How to get ready for Microsoft 365 Copilot

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Although "Microsoft 365 Copilot" is not available to the general public, initial setup instructions have been released ahead of time. Personally, I think it is unusual for Microsoft to release the configuration method for a product prior to its public release, but I would like to summarize it in this blog along with some peripheral information and discussion.

Prerequisite

  • Both "Microsoft 365 E3 or E5" and "Microsoft 365 Copilot License" will be required to use the features described in this blog.[1]
  • The "Microsoft 365 Copilot License" is not yet available.
  • The content of this blog is based on information up to June 26, 2023, but the situation may change in the future due to changes in the specifications of cloud services. Please understand that it is difficult to maintain the latest information at all times, although we will do our best to revise the information when we confirm specification changes.

What is Microsoft 365 Copilot?

Microsoft 365 Copilot" is a solution designed to improve user productivity by embedding GPT-4 into Office applications such as Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. [1] It will appear as an add-on license for Microsoft 365, which we have traditionally used, and can be purchased with Microsoft 365 E3 or Microsoft 365 E5.

Microsoft 365 Copilot can respond back to users with references to data on an organization's Microsoft 365 and, as seen in the demo video, is envisioned to be used in the following ways.

  • Teams: allows users to make notes of meeting agendas or give instructions via chat to have Copilot locate and display a summary of organizational data.
  • Word: helps you create, edit, summarize, and produce text.Simply give a short prompt and Copilot will generate a draft, pulling information from throughout the organization as needed.
  • Excel: It assists with data analysis and subsequent graphing and other tasks. By asking Copilot questions in natural language, it will reveal correlations, suggest what-if scenarios, and suggest new formulas based on your questions.
  • PowerPoint: It helps users turn their ideas into vivid presentations. It can convert existing documents into slides with speaker notes and sources, or generate drafts of new presentations from simple prompts or outlines of the user's own creation. Image generation is also supported,
  • Outlook: by writing drafts of replies, etc., users can spend less time organizing emails and communicate more efficiently.

Note: Microsoft 365 Copilot is based on Azure OpenAI Service, not ChatGPT hosted by OpenAI, which does not use user data for training to enhance large-scale language models. Azure OpenAI Service does not use user data for training to enhance large-scale language models. [2]

Steps to Deploy Microsoft 365 Copilot in Your Organization

Although you cannot purchase a license for Microsoft 365 Copilot yet, information on how to deploy it to your users has been released ahead of time, so we will read through and summarize the documents and videos that have been released.

Step 1: Check and review access rights

What is Microsoft 365 Copilot?" As we mentioned in "What is Microsoft 365 Copilot?", the nature of Microsoft 365 Copilot is that it refers to data on an organization's Microsoft 365 and then sends a response back to the user.

By design, Microsoft 365 Copilot respects existing permissions for the content it retrieves and only generates responses based on information for which it has permissions, but if the existing permissions are incorrect, it is possible that information that should not be seen could be viewed through Microsoft 365 Copilot. However, if the existing access permissions are incorrect, there is a possibility that information that should not be seen could be viewed through Microsoft 365 Copilot.

For this reason, Microsoft's best practices recommend checking that the existing data access permissions are appropriate before deploying Microsoft 365 Copilot. Incidentally, there are various methods to check if the scope of access to existing data is appropriate, and Microsoft may provide the following.

Step 2: Activate Copilot and Assign License

Next, you will purchase a license and proceed with activation and assignment; it appears that you can start the setup from the Microsoft 365 Administration Center.


Next, you will see guidance for each product, review each one, and then proceed.


The next step is to grant licenses. Grant licenses to users and groups.


Finally, confirm the email text of the notification to the user and you are done.


Why were the steps preempted when the functionality is not available?

Why is the procedure being preempted when the functionality is not available? I would like to summarize this point, including my observations. In a nutshell, I think it is because there is a concern that it could be a "trigger" (note: not the essential cause) for the incorrect release of information, and a preparation period is necessary.

Microsoft 365 Copilot is designed to inherit current access rights

As mentioned earlier, Microsoft 365 Copilot is designed to read and respond to content on Microsoft 365 only based on the information you as a user have permission to access. So, for organizations that already have strict access controls in place on Microsoft 365, there is nothing to be concerned about when Microsoft 365 Copilot comes along.

Concerns about "triggering" users to find data they should not have access to if their current access rights are incorrect

On the other hand, the problem is when the current access privileges are incorrect. For example, it is out of the question if a general employee is a member of SharePoint where management secrets are stored, but it is easy to "paste important information into a Teams channel and leave it there" or "SharePoint where personal information is handled is public". Microsoft 365 Copilot can be used in such cases to "trigger" the discovery of "*critical* and *dormant* data that users should not have had access to".

Also, from a personal information perspective, if personal information is loaded into the generated AI, it could be considered a breach of contract, depending on the nature of the contract with the customer. It will be important to discuss this with your company's legal department, etc. in advance.

Making it easier to leverage data that has been sitting in the depths of cloud storage again with Microsoft 365 Copilot (ChatGPT) will be of tremendous value to the success of the business. That is a great aspect, but there are always two sides to things, especially in the enterprise, and you have to be prepared for the cases where it can have a negative effect.

Note: This issue is an access management issue in a Microsoft 365 environment and is not inherently specific to Microsoft 365 Copilot. The real problem (risk) is "access authorization errors" and Microsoft 365 Copilot only increases the likelihood that the risk, if possessed, will materialize. Therefore, it is very important to eliminate potential risks. Also, regardless of whether or not you decide to implement Microsoft 365 Copilot, make sure that it is designed and operated in a way that allows you to properly control access to your data.

Do you have control over Microsoft 365 access rights?

We do not know when Microsoft 365 Copilot will become public. In such a situation, I take the liberty of thinking that it is Microsoft's consideration to make the initial setup procedure publicly available. The period of time between the release of the procedure and the actual availability of the functionality is considered a grace period (?) given by Microsoft. Let's take it as a grace period (?) given to us by Microsoft, and review data permission management and distribution channels to be prepared for no accidents when Microsoft 365 Copilot comes out and is deployed to users.

Conclusion

Powerful tools come with their own side effects, and although Microsoft 365 Copilot is not here yet, it is certainly a powerful tool. I wrote this blog in the hope that the information technology department and security staff will be prepared for the day when it arrives. I, too, can't wait for Microsoft 365 Copilot to arrive, and I'll be doing a lot of research to prepare for it.

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