Last Updated on May 26, 2026
You may have noticed that many applications think they know better than you when it comes to predicting what you want to type as you are typing on your computer. Some people find this helpful because you can usually press a key such as Tab to have the suggested text completed for you which can save you time, especially if you are a slow typist.
But some of us might find this predictive\suggested text feature to be a distraction since you sometimes tend to focus on what your computer is suggesting for you rather than what you are actually typing. The same goes for the email autofill feature you have with web browsers.
Microsoft Word has a build in predictive text feature that is most likely enabled by default. The image below shows some samples of what Word is suggesting (grey text) as the sentences are being typed.
1. Open the Word Options Menu
To turn off the predictive text feature in Microsoft Word, simply go to the File menu. You will find this tab located in the top left corner of the main ribbon. Click it and then select Options at the very bottom of the sidebar list.
2. Navigate to the Editing Options
From there, go to the Advanced section located in the left navigation pane. Scroll down the main window until you see the Editing Options header. This specific area controls exactly how the software responds to your daily keystrokes.
3. Disable the Text Predictions Box
Now find the box that says Show text predictions while typing. If it’s checked, then that means it’s enabled. All you need to do from here is uncheck the box and click on the OK button. The distracting grey suggestion text will vanish immediately.
Disable Global Windows Text Suggestions
1. Open the Windows Settings
If you find that your computer is doing the same thing with text suggestions in other apps, you can stop it globally. You may want to check your Windows settings under Time & Language. Press the Windows key + I on your keyboard to open this control panel instantly.
2. Turn Off Physical Keyboard Suggestions
Click on the Typing section to view your hardware input rules. Look for the specific option that says Show text suggestions when typing on the physical keyboard. Toggle that switch to the off position and disable that as well.
3. Verify Individual App Preferences
You still might find that other apps offer text suggestions as well. To disable it completely, you may have to find the appropriate setting in the options for that specific app. You must check the native settings menu of any stubborn software manually.
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