LG forced a Copilot web app onto its TVs but will let you delete it

LG says it will let users delete the Microsoft Copilot shortcut it installed on newer TVs after several reports highlighted the unremovable icon. In a statement to The Verge, LG spokesperson Chris De Maria says the company “respects consumer choice and will take steps to allow users to delete the shortcut icon if they wish.”

Last week, a user on the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit posted an image of the Microsoft Copilot icon in their lineup of apps on an LG TV, with no option to delete it. “My LG TV’s new software update installed Microsoft Copilot, which cannot be deleted,” the post says. The post garnered more than 36,000 upvotes as people grow more frustrated with AI popping up just about everywhere.

De Maria adds that the icon is a “shortcut” to the Microsoft Copilot web app that opens in the TV’s web browser, rather than “an application-based service embedded in the TV.” He also adds that “features such as microphone input are activated only with the customer’s explicit consent.”

Asked when LG will start letting users delete the Copilot icon, De Maria said there’s no “definitive timing” yet.

Here’s LG’s full statement:

Following recent coverage regarding the arrival of Microsoft Copilot on LG TVs, we’re reaching out to provide an important clarification. Based on recent coverage regarding the arrival of Microsoft Copilot on LG TVs, we want to clarify that Microsoft Copilot is provided as a shortcut icon to enhance customer accessibility and convenience. It is not an application-based service embedded in the TV. When users select the Copilot shortcut, Microsoft’s website opens through the TV’s web browser, and features such as microphone input are activated only with the customer’s explicit consent.

Update, December 18th: Added more information from LG.