Microsoft 365 Copilot safety profile

What it does with your data

Microsoft says it does not use what staff type into Copilot, or what Copilot sends back, to train its foundation models. That covers prompts, responses, stored chat history and the organization data Copilot can reach through Microsoft Graph. It applies to both Microsoft Copilot (the full license) and Microsoft Copilot Chat when used with organization accounts. Microsoft also says web searches sent to Bing are not shared with advertisers or used for training. The product was recently renamed: Microsoft 365 Copilot is now called Microsoft Copilot.

The one exception is optional feedback. If a user sends feedback, Microsoft may use it to improve Copilot. Microsoft says it does not use this feedback to train the foundation models.

Copilot keeps each prompt and response, with citations, as the user’s activity history, encrypted at rest. It stays until the user deletes it or an admin retention policy removes it. The vendor pages checked do not mention human review of conversations.

Settings to change first

Microsoft does not describe a training opt-out, because it says content is not used for training. Your Microsoft 365 admin handles the settings worth changing first:

1. Set a retention policy in Microsoft Purview, under the location named Microsoft Copilot experiences. Pick a period that matches your records policy. Microsoft’s own example is to keep content for 30 days and then delete it.
2. Review agent permissions in the Integrated apps section of the Microsoft 365 admin center, and allow only the agents you need.
3. Decide whether to allow third-party models from Anthropic and OpenAI. Additional terms may apply.
4. Decide how to handle optional feedback. Microsoft says you manage this through admin controls and points to an article called “Manage Microsoft feedback for your organization,” but the vendor pages checked give no menu path.

Free and paid tiers

The pages checked compare two versions used with organization accounts: Microsoft Copilot Chat and the full Microsoft Copilot license. They do not say what each costs, and they do not cover personal Microsoft accounts.

For organization accounts, both versions:

• fall under Microsoft’s Data Protection Addendum and Product Terms, with Microsoft acting as data processor
• are not used to train foundation models
• send web queries to Bing the same way, where Bing runs under the Microsoft Services Agreement with Microsoft as an independent data controller

The main difference is reach. Copilot Chat works from the user’s own context. The full license also draws on organization data in Microsoft Graph. Microsoft says specific admin controls vary by subscription plan but does not list them by plan.

Admin controls

Your admin has several options. Microsoft says the exact set depends on your subscription plan, and its pages do not list them by plan.

• Retention policies in Microsoft Purview for Copilot chats
• Content search or Purview to view and manage stored interactions, plus Teams Export APIs for Teams chats with Copilot
• Approving which agents are allowed
• Choosing whether to use Anthropic and OpenAI models
• Turning off connected experiences that analyze content, which disables Copilot in Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word

Copilot also follows your existing permissions, inherits sensitivity labels and supports audit of interactions.

Microsoft lists GDPR, ISO 27001, HIPAA and the ISO 42001 standard for AI management systems. It also commits to ISO/IEC 27018.

Using it with donor and client data

Use Copilot only through your organization’s Microsoft 365 accounts, so the Data Protection Addendum applies. Avoid personal accounts, which the pages checked do not cover.

Even with enterprise terms, keep these out of prompts:

• donor names together with gift amounts
• client case notes
• health or payment details

Web search is the weak spot. The Data Protection Addendum and the business associate agreement for HIPAA do not cover searches sent to Bing, and neither does the EU Data Boundary. If you work with health information, Microsoft says HIPAA support needs a properly configured setup, so ask your admin to confirm yours.

If you have EU supporters, note that Anthropic models sit outside the EU Data Boundary, so consider leaving them off. Outside the EU, Microsoft may process queries in the US, the EU or other regions.

Ask Microsoft in writing which admin controls your specific plan includes, since the pages checked do not say.

Questions people ask

Will Microsoft train its AI on our donor files?

Microsoft says no. It does not use prompts, responses or the organization data Copilot reaches through Microsoft Graph to train foundation models. Microsoft may use optional feedback to improve Copilot, but it says it does not use that feedback to train those models.

If someone deletes a chat, is it gone right away?

Not always. After a message is removed or expires, it sits in a holding folder for at least 1 day, then a cleanup job usually deletes it within 1 to 7 days. Legal or eDiscovery holds pause deletion.

Where is our data processed?

Microsoft routes requests to the nearest data centers, but they may go to other regions when demand is high. EU traffic stays in the EU Data Boundary, except web search and Anthropic models.