Given that Microsoft would like to charge you at least $129 for a Windows license, it’s pretty nervous for the company to keep pushing all sorts of promotions prominently in the user interface. One of the most recent and annoying additions is what the company calls “Search Highlights,” the frequently changing cartoon icons that sit to the right of the Windows 10 or 11 search box.
When you click on the cute icon, you get Bing search results shown to you on some trending topic. The day I wrote this, it was the cartoon car that gave me the information about the British Grand Prix, but it could have been anything the Microsoft Bing team deems important.
Fortunately, make Windows 10 or 11 highlights disappear easily. from Windows 10 Search Box
1. Right-click the search field or anywhere on the taskbar.
2. Select Search from the context menu.
3. Click “Highlight search results” to disable this feature.
How to remove the search highlight from the Windows 11 search box
In Windows 11, you don’t see the search highlight on the taskbar because the search box only appears when you either click the magnifying glass icon or press Windows, press +S or click the search box in the start menu.However, once you open the search menu, you will see annoying icons on the right side of the search box.
The process of disabling search highlights in Windows 11 is slightly different from Windows 10, but still quite simple.
1. Launch the search menu You can get there by clicking on the magnifying glass.
2. Click on the three-dot menu and select Search Settings.
3. Turn off “Show search results”. You’ll have to scroll down to find it.
The main search results icon should now be gone.
