Share via

Set up Microsoft 365 Copilot and assign licenses

  • Applies to: ✅ Microsoft 365 Copilot

As part of your Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption, the next step is to enable security features, configure the update channel, and assign Copilot licenses to users. This article provides guidance for IT administrators on how to prepare your organization for Microsoft 365 Copilot. It covers foundational implementation and readiness activities, licensing, and steps to ensure a secure and compliant deployment.

Diagram that shows the setup and assign license step to adopt and enable Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Prerequisites

Admin center roles

This article uses the following admin centers. These admin centers require a specific role to complete the tasks in the article.

Licensing

To purchase Microsoft 365 Copilot, make sure you have an appropriate subscription plan. Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses are available as an add-on to other licensing plans. For more information, see Microsoft 365 Copilot license options.

You can purchase Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses through the Microsoft 365 admin center marketplace, Microsoft partners, or your Microsoft account team.

You might need more licenses to use some of the features described in this article, like Microsoft Purview and Microsoft SharePoint Premium - SharePoint Advanced Management overview.

Readiness activities

To ensure a smooth transition to Microsoft 365 Copilot, use the following readiness checklist:

  • Set up a test environment: To validate configurations and test scenarios, establish a test environment with necessary licenses.

  • Conduct pilot testing: To identify any issues and gather feedback, do pilot testing with a select group of users.

  • Develop a communication plan: Create a communication plan to inform users about the upcoming changes and provide them with the necessary resources and support.

  • Review conditional access policies: Make sure that you appropriately configure conditional access policies. Microsoft 365 Copilot supports tenant-level conditional access policies in SharePoint. For more information, see Conditional Access.

  • Review SharePoint Search and Advanced Management Policies: Use SharePoint Advanced Management to control access to content, prevent oversharing, and manage content lifecycle. For more information, see Get ready for Microsoft 365 Copilot with SharePoint Advanced Management.

    Additionally, consider implementing restricted SharePoint search to limit the discoverability of sensitive content. For more information, see Address oversharing concerns in Microsoft 365 Copilot deployment blueprint.

  • Ensure network compliance: Make sure that your network meets the requirements for Microsoft 365 Copilot services. For more information, see Microsoft 365 Copilot network requirements.

Security measures

To ensure a secure and compliant environment for Microsoft 365 Copilot, it's crucial to implement robust security measures. Some key components are multifactor authentication, audit logging, and restricting sensitive information. These measures help protect against unauthorized access and provide visibility into user and admin activities.

Multifactor authentication (MFA)

Multifactor authentication is a critical security measure that requires users to provide two or more verification factors to access a resource such as an application or online account. When you implement MFA, it helps protect against unauthorized access and enhances the security of your organization's data. For more information, see Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication.

Steps to implement MFA:

Audit logging

Audit logging is essential for tracking and monitoring activities within your Microsoft 365 environment. It helps you detect and respond to potential security incidents and ensures compliance with regulatory requirements. For more information, see Audit logging and monitoring overview.

Steps to implement audit logging:

  • Enable unified audit logging: To capture all user and admin activities, turn on unified audit logging in the Microsoft Purview portal.

  • Configure audit log retention: Set up retention policies to ensure that audit logs are retained for the required period based on your organization's compliance needs.

  • Monitor and review logs: Regularly monitor and review audit logs to identify any suspicious activities or potential security threats.

Restrict sensitive info from Copilot

To protect sensitive information during the deployment and use of Microsoft 365 Copilot, follow these steps to identify, assess, and mitigate oversharing risks. These measures help maintain data security and compliance within your organization.

  • Identify most popular sites and assess oversharing: Export the top 100 most used sites from the SharePoint admin center and run the SharePoint Advanced Management permission state report. For more information, see Secure by default with Microsoft Purview.

  • Grant Copilot access to popular, low-risk sites: Cross-reference the report results from SharePoint Advanced Management and the Microsoft Purview Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) oversharing posture assessment with the top 100 used sites.

  • Turn on proactive audit and protection: Disable everyone except external users (EEEU) at the tenant level and enable Purview Audit to monitor Copilot interaction activity. For more information, see Protect your sensitive data with Microsoft Purview.

  • Implement access controls and labeling: Start a SharePoint Advanced Management Access Review for all sites that are overshared. Then apply restricted access control on business-critical sites. For more information, see Get ready for Microsoft 365 Copilot with SharePoint Advanced Management).

For detailed steps, see Address internal oversharing concerns in Microsoft 365 Copilot deployment blueprint.

Get started and deploy

Step 1: Update channels

✅ Use the Current Channel or Monthly Enterprise Channel to update apps

Microsoft 365 Copilot follows the Microsoft 365 Apps standard practice for deployment and updates. It's available in all update channels, except for Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel.

Your options:

  • Production channels:

    • Current Channel provides your users with the newest Microsoft 365 app features as soon as they're ready. It provides the best experience for a fast-moving product, like Copilot.

    • Monthly Enterprise Channel is more predictable for when Microsoft releases these new Microsoft 365 app features each month. It's a good option for organizations that want to validate the new features before they're released to the Current Channel.

  • Preview channels include Current Channel (Preview) and Beta Channel.

    Preview channels are a great option to validate the product before rolling out to the rest of organization. For more information, see Overview of update channels for Microsoft 365 Apps and Compare Microsoft 365 Insider channels.

You can manage channels for user devices in multiple ways. For more information, see Change update channel of Microsoft 365 to enable Copilot.

Step 2: Provision Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses

✅ Assign Copilot licenses by using the Microsoft 365 admin center

Before you assign Copilot licenses, make sure that you provision users and assign Microsoft 365 licenses to users in your tenant. Your options:

Next, assign Copilot licenses so users can start using it. You can manage Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses in the Microsoft 365 admin center. You can assign to individual users or to groups of users, and also reassign licenses to other users.

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center and go to Billing > Licenses.

  2. Select Microsoft 365 Copilot.

  3. In the product details page, assign licenses to users and manage their access to Copilot and other apps and services.

  4. To check if a user is added, go to Users > Active Users. This page shows all users and any active licenses.

When you assign licenses, Copilot shows up in Microsoft 365 apps, like Word and Excel. For some apps, users might need to wait up to 24 hours for Copilot to appear. They might also need to restart or refresh the app. Once enabled, Copilot appears across the apps.

To use Copilot, users sign into the app with their work or school account and the file must be editable, not read-only. In some experiences like Word, a Copilot dialog shows when you create a new document. In other experiences, Copilot is accessible on the ribbon.

Note

  • It's not supported to assign Copilot licenses to cross-tenant users, including guests.

  • For education customers, the Copilot license is listed under Microsoft 365 A3 Extra Features for faculty or Microsoft 365 A5 Extra Features for faculty.

You can also manage licenses from the Copilot page in the Microsoft 365 admin center. For more information, see Microsoft 365 reports in the admin center.

For more information, see Assign Microsoft 365 licenses to users.

Step 3: Configure settings for Copilot

✅ Configure more Copilot features

You can manage settings by using the Copilot Control System. It provides centralized access to admin features and controls that benefit your organization.

To access these settings, go to the Microsoft 365 admin center> Copilot.

With the Copilot Control System, you can:

  • View the status of Copilot license assignments.
  • Access the latest information on Copilot.
  • Manage data security and compliance controls.
  • Submit feedback on behalf of users.
  • Configure plugins and permissions.
  • Enable the use of web data as grounding data in Copilot.

For more information, see Manage Microsoft 365 Copilot scenarios and configure the Microsoft 365 Copilot app.

Step 4 - Deploy to some users and measure adoption

When you're ready to assign Copilot licenses to your users, follow these three phases:

  1. Pilot: To test the deployment and gather feedback, assign licenses to a small group of users.

  2. Deploy: Assign licenses to a larger group of users.

  3. Operate: Monitor usage and adoption, and make adjustments as needed.

For more information about these phases, and possible actions you can take in each phase, see the Microsoft deployment blueprint to address oversharing in Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Pilot

✅ Create a group of early adopters

There are many uses of Microsoft 365 Copilot across the various Microsoft 365 productivity apps. Users can find value in different ways.

To help drive adoption, create a group of early adopters. This group can help you understand how users are using Copilot and how it's valuable to them.

  1. Identify users across various business groups in your organization, ideally with high usage of existing Microsoft 365 features. You can identify these users by reviewing usage metrics in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

  2. Assign these users Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses and onboard them to Copilot. For more resources to help at this stage, see the user engagement tools and templates in the Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption hub.

  3. As these users get more comfortable with using Copilot, they can speak to how they use it best, and where it's most valuable for them. This information provides you with product champions that can help other users adopt and use Copilot across your organization.

    With your established community of early adopters or champions, they can better speak to their peers within their organization. These champions can contextualize the value of Copilot to best suit their needs. This framework also provides your IT department with a scalable way to handle questions through champions, developing a team of experts across your organization.

For more information about driving adoption, visit the Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption hub.

Deploy

✅ Fully deploy Copilot licenses to all users in your organization

To deploy Copilot licenses to all users in your organization, follow these steps:

  1. Use the Microsoft 365 admin center to assign licenses to individual users or groups of users, depending on your needs.

  2. Before users begin using Copilot, make sure that you assign the appropriate licenses to them. This step makes sure that everyone has access to the features they need and can participate fully in the Copilot experience.

During this phase, also include the following activities:

  • Focus on preventing oversharing by limiting external sharing, restricting access to certain files or folders, and setting up alerts to notify you of any unusual activity.

  • Use sensitivity labels to classify and protect sensitive information. These labels allow you to automatically encrypt files containing sensitive data or restrict access to files marked as "confidential."

For more information on these important data security steps, see Copilot Control System security and governance.

Operate

✅ Get insights and user sentiment

To measure the impact of Copilot on your organization, use the Copilot Dashboard from Viva Insights, and the Microsoft 365 usage reports in the admin center. These tools provide organizational leaders and IT decision makers with insights into readiness, adoption, impact, and user sentiment.

For more information, see the following articles:

Related content