffin further explained to The Register in an email. "It's a shift that raises important questions for the industry — including whether AI will be implemented in ways that reinforce user control, or in ways that reduce it." 

By that, Griffin is referring to user-frustrating Copilot stories like forcing Edge to auto-launch Copilot whenever a link is clicked from within Outlook, embedding Edge right into Copilot so that default browser preferences are ignored, and force-installing the Copilot app onto users' machines. 

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"The Copilot rollout followed the same playbook we've come to expect from Microsoft: use automatic installs, physical hardware, and default settings to force behaviors," Griffin said in the blog post. We need not detail years of previous examples (Windows 11 hardware reqs, forced OS upgrades, that whole antitrust case over browser defaults, etc.), as El Reg readers are likely aware of Microsoft's history of pushing new features on those who don't want them. 

Mozilla didn't propose a solution to Microsoft's long-running problem of respecting user preferences in the blog post, only offering that "genuinely useful" AI integrations look nothing like what Microsoft has engaged in. 

As for what might look appropriate, Mozilla tooted its own horn on this one, referring to the addition of a one-click AI kill switch in Firefox 148 that lets users disable the browser’s built-in AI features if they do not want them.

"We continue to see … a growing awareness among users about how AI shows up in their experience — and increased interest in alternatives that give them more control," Griffin told us. "That's exactly where Firefox is focused."

Microsoft didn't respond to questions before publication. ®

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