On Windows 11, Microsoft is building a new search widget that allows you to perform quick searches from the desktop without opening the browser first.
The only caveat is that the feature uses Microsoft Edge and Bing to show the query results, which means that it doesn’t respect your default web browser or search engine preferences.
If you have to be running a preview of Windows 11 higher than build 25120 and the search box widget is enabled, it’s possible to disable the web search feature.
In this guide, you will learn the steps to disable the desktop search box widget on Windows 11.
Disable desktop search box widget on Windows 11
To turn off the desktop search box on Windows 11, use these steps:
Open desktop context menu.
Click on Show more options.
Quick tip: You can also use the Shift + right-click on the desktop to directly access the classic context menu.
Clear the Show search option.
Once you complete the steps, the search widget will disable from the desktop.
At the time of this writing, the search widget is an experimental feature that may or may not ship with the next version of Windows 11 (version 23H2).