Turn VS Code AI and Copilot On or Off from the Keyboard

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.

Before changing the setting, I like to confirm the current state.

I opened a file, moved to a blank line, and typed a Markdown heading marker:

Then I started typing:

VS Code offered an AI inline suggestion for the rest of the heading:

When I pressed Tab, VS Code accepted the suggestion. That was enough to confirm that AI suggestions were on.

Open the Command Palette with either shortcut:

or:

Then type:

In my VS Code build, the first result was:

Press Enter on that command.

VS Code opened Settings near the right option. With NVDA, I pressed Down Arrow once and landed on:

Then I pressed Tab to move to the checkbox for:

The checkbox was not checked, so AI features were allowed.

To turn AI features off, press:

That checks chat.disableAIFeatures.

After changing the setting, I pressed Escape to leave Settings and reloaded the VS Code window so I was testing a fresh editor state.

Open the Command Palette again:

Type:

Choose:

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.

To enable the AI features again, open the Command Palette:

Search for:

In my build, the first result changed to:

It may also be spoken as:

Press Enter.

VS Code activated the AI features immediately in my test. I typed the same heading text again, and the AI inline suggestion returned. Pressing Tab accepted it.

If you prefer editing JSON settings directly, the same setting looks like this when AI features are disabled:

To allow AI features again, set it to false or remove the setting:

If Copilot was disabled by the setting, use Use AI Features afterward so VS Code can activate the normal Copilot setup flow.

• chat.disableAIFeatures was 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.