The small blue dot that sits on your text cursor in Google Docs, Gmail or any other text box is Microsoft Edge's writing assistance hint. It comes from the browser, not from the website, so Google Docs settings have nothing for it.
In Edge, open Settings > Languages and switch off Show writing hints to hide just the dot. Switching off Use writing assistance removes the whole helper.
In this guide
What the blue dot is
Edge added a writing helper that waits in every text box you type in. The dot marks where it is. Click it and you get Edge's offer to help you write, with a microphone for dictation and an AI helper you can ask for text.
People first notice it in Google Docs, but it appears in email, forums and web forms too. Open the same page in Chrome, Firefox or Brave and the dot is gone, which is the quickest proof that it belongs to Edge.
1. Hide just the dot with Show writing hints
Go straight to edge://settings/languages from Edge's address bar, or open the three-dot menu at the top right, choose Settings, then Languages.
Find the Writing assistance section and turn off Show writing hints. The dot stops appearing on your cursor, but the helper isn't gone: hover over the cursor and a small pencil button still opens it when you want it.
That's the switch I'd use if you like Edge's spelling and grammar help and only hate the dot.
2. Or turn the whole writing helper off
In the same section, turn off Use writing assistance. That removes the helper completely, and Show writing hints goes gray because nothing is left for it to show.
Older Edge versions label it Use Writing Assistant for writing on the web. Turning that off is what removed the dot for owners on the Google Docs help forum, where the question about it collected more than 140 votes.
A different box, Rewrite with Copilot, can pop up when you select text. In current versions it has its own switch on the same page, Use Compose (AI-writing) on the web.
3. Reload the page you were typing in
Edge applies the change to new pages, so reload Google Docs or the email tab after you flip the switch. Click into the text again and check that the dot has gone.
4. Still there? Check whether it's Edge at all
Open the same page in another browser. If the dot is missing there, it's Edge's setting, so go back to step 1 and look for the switch again, since the labels move a little between versions.
If a dot shows in every app, not only in Edge, look at Windows itself. Settings > Accessibility > Text cursor has a Text cursor indicator that puts a colored marker on your cursor everywhere you type. Turn it off there.
Browser extensions that check grammar draw their own icons in text boxes too. Turn them off one at a time in Edge's extensions page to rule them out.
5. On a work PC, IT may control it
Microsoft's Edge policy page for ComposeInlineEnabled describes a setting that controls writing support features in Edge for Business, such as Rewrite.
So on a computer your employer manages, the IT team can switch the feature on or off for you. If the switch is missing or won't move, ask them.
Want it back later?
Nothing is deleted when you turn it off. Switch Show writing hints or Use writing assistance on again from that same Languages page whenever you want Edge's writing help again.
Edge has changed other things this year too. Its Collections were retired, and an update tinted some pages yellow.
If Read aloud stalls on loading instead, the Read aloud page shows the voice switch that got Edge reading again.
If nothing works
Send Microsoft a report from Edge itself: press Alt + Shift + I, describe the dot and where it appears, and include your Edge version from Settings > About Microsoft Edge. Then use Chrome or Firefox for that site until an update sorts it.
What is the blue dot over my cursor?
It's the hint for Edge's writing assistance, the browser's built-in writing helper. Clicking it offers help to write, and it disappears when you open the same page in another browser.
How do I remove the blue dot in Google Docs?
Turn off Show writing hints in Edge's Settings > Languages, under Writing assistance. Your Google Docs settings have nothing for it, because the dot comes from the browser.
Does the blue dot appear in Chrome?
Not from Edge's writing helper. Chrome adds its own AI line to the right-click menu, Ask Gemini, and a Google policy removes it.
The Short Version
- The blue dot is Edge's writing assistance hint, not part of Google Docs.
- Go to
edge://settings/languagesand turn off Show writing hints to hide only the dot. - Turn off Use writing assistance to remove the helper completely.
- Reload the page you were typing in.
- A dot in every app points at Windows' Text cursor indicator instead.
- On a work PC, IT may control the feature.
Checked November 8, 2026.
