M365 Copilot requirements explained!

Why do you need a OneDrive account? What for a MS Entra ID account to use M365 Copilot?



If you're wondering about these questions and more, read on. I will briefly explain the technical requirements for M365 Copilot.

What is M365 Copilot?

Skip this if you're already familiar with it.

M365 Copilot is a conversational AI tool that can help you with your tasks at work. 

M365 Copilot includes access to:

• Copilot Chat
• Seamless integration in M365 Apps like Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, more...
• Creation and usage of Copilot Agents

A key feature of M365 Copilot is Enterprise Data Protection or EDP. 

EDP does not limit M365 Copilot users. Instead it is a relief to use the advantages of AI at work knowing, that your organizational data is protected and secured by the terms of the Data Protection Addendum and the Product Terms. 

EDP ensures, for example, that your data isn't used to train foundation models or that your data remains within the boundaries of the EU, supporting regulatory and compliance requirements such as GDPR.

M365 Copilot Prerequisites

I enjoy having conversations about various topics with different people.

Here and there, I get asked about M365 Copilot.

And here and there, I confirm how organizations want to bake the cake without first gathering all the ingredients.

A: Let's deploy Copilot.

B: Sure! Have you already adopted OneDrive?

A: No, we are still using our file server. Why?

An optimal usage of M365 is a prerequisite for enabling M365 Copilot. 

Happy M365 users = happy M365 Copilot users.

It is harmonized with the technical prerequisites.

Even if technically, your users have a OneDrive account available. It counts as checked if they are using OneDrive regularly for saving and sharing their work files.

An eligible base license

Microsoft 365 Copilot is an add-on license, therefore to assign the add-on, there needs to be a base license first. 

Eligible base licenses include:

- M365 Apps for enterprise or M365 Apps for business
- M365 Business Basic, Business Standard or Business Premium
- M365 E3, E5, F1, or F3
- M365 A1, A3, or A5 for faculty
- Office 365 A1, A3, or A5 for faculty or higher education students aged 18+

And more.

MS Entra ID account

Formerly Azure Active Directory, MS Entra ID is the cloud-based identity and access management service.

Users must have MS Entra ID account. Why?

As the motor for identity and access control and management in M365, Microsoft Entra ID plays a key role in Enterprise Data Protection.

In other words, without MS Entra ID account, there's no chance within M365 architecture to ensure Enterprise Data Protection. 

OneDrive account

Have you tried to see what happens if you use M365 Copilot without a OneDrive account? 

I haven't myself, if you've tried, share your experience with me, send me a message. 👇

Some features in M365 Copilot require users to have a OneDrive account, like uploading a file from your device to enrich a prompt.

Uploading a file to a Copilot Chat prompt will send a copy to that location OneDrive/my files/Microsoft Copilot Chat Files on your OneDrive for Business account. 



Microsoft 365 Apps

Cloud-based Microsoft 365 Apps are required. Make sure there's no device-based licensing for M365 Apps for enterprise, since Copilot isn't available in such a case.

M365 Copilot also integrates in the web versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. To ensure a good user experience, make sure thrid-party cookies are enabled. 

Update Channel

To ensure your users receive the latest M365 Copilot features, make sure you set up as M365 Apps update channel either the Current or Monthly Enterprise Channel.

Outlook

Have you tried to use M365 Copilot in Outlook Classic? M365 Copilot works in both, the new and classic versions. 

In the Outlook classic version, it loses the interactivity features, which I personally love. 



Teams

If your users are licensed with M365 Copilot, then let them try the M365 Copilot integration in MS Teams. 

Copilot in Teams can help people summarize Teams messages as well as take notes during meetings. Make sure to configure transcription and captions for Teams meeting and Teams meeting recording.