Windows 11 Insider Preview Restores AI Actions Hiding and Quick Settings Tiles

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Microsoft’s long-running battle over who controls the Windows desktop may be tilting back toward users: recent Insider previews suggest Microsoft is quietly restoring two small-but-important customization freedoms that were stripped from Windows 11 early in its life. One change — a fix that truly hides the new “AI Actions” entry from File Explorer’s right‑click menu when no AI actions are available — is already documented in official Insider release notes. The other — a hint that the Quick Settings (Action Center) panel may once again allow users to remove unwanted quick‑action tiles — is showing up in Dev‑channel builds and community sleuthing, though it remains a developer‑channel experiment for now.

Background / Overview​

Windows 11’s visual redesign promised a cleaner, more modern shell — but it also removed or limited long‑standing customization levers many power users and admins relied on. One of the most visible regressions was a restricted Quick Settings (the compact control surface that replaced Windows 10’s Action Center) that no longer let users prune which toggle tiles appear. Another emergent annoyance has been a set of newly‑introduced AI surfaces — Copilot, File Explorer “AI Actions,” suggested actions, and related items — that sometimes appeared even when users didn’t want or need them.
Those choices are not purely cosmetic. Quick Settings tiles are frequently used to surface toggles for Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth, Night Light, Focus Assist, and power modes. When a platform prevents users from removing or rearranging these, it affects daily workflows, accessibility, and device management. Likewise, an empty or nonfunctional “AI Actions” submenu in the File Explorer context menu is a pure UX irritant: it adds noise without benefit and has prorounds and sharp criticism. The recent Insider updates address both issues in two different ways — one a behavioral fix already landed in a preview release, the other a feature prototype visible in Dev builds.

What changed: the File Explorer “AI Actions” fix​

The behavioral fix Microsoft shipped to Insiders​

Microsoft’s Windows Insider release notes for the preview build identified in recent coverage include a terse but consequential line: “If there are no available or enabled AI Actions, this section will no longer show in the context menu.” That change is part of Build 26220.7344 and applies to the File Explorer right‑click menu: when the system determines there are no applicable AI Actions for the selected file, it suppresses the entire AI Actions section instead of showing an empty header. This is a straightforward change but one that effectively gives users a workable way to make the clutter go away — by disabling all AI Actions in Settings.

How users can trigger the behavior today (Insider builds)​

If you’re running an Insider preview build that includes the fix, you can hide the AI Actions header by disabling all AI Actions exposed in Settings. In practice that means visiting Settings → Apps → Actions (or the Actions management page your build exposes) and turning off each listed action. Once there are no enabled actions left, File Explorer will no longer render the AI Actions submenu on right‑click. Readers who prefer step‑by‑step guidance should follow official Insider notes and reputable guides; community posts and tech outlets have replicated the steps for testers.

Why this matters (and why it’s the right fix)​

This change is small but principled: it restores sensible conditional rendering to the shell. The previous behavior — leaving an empty AI Actions header visible even when no sub‑actions applied — was a classic UX bug that made the system look bloated and unfinished. Hiding the section when it’s functionally empty removes noise without deleting the underlying feature, giving users choice while preserving Microsoft’s ability to ship AI‑driven capabilities to those who want them. Multiple reputable outlets and the Insider blog corroborate this behavior change, so the fix is verifiable and already shipping to Insiders.

The other story: Quick Settings tile removal is back in Dev builds — sort of​

What has been observed in the Dev channel​

Independent UI sleuths and Windows‑focused community reporting surfaced a change in a Dev‑channel build (reported as build 26300.7965) that teases restoration of the ability to remove quick‑action tiles from Quick Settings. The work appears to be coming from the Energy Saver quick‑setting module and shows UI affordances for removing or editing which tiles appear in the panel. Community discussion around the discovery highlights both excitement and skepticism: this is an in‑development capability, and Microsoft’s experiments often change between Dev, Beta, and public releases.

What Windows Report and others are saying​

Industry blogs and outlets covering Windows development picked up the find and summarized it as a likely restoration of the capability users enjoyed in Windows 10. Windows Report’s coverage — part of a larger trend of outlets tracking small but meaningful Windows 11 UX reversions — frames this as a welcome course‑correction that would return use Settings tile placement and removal. That article and others capture screenshots and commentary from the Dev build observations while noting Microsoft has not yet committed the feature to the stable channel.

What this change might look like in practice​

Based on the Dev screenshots and commentary, Microsoft’s prototype could allow users to:
  • Remove individual tiles from Quick Settings so they no longer appear.
  • Reorder tiles or pin favorites to a “top” sector of the panel.
  • Possibly differentiate which tiles are removable (system/security toggles might be protected).
At the moment, public information is limited to screenshots and test builds; Microsoft has not published a formal product announcement for Quick Settings tile removal. That means behavior, scope, and enterprise controls are still subject to change.

Why Microsoft may be reversing course (and why users asked for it)​

Usability and user backlash​

When Windows 11 launched, the push for a simplified, curated UI resulted in the removal of several long‑standing customization options. For many users, the inability to remove or fully customize Quick Settings was a regression: everyday toggles they used constantly were now fixed or buried. Over time, user feedback — from fs, and enterprise customers — coalesced around a demand for the return of simple customization. The Dev‑channel experiments appear to be Microsoft responding to that persistent feedback.

Balance between default simplicity and power‑user controls​

Microsoft’s design tradeoff has always been about the broadest viable defaults versus the needs of power users and administrators. Restoring tile removal is a low‑risk way to give everyday users more control while keeping safe defaults for security‑sensitive toggles. For administrators, Microsoft can (and likely will) offer Group Policy or MDM controls to prevent end users from removing critical tiles on managed devices. Those management hooks are crucial for enterprises that need consistent access to telemetry, VPN, or security toggles. Early threads from insiders already discuss the likely presence of such policy controls in the enterprise SKU roadmap.

Practical implications for users and IT administrators​

For everyday users​

If Quick Settings tile removal ships to the Beta or stable channel, the immediate benefit is a cleaner Quick Settings panel tailored to your workflow. You’ll be able to hide unused toggles and surface the ones you use most, speeding daily interactions and reducing cognitive load.
If you’re impatient, community tools already fill the gap on current builds — third‑party customization tools such as Windhawk (and its Notification Center Styler) can hide or restyle Quick Settings today, though using third‑party patches carries risks and requires careful vetting. Likewise, scripts and community projects exist for dealing with unwanted AI surfaces, including PowerShell-based removers, but these come with support and maintenance tradeoffs. Use caution and test in a VM before applying any community remediation to your main system.

For IT administrators and enterprise environments​

Enterprises should treat these changes as potentially beneficial but subject to policy governance. Systems administrators will want to:
  • Monitor Insider release notes and test builds in a lab before broad deployment.
  • Evaluate whether management controls (Group Policy, MDM/Intune CSPs) are available to lock down Quick Settings behavior for managed endpoints.
  • Consider the security implications if users can remove toggles for features like remote access, BitLocker, VPN, or telemetry controls — you may want to prevent removal of those specific tiles.
  • Use supported Microsoft controls when available rather than community scripts to remove Copilot or other built‑in apps, because Microsoft’s official tools typically integrate better with servicing and updates.

Technical verification and cross‑checks​

  • Microsoft’s own Windows Insider release notes for Build 26220.7344 explicitly state the File Explorer change: the AI Actions section will be suppressed when no available or enabled actions exist. That claim is present in the official Insider announcement.
  • Independent coverage from Windows Central and other outlets confirms the same behavioral change and shows screenshots of the result in testing. Multiple independent outlets reported the changelog entry, corroborating the Insider note.
  • The Quick Settings tile removal story is currently based on Dev‑channel observations and community reporting rather than an official shipping note. Windows Forum threads and Windows Report summarized the discovery in Dev Build 26300.7965; these sources include s references (Energy Saver) but do not represent a formal Microsoft announcement. Treat this as a prototype at this stage.
Where claims are verifiable — such as the File Explorer AI Actions behavior — we reference Microsoft’s release notes and major outlets. Where claims are still experimental (Quick Settings tile removal), we clearly mark them as in development and corroborated only by commu‑channel sightings. That differentiation is important: one change is documented by Microsoft, the other is visible only in test builds and may or may not reach general availability.

Known limitations, risks, and​

Feature scope: which tiles will be removable?​

Community screenshots show Energy Saver and other non‑security toggles in the editing flow, but it’s unclear whether Microsoft will allow removal of all tiles or limit removal to certain categories. Protecting security‑sensitive toggles (VPN, Remote Desktop, diagnostics control) behind policy is a probable design to prevent accidental or hostile misconfiguration. Until Microsoft publishes formal docs, assume some tiles will remain non‑removable on managed devices.

Enterprise and compliance concerns​

If users can remove toggles for telemetry or security features, organizations need to ensure policy guardrails exist. Microsoft historically addresses this by adding Group Policy/MDM controls post‑hoc, but timelines vary. Administrators should not assume immediate availability of enterprise controls for every new user feature; test and plan accordingly.

The instability of Dev builds​

Dev‑channel features are by definition experimental. Not every change seen in Dev builds becomes a Beta or stable release. Microsoft often prototypes multiple approaches, evaluates telemetry and feedback, and then narrows to a final design — or abandons the effort entirely. Readers should treat the Quick Settings story as hopeful but not guaranteed.

Community workarounds and their tradeoffs​

Open‑source tools and scripts that remove Copilot or hide AI surfaces have proliferated because users wanted immediate relief. Those tools range from simple UI tweaks to aggressive Appx/MSIX removals and servicing‑store edits. They can be effective but can also complicate updates, break future servicing, or void vendor support. Prefer built‑in controls when they exist and use community tools only as last resort — and only after adequate testing.

How to test safely (for Insiders and power users)​

If you want to try the new behavior without risking your primary work machine, follow this approach:
  • Create a virtual machine (Hyper‑V, VMware, VirtualBox) and join it to the Windows Insider Program with the same channel as the build you want to test.
  • Install the preview build under test (for example, Build 26220.7344 for the AI Actions fix or Dev build 26300.7965 for Quick Settings experimentation).
  • For AI Actions: disable Actions in Settings → Apps → Actions and verify File Explorer’s context menu no longer shows the AI Actions header for various file types.
  • For Quick Settings: open Quick Settings and look for an edit or remove affordance — test adding, removing, and reordering tiles and document behavior across reboots and updates.
  • Document results and revert to a stable build if you encounter issues.
Using a VM keeps your production environment safe and allows you to reproduce the steps for colleagues or a helpdesk. Community threads and official release notes should be consulted before and after testing to catch updated guidance.

What we recommend Microsoft should do next​

  • Ship explicit, discoverable controls in Settings for Quick Settings editing — not only a hidden developer flow. Users deserve a clear, supported way to manage the panel.
  • Expose enterprise policies (Group Policy, MDM CSPs) at the same time or shortly after the feature reaches Beta so administrators can enforce or lock down critical toggles.
  • Publish a short blog post or help article documenting the rationale and safe usage scenarios for removing tiles, including a list of protected system tiles and their management options.
  • Where community tools exist (for example, scripts that remove AI surfaces), Microsoft should provide supported cleanup options for managed devices rather than forcing admins to rely on third‑party scripts. The recent introduction of a narrowly scoped RemoveMicrosoftCopilotApp Group Policy in Insider builds is the right idea — but real‑world clarity on scope and conditions is needed.

Bottom line​

Windows 11’s evolution continues to be a balancing act between Microsoft’s desire to ship polished, AI‑enabled experiences and users’ demand for control and predictability. The File Explorer fix in Build 26220.7344 is an encouraging, verifiable step that returns a sliver of control to users — it hides the AI Actions section when it would otherwise be empty, and that behavior is documented in Microsoft’s Insider release notes and corroborated by independent outlets. The Quick Settings tile removal sighting in Dev builds is an equally welcome sign, but for now it remains a developer‑channel prototype rather than a finished product.
If you value a tidier, more personal Quick Settings panel or want to purge an empty AI Actions submenu, keep an eye on the Insider channels and test changes in a VM before adopting them broadly. Administrators should monitor release notes and prepare policy responses so that increased personalization doesn’t conflict with security and compliance requirements. The conversation between users and Microsoft is clearly working — small restorations of choice like these show the company still listens — but as always with early previews, patience and careful testing will pay off.
Source: Windows Report https://windowsreport.com/windows-11-may-finally-let-users-remove-unwanted-quick-actions-again/
 
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