Configure Writing Assistance installation and startup

UserNeeds changes for IntuneL_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoice

Supported on SUPPORTED_Windows10_0 (defined in the Windows templates)

5568.1000

What it does

This policy setting controls whether Writing Assistance is not installed, installed without launching automatically at startup and locked off, installed without launching automatically at startup but still user-controllable, installed and allowed to launch automatically at startup and locked on, or installed with startup on by default but still user-controllable. If you enable this policy setting, choose one of the following options: - Not installed: Writing Assistance is removed and should not appear in Start. - Installed, don't launch at startup: Writing Assistance remains installed, but automatic startup launches are blocked and users cannot turn startup back on. - Installed, don't launch at startup by default (users can enable): Writing Assistance remains installed, automatic startup launches are off by default, and users can turn startup on later. - Installed, launch at startup: Writing Assistance remains installed, automatic startup launches are allowed, and users cannot turn startup off. - Installed, launch at startup by default (users can disable): Writing Assistance remains installed, automatic startup launches are on by default, and users can turn startup off later. If you disable or don't configure this policy setting, Writing Assistance follows its default install and startup behavior, and users can control startup themselves. Note: This policy setting only applies to subscription versions of Office, such as Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise.

What it writes

Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Registry key: software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\writingassistant

Why it needs changes for Intune

Policy references a Windows supportedOn definition.
ADMX-INTUNE-WINDOWS-SUPPORTEDON-REFERENCE

Options

Option	Type	Registry value	Allowed values
Configure Writing Assistance Install and Startup BehaviorDefault: Installed, launch at startup	Drop-down list	`writingassistantinstallandstartupadminchoice`	Not installed`0` Installed, don't launch at startup`1` Installed, don't launch at startup by default (users can enable)`3` Installed, launch at startup`2` Installed, launch at startup by default (users can disable)`4`

Configure and deploy

Choose a state and the option values; the output below is generated from the template for exactly that.

Enabled · User · template defaults

Registry file (.reg)

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\writingassistant]
"writingassistantinstallandstartupadminchoice"=dword:00000002

PowerShell

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Configure Writing Assistance installation and startup
# Name: L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoice
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: office16.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\writingassistant' -Name 'writingassistantinstallandstartupadminchoice' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 2

The OMA-URI is an inferred ADMX-backed Policy CSP candidate derived from the source ADMX file name and policy name.
Some Microsoft policies use built-in Policy CSP pages whose area names don't match the ADMX file name, so verify the candidate against Microsoft Learn before deployment.

ADMX profile candidate (OMA-URI)

./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_office16/L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoice

ADMX SyncML candidate

<SyncML xmlns="SYNCML:SYNCML1.2">
  <SyncBody>
    <Replace>
      <CmdID>1</CmdID>
      <Item>
        <Meta>
          <Format>chr</Format>
          <Type>text/plain</Type>
        </Meta>
        <Target>
          <LocURI>./User/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_office16/L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoice</LocURI>
        </Target>
        <Data>&lt;enabled/&gt;
&lt;data id="L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoiceEnum" value="3"/&gt;</Data>
      </Item>
    </Replace>
    <Final/>
  </SyncBody>
</SyncML>

Intune remediation scripts

Detection

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$reasons = [System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]::new()

function Test-RegistryValueExists {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    return $null -ne (Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)
}

function Test-RegistryValueEquals {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Kind,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Expected
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return $false
    }

    $valueObject = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($null -eq $valueObject) {
        return $false
    }

    $actual = $valueObject.$Name
    switch ($Kind) {
        'String' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'ExpandString' { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
        'DWord' { return [uint32]$actual -eq [uint32]$Expected }
        'QWord' { return [uint64]$actual -eq [uint64]$Expected }
        'MultiString' {
            $actualArray = @($actual)
            $expectedArray = @($Expected)
            if ($actualArray.Count -ne $expectedArray.Count) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Count; $index++) {
                if ([string]$actualArray[$index] -cne [string]$expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        'Binary' {
            $actualArray = [byte[]]$actual
            $expectedArray = [byte[]]$Expected
            if ($actualArray.Length -ne $expectedArray.Length) { return $false }
            for ($index = 0; $index -lt $actualArray.Length; $index++) {
                if ($actualArray[$index] -ne $expectedArray[$index]) { return $false }
            }
            return $true
        }
        default { return [string]$actual -ceq [string]$Expected }
    }
}

# Policy: Configure Writing Assistance installation and startup
# Name: L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoice
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: office16.admx

$isMatch = Test-RegistryValueEquals -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\writingassistant' -Name 'writingassistantinstallandstartupadminchoice' -Kind 'DWord' -Expected 2
if (-not $isMatch) {
    $reasons.Add('Value mismatch: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\writingassistant\writingassistantinstallandstartupadminchoice') | Out-Null
}

if ($reasons.Count -eq 0) {
    Write-Output 'Compliant'
    exit 0
}

$reasons | ForEach-Object { Write-Output $_ }
exit 1

Remediation

$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'

function Set-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $PropertyType,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][object] $Value
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        New-Item -Path $Path -Force | Out-Null
    }

    New-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -PropertyType $PropertyType -Value $Value -Force | Out-Null
}

function Remove-RegistryValue {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path,
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Name
    )

    if (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

function Clear-RegistryKeyValues {
    param(
        [Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string] $Path
    )

    if (-not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $Path)) {
        return
    }

    foreach ($propertyName in (Get-Item -LiteralPath $Path).Property) {
        Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $propertyName -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    }
}

# Policy: Configure Writing Assistance installation and startup
# Name: L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoice
# Scope: User
# State: Enabled
# Source: office16.admx

Set-RegistryValue -Path 'Registry::HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\writingassistant' -Name 'writingassistantinstallandstartupadminchoice' -PropertyType 'DWord' -Value 2

History 1 retained release

5568.100010 Aug 2026
- Already present in the first release ChangeIntel keeps.

Template

Internal name: L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoice
Namespace: office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows
Template file: office16.admx
Release: Microsoft 365 Apps 5568.1000 · file set 8be05d876aae137d…

Definition, editor controls and support

Definition

<policy class="User" displayName="$(string.L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoice)" explainText="$(string.L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoiceExplain)" key="software\policies\microsoft\office\16.0\writingassistant" name="L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoice" presentation="$(presentation.L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoice)" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_WritingAssistance" />
      <supportedOn ref="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows10_0" />
      <elements>
        <enum id="L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoiceEnum" valueName="writingassistantinstallandstartupadminchoice">
          <item displayName="$(string.L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoice_NotInstalled)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="0" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoice_InstalledWithoutStartup)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="1" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoice_InstalledWithoutStartupUserChangeAllowed)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="3" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoice_InstalledWithStartup)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="2" />
            </value>
          </item>
          <item displayName="$(string.L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoice_InstalledWithStartupUserChangeAllowed)">
            <value>
              <decimal value="4" />
            </value>
          </item>
        </enum>
      </elements>
    </policy>

Editor controls

<presentation id="L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoice" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
        <dropdownList defaultItem="3" noSort="true" refId="L_WritingAssistantInstallAndStartupAdminChoiceEnum">Configure Writing Assistance Install and Startup Behavior</dropdownList>
      </presentation>

Supported platforms and category

office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem
<category displayName="$(string.L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem)" name="L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_WritingAssistance
<category displayName="$(string.L_WritingAssistance)" name="L_WritingAssistance" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem" />
    </category>
office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:unresolved:Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows10_0
<unresolved reference="Microsoft.Policies.Windows:SUPPORTED_Windows10_0" />
office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem
<category displayName="$(string.L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem)" name="L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions" />
<strings><string id="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem">Microsoft Office 2016</string></strings>
office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:category:L_WritingAssistance
<category displayName="$(string.L_WritingAssistance)" name="L_WritingAssistance" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/GroupPolicy/2006/07/PolicyDefinitions">
      <parentCategory ref="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_MicrosoftOfficeSystem" />
    </category>
<strings><string id="office16.Office.Microsoft.Policies.Windows:L_WritingAssistance">Writing Assistance</string></strings>