LG and Samsung announced at the beginning of the year at CES they would be integrating Microsoft's Copilot AI into their smart TVs. Samsung has already done so and this week LG also made good on its word. The only problem is there doesn't appear to be anything users can do about it.
This became clear when Reddit user defjam16 posted a screenshot of the Microsoft Copilot app appearing on LG smart TVs as part of the next update to webOS. The fact that this was posted to the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit should serve as a clue defjam16 wasn't thrilled with the early Christmas present.
My LG TV’s new software update installed Microsoft Copilot, which cannot be deleted. from r/mildlyinfuriating
What makes it even more difficult to swallow is that the Copilot app appears to do little more than act as a gateway to a web-based Copilot interface rather than working in tandem with LG's AI Search experience.
Defjam16 summed up the sentiment in a later post responding to another commenter: "I always hated bloatware, but installing an AI assistant (without explicit permission) that cannot be deleted, with unknown access to microphone and other services might just take the cake."
Although it's possible to disable some aspects of the AI experience — such as voice recognition — they're unable to remove it entirely. LG hasn't officially announced the arrival of Copiliot on webOS, nor has the company made any public statement about it.
Of course, aside from the forced install of potentially unwanted AI features, LG makes some of the best smart TVs you can buy. At Tom's Guide, we routinely praise the performance of its sets, so it's a shame to see the company make a misstep like this.
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