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Turn VS Code AI and Copilot On or Off from the Keyboard
How I disable and re-enable the built-in VS Code AI features from the Command Palette, using only the keyboard.
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Turn AI features off and back on
This is the written version of the short video. It shows the keyboard path I used in Visual Studio Code with NVDA to turn the built-in AI features off and then turn them back on.
The setting is chat.disableAIFeatures. VS Code's documentation says this setting disables and hides built-in AI features such as chat and inline suggestions, and it disables the Copilot extensions. You can configure it at the User or Workspace level.
First, prove AI suggestions are on
Before changing the setting, I like to confirm the current state. I opened a file, moved to a blank line, typed ## for a Markdown heading, then started typing a capital T. VS Code offered an AI inline suggestion for the rest of the heading: Turn AI features off and on. When I pressed Tab, VS Code accepted it. That was enough to confirm AI suggestions were on.
Open the AI features setting from the Command Palette
Open the Command Palette with F1 or Ctrl+Shift+P, then type AI features. In my VS Code build, the first result was Chat: Learn How to Hide AI Features. Press Enter on that command.
VS Code opened Settings near the right option. With NVDA, I pressed Down Arrow once and landed on chat disable AI features. Then I pressed Tab to move to the checkbox for chat.disableAIFeatures. The checkbox was not checked, so AI features were allowed.
Disable AI features
To turn AI features off, press Spacebar. That checks chat.disableAIFeatures.
After changing the setting, I pressed Escape to leave Settings and reloaded the window so I was testing a fresh editor. Open the Command Palette again with Ctrl+Shift+P, type reload, and choose Developer: Reload Window.
After VS Code restarted, I went back to the same file and tried the same test again. This time, when I typed the capital T, I heard the normal VS Code suggestion list, not the AI inline suggestion. That told me the built-in AI features were off.
Turn AI features back on
To turn the AI features back on, open the Command Palette with Ctrl+Shift+P and search for AI features again. In my build, the first result changed to Chat: Use AI Features with Copilot. It may also be spoken as Chat: Use AI Features. Press Enter.
VS Code turned the AI features back on right away in my test. I typed the same heading text again, the AI inline suggestion returned, and pressing Tab accepted it.
The setting in JSON
If you prefer editing JSON settings directly, the same setting looks like this when AI features are disabled:
{
"chat.disableAIFeatures": true
}
To allow AI features again, set it to false or remove the setting:
{
"chat.disableAIFeatures": false
}
If Copilot was disabled by the setting, run Chat: Use AI Features from the Command Palette afterward so VS Code can activate the normal Copilot setup flow.
A few notes
chat.disableAIFeatureswas introduced in VS Code 1.104, the August 2025 release that shipped on September 11, 2025. If the setting is missing, update VS Code.- Workspace settings override User settings, so check both places if AI does not turn on or off the way you expect.
- Command labels can change between VS Code builds. If the exact label is different, search the Command Palette for
AI features. - Organization-managed Copilot or VS Code policies may override what you can change locally.