LG TVs Draw Outrage Over Unremovable Microsoft Copilot Installs

LG makes some of the most popular TVs on the market thanks to its long running line of OLED sets, which happen to be part of some solid holiday discounts right now. As with most other TV manufacturers in the market, it bundles pre-installed apps on its smart TV platform, WebOS. However, the latest addition to this included set of apps hasn’t been well received by LG TV owners.

In an indication of how poorly it’s going, LG TV owners have been posting in the r/mildlyinfuriating subreddit about their displeasure at having the new Copilot app forcibly installed as part of the most recent software update. To make matters worse, users are reporting that they are unable to uninstall the app, which can be frustrating considering TVs have a limited amount of storage for apps and data.


The anger is palpable, with one user posting, “I’m beginning to actively hate copilot. Login to 365, email? No. Calendar? Nope. Have Copilot. When something is pushed this hard it begins to grate.” Another replied with, “They're still trying to figure out how to make money from AI and the strategy seems to be ‘we're putting it in absolutely everything whether you like it or not'.’” Both of these comments have thousands of upvotes from other community members who agree with the general sentiment.

Microsoft’s push to make its Coplilot AI the dominant player in the space has led the company to find ways of offering it that go beyond Windows. However, this effort has been poorly received with its own user base, and Microsoft is now poised to alienate a completely new set of users as Copilot rolls out to LG televisions. If the company isn’t careful it could end up doing more harm than good to its AI aspirations, judging by the response to LG's move in the Reddit thread.