But there’s no coincidence this new feature searches the web using Bing and Edge, even if you’ve set a different default browser. So if you don’t want to keep search highlights on your taskbar, we’ll show you how to get rid of them.

1. Change the Taskbar Settings

The search highlights icon is usually quite colorful, so it might ruin how your display overall design. Especially if you’ve installed dark themes on your Windows computer.

However, you can easily customize your taskbar and remove search highlights. Right-click anywhere on the empty space on your taskbar and extend the Search menu. Then, uncheck Show search highlights.

That’s it. You can now use the search bar without accidentally opening the search highlights menu.

2. Use the Group Policy Editor

If you’re tech-savvy enough, you can use the Group Policy Editor to change your system settings. Here’s how you can do it:

In the Start menu search bar, search for edit group policy and select the Best Match. In the left pane, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search. In the right pane, locate and open Allow search highlights. Select Disabled and click Apply > OK. Restart your computer and check if the search highlights icon has disappeared from the search bar.

3. Edit the Windows Registry

If none of the above methods worked, you should try editing the Registry Editor. Follow these steps carefully, so you don’t end up accidentally messing up the Registry.

Log in using your administrator account. Press Win + R to bring up a Run dialog. Type regedit and click Enter. In the Registry Editor window, head to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Policies > Microsoft > Windows > Windows Search. There, open EnableDynamicContentInWSB. Change Value data to 0 and click OK.

Note: If you want to re-enable search highlights on your computer, go through the above steps again and set Value data to 1.

Keep Your Taskbar Looking Neat

Apart from removing search highlights from your taskbar, there’s a chance you’ll never interact with it again. Fortunately, you can easily remove it using one of the above methods.

Now, there are more ways to personalize your taskbar and Start menu, so you can access everything you need with just a few clicks.