The Compliant Copilot

• Ensuring proper data security and compliance practices in advance of broad Microsoft 365 Copilot deployment is critical for an organization’s regulatory compliance.
• Several Microsoft Purview services have been updated to cover Microsoft 365 Copilot activities; most, however, require capabilities found in Microsoft 365 E5 license tiers.
• Not all Copilot-related compliance features are complete at this writing.

Microsoft 365 Copilots provide AI-powered natural-language interfaces to Microsoft 365 applications and data. They enable users to interact with software in new ways, for example, by simply asking Outlook to compose an e-mail on a certain topic, PowerPoint to draw a wholly original image, or by requesting Teams to summarize a conversation.  

However, for all their power, Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions bring with them new dimensions of compliance risk. For example, if the proper access controls are not enabled, a Copilot response may include content which the user is not authorized to see or share.