Copilot is a powerful tool that helps you write faster and better code, documents, emails, and more. It uses artificial intelligence to suggest completions, corrections, and enhancements for your text, based on your context and preferences. Copilot can save you time, improve your productivity, and boost your creativity. 

However, Copilot also comes with some risks and responsibilities. When you use Copilot, you are sharing your text with a third-party service that may not have the same level of security and compliance as your organization. You may also be exposing sensitive or confidential information that belongs to your customers, partners, or colleagues. This can lead to data breaches, legal issues, or reputational damage. 

Fortunately, there are ways to mitigate these risks and protect your sensitive content with Copilot. One of the best ways is to use Microsoft 365 Groups and sensitivity labels. These are features of Microsoft 365 that allow you to control who can access, share, and manage your content across different apps and services, such as SharePoint, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams. By using Microsoft 365 Groups and sensitivity labels, you can ensure that your content is safe and compliant, even when you use Copilot. 

In this blog post, we will explain what Microsoft 365 Groups and sensitivity labels are, how they work, and how to use them effectively with Copilot. We will also share some best practices and tips to help you get the most out of these features. 

What are Microsoft 365 Groups and sensitivity labels? 

Microsoft 365 Groups are a way to organize your content and collaboration around a common purpose, project, or team. They are like a container that holds a set of resources, such as a SharePoint site, a OneDrive folder, a Microsoft Teams channel, a Planner board, and more. When you create a Microsoft 365 Group, you can add members, assign roles, and set permissions for the group. This way, you can easily share and manage your content with the people who need it, without having to do it individually for each resource. 

Sensitivity labels are a way to classify your content based on its level of sensitivity, such as confidential, internal, or public. They are like a tag that you can apply to your content, either manually or automatically, to indicate how it should be handled, protected, and retained. When you apply a sensitivity label to your content, you can enforce policies and actions, such as encryption, watermarking, access restrictions, expiration, and deletion. This way, you can ensure that your content is secure and compliant, regardless of where it is stored or shared. 

How to use Microsoft 365 Groups and sensitivity labels with Copilot? 

When you use Copilot, you may be creating or editing content that is stored in SharePoint, OneDrive, or Microsoft Teams. These are apps and services that are part of Microsoft 365 and that support Microsoft 365 Groups and sensitivity labels. Therefore, you can use these features to protect your content with Copilot, by following these steps: 

• Create or join a Microsoft 365 Group that matches your purpose, project, or team. For example, if you are working on a new product with Copilot, you can create a Microsoft 365 Group for that product and add the relevant people as members. 
• Use the resources that are associated with your Microsoft 365 Group, such as the SharePoint site, the OneDrive folder, or the Microsoft Teams channel, to store and share your content with Copilot. For example, if you are writing a document with Copilot, you can save it in the OneDrive folder of your Microsoft 365 Group. 
• Apply a sensitivity label to your content that matches its level of sensitivity, either manually or automatically. For example, if you are writing a document with Copilot that contains confidential information, you can apply a sensitivity label that encrypts the document and prevents unauthorized access. 
• Review and update your Microsoft 365 Group settings and sensitivity label policies regularly, to make sure they reflect your current needs and requirements. For example, if you are done with a project that you worked on with Copilot, you can delete the Microsoft 365 Group and its resources, or apply a sensitivity label that expires the content after a certain period. 

Best practices and tips for using Microsoft 365 Groups and sensitivity labels with Copilot 

Here are some best practices and tips to help you use Microsoft 365 Groups and sensitivity labels effectively with Copilot: 

• Use descriptive and consistent names for your Microsoft 365 Groups and sensitivity labels, to make them easy to identify and apply. 
• Use the least privileged principle for your Microsoft 365 Group members and roles, to limit the access and actions that they can perform on your content. 
• Use the default sensitivity labels that are provided by Microsoft 365, or create custom ones that suit your organization’s needs and regulations. 
• Use the automatic labeling feature of Microsoft 365, or the Copilot suggestions, to apply sensitivity labels to your content based on its content and context. 
• Use the audit and report features of Microsoft 365, to monitor and track the usage and activity of your Microsoft 365 Groups and sensitivity labels. 

Copilot is a great tool that can help you write faster and better code, documents, emails, and more. However, it also comes with some risks and responsibilities, especially when you deal with sensitive or confidential content.