Is your Microsoft 365 data ready for Copilot?

Is your Microsoft 365 data ready for Copilot?

Microsoft 365 Copilot has the potential to transform workplace productivity, especially across the public sector and regulated industries. But its success depends entirely on the quality, structure and security of the data it can access. If your Microsoft 365 environment includes outdated content, inconsistent permissions or poorly governed information, Copilot may surface the wrong content – and expose risks your organisation didn’t know existed.

When AI exposes more than it should

In real-world deployments, organisations have experienced unintended exposure of sensitive HR files, internal board documents and unreleased financials – all delivered through standard Copilot queries. In some cases, cached files once made public reappeared in search results, while researchers have demonstrated how prompt injection can force Copilot to disclose unintended information.

These incidents underscore a larger issue: Microsoft 365 environments have grown rapidly, while governance hasn’t always kept up. Without robust information management, the risks include reputational damage, compliance breaches and loss of trust in AI-generated outputs.

Why information governance must come first

There’s plenty of enthusiasm around Microsoft Copilot – and rightly so. But the question many executives are now asking is:

“How do we make sure Copilot gives us reliable, trustworthy answers – not hallucinations or sensitive data leaks?”

Copilot’s reliability doesn’t come from the AI engine. It comes from the quality of the Microsoft 365 content it pulls from. If your environment is disorganised – with unclassified files, open access controls and siloed Teams channels – Copilot will mirror that chaos. AI cannot create governance – it reveals your current state.

Creating a strong governance foundation is essential. That means improving content quality, applying classification and sensitivity labels, tightening access controls and ensuring consistent retention policies. It also means shifting behaviours. When users understand that what they create today could appear in an AI-generated result tomorrow, they begin to manage information more carefully.

How to get Microsoft 365 Copilot-ready

There’s no single path to success, but most organisations follow one of two strategies:

• Full Microsoft 365 governance uplift – A comprehensive approach that remediates outdated data, applies labelling and retention policies, audits permissions, and builds confidence in the broader data estate.
• Curated Copilot-ready dataset – A faster method that restricts Copilot to access only a controlled SharePoint site or records repository containing approved and structured content.

Both methods can work, and Affinity Data helps organisations assess their Microsoft 365 environment to identify the most appropriate strategy based on risk, maturity and compliance priorities.

You may already own the tools for Copilot readiness

A common misconception is that getting ready for Microsoft 365 Copilot requires buying new platforms. In reality, if your organisation uses Microsoft 365 E5 or equivalent, you likely already have access to Microsoft Purview – a powerful suite of tools for governance, compliance and data security.

With Microsoft Purview, you can:

• Classify and label sensitive information
• Discover and map data locations across Microsoft 365
• Control access through policy-based permissions
• Implement Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
• Audit activity and demonstrate compliance

With the right strategy, these native Microsoft tools can provide complete Copilot readiness without additional software investments.

Why Affinity Data

Affinity Data is Australia’s leading specialist in Microsoft-native data governance and compliance. We work exclusively with Microsoft technologies, and bring decades of experience in records management, security and regulatory alignment within Australian government and highly regulated industries.

We understand Microsoft Purview. We understand content lifecycle and compliance. And we help clients design Copilot-ready environments using the platforms they already own.

Our Copilot Readiness Assessment includes:

• A comprehensive review of your Microsoft 365 environment
• Identification of risk areas, access issues and ROT content
• A tailored strategy for Copilot governance and content readiness
• A clear path to secure, effective Copilot adoption

Copilot will only ever be as good as the data behind it.
Contact us to make sure your data is ready.