What everyone needs to know about Copilot security

Microsoft Copilot brings enormous opportunities to improve productivity. As users’ skills grow, the complexity of the tasks carried out with Copilot also increases. Users move ever closer to the core of their own work and, at the same time, often to information that is business‑critical, confidential, and sometimes classified. We have picked some of the most important questions raised about Copilot and will answer them next based on our best insights.

Great question! Copilot “looks at” your documents only when you are actively working on them with its help. Documents are not stored permanently anywhere. In practice, when you ask Copilot to reference or summarize content, it reads the file temporarily and produces a response. When you close the document, Copilot’s access to it also ends.

Copilot runs in Microsoft’s cloud service, where data protection and enterprise‑grade security are built in. When you are signed in with your corporate credentials, your files and conversations are protected in the same way as, for example, your email stored in the cloud.

Technically, yes – Copilot does not store, share, or leak information outside the organization’s environment. But it’s also worth looking at this from another angle: organizations have sensitive and confidential information for a good reason. Protecting this information with tools such as Microsoft Purview is recommended from a risk management perspective.

When confidential information is properly protected, guiding users on how to use Copilot becomes easier and safer. For example, certain documents can be protected so that they cannot be processed with Copilot. This helps avoid human errors and their potential consequences.

Summary: You can share sensitive information with Copilot, as long as organizational guidelines and adequate data protection are in place.

When you interact with Copilot, the conversation is between you and Copilot, and no one else can see it unless you explicitly share it. When you attach a file to a prompt and ask, for example, for a summary, Copilot processes the file temporarily for the duration of the conversation. The document shown in the conversation history is only a reference to the original file, not a copy of it. However, remember to follow your organization’s guidelines on what kinds of documents may be handled with Copilot.

This is primarily a matter of permission. If you are handling bids or other confidential information, make sure you have the right to use it in an AI tool. Contract terms may include restrictions on sharing data with third parties, including AI services.

When processing personal data, GDPR requirements must be followed. In addition, the EU AI Act (in force from 2024 onwards) requires a risk assessment if AI is used for high‑risk tasks, such as automated decisions with legal effects.

In practice, make sure that:

• You have permission to use the data in your possession.

• You process personal data in accordance with the law and GDPR.

• You do not use AI for high‑risk tasks without a risk assessment.

Here’s a summary of key tips:

• Always sign in with corporate credentials so you are covered by enterprise‑level protection.

• Follow organizational guidelines for sharing information with Copilot, especially when it comes to confidential data.

• Leverage information classification and protection so that Copilot’s access can be restricted when needed.

• Use only data that you are authorized to use.

Remember: Copilot has the same permissions as you do. If you see something you shouldn’t, it’s likely a case of incorrectly shared information – contact the document owner.

Copilot is designed with enterprise‑grade security in mind, but users are responsible for ensuring that information is handled correctly. By following organizational guidelines and leveraging Microsoft’s security solutions, you can use Copilot safely and effectively.