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Microsoft 365 Copilot agents are pretty handy. They can help you research information, answer questions about company documents, and automate repetitive tasks. But what happens when you want to delete a conversation with an agent—or get rid of the agent altogether?
Naturally, Microsoft has several different ways to do that, depending on which type of agent you're using.
The important thing to understand is that deleting a chat, uninstalling an agent, and deleting an agent are not the same thing.
Here's how to handle each.
1. Delete a Conversation With a Copilot Agent
Conversations with agents can appear alongside your regular Copilot conversations.
To delete one:
Open Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Find Chats in the left navigation.
Locate the conversation associated with the agent.
Select More options (⋯) beside the chat.
Choose Delete.
This removes the conversation from your visible history, but it doesn't delete the agent, change its instructions, or remove its knowledge sources.
Some prebuilt agents have their own History screens, where deletion controls may differ. If you can't remove a conversation there, check your main Chats list.
For agents in SharePoint, Microsoft also supports deleting conversations directly from the agent's chat pane.
2. Remove an Agent From Your Copilot Sidebar
Maybe you installed an agent, tried it a few times, and decided you don't need it anymore.
You can remove it from your agent list without deleting the agent itself.
Open the Microsoft 365 Copilot app.
Find the agent in the left navigation.
Select More options (⋯).
Choose Uninstall.
Confirm the action.
Uninstalling removes the agent from your Copilot experience. It doesn't necessarily delete the underlying agent or its configuration.
Microsoft also notes that saved prompts associated with an uninstalled agent remain in Prompt Gallery.
3. Delete a Custom Agent You Created
If you built an agent using Microsoft 365 Copilot's Agent Builder, you may want to remove it entirely rather than simply uninstall it.
To delete an agent you own:
Open Microsoft 365 Copilot and navigate to your agents.
Locate the custom agent you created.
Select More options (⋯).
Choose Delete.
Confirm the deletion.
Deleting an Agent Builder agent is permanent and removes access for other owners and users you've shared it with.
You generally can't delete Microsoft's prebuilt agents because you don't own their underlying configuration.
4. What About Copilot Studio Agents?
Agents created in Microsoft Copilot Studio have a separate management experience.
If you own an agent and have the necessary permissions:
Open Microsoft Copilot Studio.
Navigate to Agents.
Select the agent you want to remove.
Open More options (⋯) beside Settings.
Choose Delete, enter the agent's name when prompted, and confirm.
Deleting a Copilot Studio agent removes its associated agent data. Microsoft treats this as a permanent deletion.
However, documents and other external data sources used by the agent aren't automatically deleted just because the agent referenced them.
5. What Doesn't Get Deleted?
Before removing an agent, remember that different types of content have different lifecycles.
Deleting a chat doesn't delete the agent. Uninstalling an agent doesn't necessarily delete its configuration. And deleting an agent doesn't automatically remove documents stored in SharePoint, OneDrive, or other connected systems.
Agent conversations and related activity may also be subject to your organization's retention, audit, and compliance policies.
The Bottom Line
If you just want to clean up old conversations, delete the individual agent chats. If you no longer want an agent in your sidebar, uninstall it. If you created an agent that's no longer needed, delete it through the appropriate agent management interface.
Three different actions, three different results.
Because apparently, even getting rid of artificial intelligence requires knowing exactly which button to push.
Javalot Jive — Powered by C₈H₁₀N₄O₂ and a healthy appreciation for technology that actually makes life easier.
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