Copilot for Microsoft 365 data will be stored in the same region as the existing 365 content

Microsoft updated Copilot for Microsoft 365 to store its data (all the chats and interactions) in the same country/region as it stores the 365 content of a specific account, announced the Redmond-based tech giant in a blog post (ironically, edited by Copilot itself), saying:

Now we’re excited to announce the expansion of Microsoft’s data residency capabilities by adding content of interactions with Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 to our portfolio of data residency commitments and offerings. We are expanding our product terms and Microsoft 365 data residency offerings to contractually guarantee that we will store the content of your interactions with Copilot for Microsoft 365 in the same country or region in which you store your existing Microsoft 365 content.   

Microsoft

However, it’s worth mentioning the option to store Copilot data in the same region/country as the Microsoft 365 data is only available to those customers whose tenants are bound to specific geographies, as in the case of European users, where the EU Data Boundary compels Microsoft to allow users to keep their data in the EU.

The Redmond-based tech giant has been under the radar in Europe, as the EU put it on the black list, and its Digital Market Acts is stopping the company from releasing Windows Copilot in the region, although Bing and Edge remain unaffected, and Copilot can be accessed on Microsoft Edge in Europe.

On the other hand, Microsoft is making its products, including Windows, more EEA-compliant, and the recent AI investments in the continent are signs that Europe might allow Microsoft to release its native AI tools there.

To support data and privacy obligations, the Redmond-based tech giant added multiple storage options to Microsoft 365, and its Copilot, as follows:

• Product Terms Data Residency provides data residency commitments for Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Microsoft Teams in the following country and regions: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Norway, Qatar, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, United States, and the European Union.  
• Advanced Data Residency add-on (ADR) provides eligible customers with expanded coverage of Microsoft 365 workloads, committed data residency in local datacenter regions, and prioritized tenant migration services. ADR is available in all the regions covered by Product Terms Data Residency, as well as Poland, Italy, and Israel with new local data center regions in Mexico and Spain coming soon. 
• Multi-Geo Capabilities add-on provides customers with the ability to expand their Microsoft 365 presence to multiple geographic regions within a single existing Microsoft 365 tenant. Multi-Geo Capabilities are available in the same set of local regions as ADR plus the three macro regions—Americas, Asia-Pacific, and European Union. Please review details for covered workloads. 
• EU Data Boundary allows customers in the European Union and the European Free Trade Association to keep their data in the EU. 

Microsoft

Later this year, Microsoft will also add the option to view the specific geographic storage location for Microsoft 365, including Copilot, through the Data Location Card, which can be accessed in the 365 Admin Center.