LG’s Copilot has quietly started appearing on some webOS sets after a routine update — and for many owners the new app can be hidden but not removed, touching off a debate over software control, privacy, and the commercial logic of embedding AI in televisions.
Background / Overview
LG and Microsoft signaled their intent to put Copilot — Microsoft’s conversational AI assistant — on living‑room screens at CES 2025, positioning the feature as a way to improve content discovery, voice navigation, and contextual help on large displays. LG’s marketing for its 2025 OLED evo lineup explicitly cites
access to Microsoft Copilot as part of an AI‑driven personalization strategy for webOS. What followed this year is familiar to anyone who’s watched smart‑device ecosystems converge: platform vendors began shipping Copilot to selected TVs. Owners then reported that, after a normal over‑the‑air firmware update, a
Copilot tile or shortcut appeared on their LG webOS home screens. Multiple community reports show the tile can be
hidden through the webOS app manager but often lacks the usual
uninstall affordance; worse, a factory reset in some cases restored the tile, suggesting the component was deployed as a privileged or firmware‑baked package rather than a removable content‑store app. Those first‑hand reports and forum threads are the primary evidence behind the controversy.
Separately, LG notified owners in early 2025 that
Google Assistant would be removed from many models starting May 1, 2025, and press coverage tied that move to the arrival of Copilot on LG sets — a swap that has practical consequences for owners tied into Google Home ecosystems.
What users are actually seeing on their TVs
The reported update sequence
Owners describe a straightforward sequence:
- The TV applies a routine webOS firmware or platform update (FOTA).
- A new Copilot tile appears on the home screen — usually in the apps row or AI section.
- Opening the app management / Edit App List UI shows only Hide or Disable for Copilot, not Uninstall.
- In several reported cases, a factory reset returned the same Copilot entry, which strongly suggests the component is provisioned at a system/firmware level.
These reports spread quickly across Reddit and enthusiast forums; angry threads have drawn thousands of comments and upvotes as owners recommended mitigation steps such as disconnecting the TV, blocking domains at the router, or simply buying an external streamer. A representative community reaction thread captures the sentiment: users resent forced installs and the sense that a device they own is being altered without meaningful consent.
The interface people see: web shortcut vs. full feature
For many owners the visible Copilot element behaves like a
shallow web shortcut rather than a deeply integrated service: tapping it opens a web‑based Copilot interface or a simple chat shell. In other reports, the Copilot tile shows
Mico, Microsoft’s new expressive avatar for Copilot voice mode, which has been rolled out across Copilot clients — though that avatar’s full feature set and stability vary by platform. The new Mico character is a Microsoft initiative to humanize voice interactions; its presence on TV is consistent with Microsoft’s broader Copilot voice rollout. However, the experience on affected LG TVs is often incomplete: owners report indefinite “spinning” listening icons, or voice input that never activates — indicating the implementation may be a partially shipped integration or a simple deep‑link to the Copilot web app that lacks full microphone access or sign‑in plumbing. Those performance/availability observations are anecdotal but recurring across forum posts.
Why Copilot was added this way — the vendor logic
Manufacturers and platform partners have clear incentives to embed conversational AI:
- Feature differentiation: With panel hardware becoming increasingly commoditized, software features and AI experiences are headline differentiators for 2025 models.
- Ecosystem reach: Microsoft benefits from Copilot being on another family of screens, strengthening brand familiarity and cross‑device integration with Xbox, Windows, and Microsoft 365.
- Monetization and personalization: An assistant that can access on‑screen context and telemetry helps refine content suggestions and ad personalization — functions that directly feed OEM monetization strategies.
Those business incentives are rational; the problem in practice comes when distribution mechanics and consent models clash with buyer expectations about control and privacy.
The technical mechanics: how a TV app becomes undeletable
There are two well‑understood packaging patterns that explain the observed non‑removability:
- Privileged system package: the vendor installs the component outside the standard user app sandbox and flags it as a system app. The UI therefore exposes only limited management actions (hide/disable), not uninstall.
- Firmware‑baked component: the app is included in the firmware image the TV boots from. A factory reset restores that firmware image, so the app returns even after a reset.
Both are standard approaches in embedded platforms when OEMs need to ship DRM, low‑level services, or deeply integrated features. Community tests — hide vs uninstall attempts followed by resets that reintroduce the tile — match one or both of these patterns. Removing such a component typically requires vendor tools or an official rollback.
Privacy and user‑control implications
Why owners are upset
The uproar is fueled by overlapping concerns:
- Loss of device autonomy. Consumers reasonably expect optional services on purchased hardware to be removable. A non‑removable assistant can feel like forced software or bloatware.
- Expanding telemetry. LG’s webOS already includes ACR/“Live Plus” features that can capture on‑screen signals and feed personalization or ad systems. Adding Copilot increases the potential value of those contextual signals and raises questions about what data is being sent, and to whom.
- Opaque update behavior. Firmware updates are expected to patch bugs and improve stability. Surprise additions — especially persistent ones tied to third parties — violate trust if not accompanied by transparent patch notes and consent prompts.
The combination is potent: users are worried not just about the app but about how it could change data flows and who controls the experience on hardware they purchased.
What’s verifiable vs. what needs vendor confirmation
- Verifiable: LG advertised Copilot on webOS at CES 2025 and in product materials; multiple owners reported receiving updates that added a Copilot tile; the TV UI often offers hide/disable but not uninstall for Copilot.
- Not yet verified (vendor confirmation required): whether LG intentionally shipped Copilot as a system‑level package across all affected firmware builds; the exact telemetry streams or audio capture behavior specific to the Copilot installation; whether Microsoft or LG changed default privacy settings for affected units without explicit consent. These engineering and telemetry details require vendor statements or independent technical audits.
The broader precedent: vendors pushing services onto devices
This episode sits in a larger pattern: vendors and platform partners have long preinstalled or pushed partner services on consumer hardware. Phones and TVs frequently ship with preloaded apps, and Microsoft itself recently moved to auto‑install Copilot variants on Windows devices in some channels — a change that has provoked similar debates about user choice. Those precedents make the LG case less surprising in industry terms, but the real issue is execution and transparency.
Practical guidance for owners (what to try right now)
If Copilot has appeared on your LG TV and you don’t want to use it, these steps may reduce exposure or annoyance:
- Hide the app tile. Use webOS’s Edit App List or App Manager to hide Copilot from the home screen. This removes the visual nuisance even if the package remains on the device. LG documents how to edit the app list for webOS versions; system apps may not show an uninstall option.
- Disable Live Plus / ACR. Turn off LG’s Live Plus or content‑recognition personalization features in settings to limit on‑screen content signals being used for personalization and advertising.
- Turn off automatic updates. Disable automatic firmware updates if you want to avoid future surprise pushes — but note that this may leave you exposed to security or stability fixes.
- Network‑level blocking. Use a Pi‑hole or router DNS filtering to block known telemetry domains if you want to limit outbound connections. This is a blunt instrument and can break legitimate apps.
- Use an external streamer. If you’re fed up with smart‑TV platform churn, use an Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or Android/Google streamer as your primary interface; these act as a firewall between you and OEM UI decisions.
- Factory reset (with caution). A reset may temporarily remove user‑installed apps but has been reported to reintroduce Copilot on many affected TVs if it is firmware‑baked. Consider this a last resort and check whether the tile returns before assuming this solved the issue.
If you rely on Google Assistant integrations across your smart home, pay special attention to the May 1, 2025 change notices and the migration implications; losing Google Assistant on your TV may break routines or automations.
Strengths of the Copilot‑on‑TV idea — and where it can actually help
It’s important to acknowledge the real potential here. When done well, a voice‑driven, context‑aware assistant can:
- Surface deeper content discovery across siloed streaming apps.
- Offer accessibility benefits (voice navigation, large‑screen reading, summarization).
- Provide unified cross‑device workflows (e.g., sending an article from PC to TV for a family viewing).
- Help with on‑screen troubleshooting and device settings, reducing support calls.
These are compelling user experiences when they are opt‑in, reliable, and privacy‑respecting. Microsoft and OEMs can deliver real value; consumer anger arises when the delivery model ignores consent and control.
Risks, regulatory angles, and longer‑term implications
- Privacy and data flows. TVs are already a rich telemetry source; augmenting them with conversational AI increases the sensitivity of collected signals. If Copilot on TV uses voice data or on‑screen context to improve personalization, that should be disclosed clearly and opt‑in should be offered.
- Consumer protection questions. Regulators in privacy‑sensitive jurisdictions (notably the EEA) have been active about forced preinstallation and consent flows. The pattern of shipping persistent services without explicit opt‑in could trigger regulatory scrutiny where local rules require affirmative consent for certain kinds of data processing.
- Brand trust erosion. LG risks alienating a population of early adopters and enthusiasts who value control over their devices; long‑term loyalty can be harder to buy back than short‑term engagement metrics are worth.
- Security surface area. Any new system‑level component increases the attack surface of the platform; privileged packages need the same rigorous security lifecycle management — patches, vulnerability disclosure, and accountability — as core firmware.
Where vendor communications are opaque, these risks magnify; transparency and robust opt‑out controls would materially reduce friction.
What LG and Microsoft should do (practical lender of trust)
To defuse the controversy and build a sustainable TV Copilot experience, vendors should take clear steps:
- Publish a precise technical bulletin explaining how Copilot was packaged and why it may not be removable via the normal app manager.
- Offer a straightforward opt‑out flow that survives firmware updates, ideally as a first‑run setup choice or via ThinQ account management.
- Provide detailed privacy and telemetry disclosures (what voice and content signals are logged, retention, data sharing partners).
- Make Copilot removable or at least uninstallable for users who explicitly decline third‑party assistants.
- Ensure firmware updates and changelogs highlight feature additions with opt‑in options and clear release notes.
These measures would materially improve user trust and reduce regulatory risk while preserving the product benefits of an AI assistant.
Conclusion
The Copilot tile showing up on some LG webOS TVs is a small technical change with outsized implications. The service itself — voice‑driven, context‑aware assistance on a big screen — is a legitimate evolution for smart TVs. The breakdown is in execution: shipping a persistent, non‑removable app without a clear opt‑in or transparent disclosure collapses the line between helpful feature and corporate imposition.
For owners, practical mitigations exist today (hide the tile, disable Live Plus, use an external streamer), but those are imperfect workarounds for the core concern: when devices you own can be reprogrammed overnight with partner services that you can’t fully remove, consumers lose a central element of control.
The fix is straightforward in principle: better communication, clear opt‑in, and respect for user choice. If LG and Microsoft want Copilot on TVs to be accepted rather than resisted, they must treat consent and transparency as first‑order features — not afterthoughts.
Source: Thurrott.com
Microsoft Copilot App is Now Automatically Installed on Some LG TVs