Disable Bing Search Suggestions in Windows 11

This post explains the steps for students and new users to turn off Bing web search suggestions on the Start menu in Windows 11.

When you search in Windows, and the keyword doesn’t match content on the local machine, you will get a list of web results suggestions from Bing.

This might be useful for some, but for others, it’s distracting and not very helpful when searching for local content. Searching for content also doesn’t look good on the Start menu.

Windows does not provide an easy way to turn it off. If you need to disable Bing search suggestions from the web, you’ll need to use the group policy editor or Windows registry.

Below is how to turn off Bing search results suggestions in the Windows 11 Start menu or the search box.

How to turn off web search results in suggestions in Windows 11

As mentioned above, when you search in Windows, and the keyword doesn’t match content on the local machine, you will get a list of web results suggestions from Bing in the Start menu or Windows Search box.

If you don’t want to get suggestions from Bing on the Start menu or Windows Search, then the steps below show you how to turn it off. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to turn off this feature except by using the local group policy editor or Windows registry.

Using Local Group Policy Editor:

The quickest way to turn off web search result suggestions in Windows 11 is by using the local group policy editor.

Open the Windows group policy editor by going to the Start menu, searching for “Edit group policy,” and selecting Open.

Once the policy editor opens, browse the path below:

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer

On the right pane, locate the policy item “Turn off display of recent search entries in the File Explorer search box” and select, then double-click to open.

When the policy item opens, select Enabled to disable search suggestions from Bing on the Start menu or Search box.

Exit and restart your computer to apply the changes.

Using Windows Registry:

To use the Windows registry to turn off web search suggestions, open the Registry editor.

When the registry editor opens, browse the path below:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows

Next, right-click the Windows key, select the New menu, and choose the Key.

Name the key Explorer and press Enter. Next, right-click the newly created Key (Explorer), select the New, and then choose the DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Name the DWORD DisableSearchBoxSuggestions and press Enter. Next, double-click the newly created Key and change its Value from 0 to 1.

Click OK to save. Exit and restart your computer.

That should do it

Conclusion:

In summary, turning off Bing web search suggestions in the Windows 11 Start menu and Search box can greatly enhance your experience by focusing on local results. Here are the key takeaways:

• Bing suggestions can be distracting: If you prefer local content over web results, disabling Bing suggestions is beneficial.
• Two main methods: You can disable these suggestions using either the Local Group Policy Editor or the Windows Registry.
• User Configuration Path: In the Group Policy Editor, navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer to access the relevant settings.
• Registry Adjustments: For registry changes, create a new key under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows and set the DWORD value to disable suggestions.
• Restart required: After making changes, restarting your computer is necessary for them to take effect.

By following these steps, you can streamline your search experience in Windows 11.