Before deploying Microsoft 365 Copilot, review your SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, permissions, security, and data ...
Before deploying Microsoft 365 Copilot, review your SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, permissions, security, and data governance. Learn why a Copilot readiness assessment matters. Microsoft Copilot can do some pretty impressive things. It can help summarize meetings, locate information, draft documents, analyze content, prepare emails, and help employees work across Microsoft 365 more efficiently. But before you open the door and invite AI into your Microsoft 365 environment, there's an important question to answer: Do you know what's already hiding inside?
Old SharePoint sites.
Files shared with people who no longer need them.
Teams created years ago and forgotten.
Sensitive documents stored in unexpected locations.
Employees with access they accumulated as their roles changed.
Former project groups that were never cleaned up.
None of those problems were created by Copilot.
But Copilot can make existing Microsoft 365 data governance problems much more noticeable.
Can Microsoft Copilot see everything in your organization?
No. Microsoft Copilot respects the Microsoft 365 permissions your organization already has in place. Users can only access work content they are authorized to access. That's an important security control. It's also exactly why permissions matter so much. If an employee already has access to information they probably shouldn't have access to, Copilot doesn't automatically know that your organization considers that access inappropriate. Microsoft itself recommends reviewing SharePoint and OneDrive governance, identifying potentially overshared content, cleaning up unused sites, and ensuring sites have appropriate owners as part of Copilot preparation.
In other words:
Copilot doesn't create bad permissions. It can expose the consequences of permissions you already have.
Why does this become more important with AI?
Before tools like Copilot, employees often had to know where information was located. They might have needed to navigate through:
SharePoint → Department Site → Documents → Old Projects → Customer Folder → Contract.
Technically, they may have had permission to access the file the entire time. But they didn't necessarily know it existed. AI changes the way people find information. Instead of navigating folder structures, someone can simply ask a question. That's incredibly powerful when your environment is properly governed. It's less comfortable when you've spent ten years accumulating files, permissions, Teams, SharePoint sites, OneDrive folders, and sharing links without reviewing them.
What should you review before deploying Microsoft Copilot?
A Copilot readiness assessment should look beyond whether your licenses are turned on.
1. SharePoint permissions
Review who can access important SharePoint sites.
Ask:
- Who owns each site?
- Who has member access?
- Are external users still present?
- Are broad groups being used unnecessarily?
- Are sensitive files located in overly accessible areas?
2. Teams
Microsoft Teams environments can grow quickly. Old Teams, private channels, project groups, and shared files should be reviewed to determine whether they still serve a purpose.
3. OneDrive sharing
Employees frequently share documents directly from OneDrive. Over time, those sharing relationships can become difficult to track. Your organization should understand what is being shared and with whom.
4. Old or unused content
AI works better when the information available to it is useful and current. Microsoft specifically recommends cleaning up or archiving unnecessary content as part of preparing Microsoft 365 for Copilot and AI agents. A proposal from six years ago probably shouldn't carry the same weight as your current process.
5. Sensitive information
Where are documents containing:
- Financial information?
- Employee records?
- Customer data?
- Contracts?
- Intellectual property?
- Strategic plans?
Organizations should know where sensitive information lives and determine whether the right security and compliance controls are applied.
6. Former employees and changing job roles
Someone who moved from accounting into operations may still have access to accounting information. Someone promoted into management may have accumulated permissions across several departments. These situations are common. They're also worth cleaning up before expanding the ways employees can search and interact with company data.
Copilot readiness isn't about being afraid of AI
There's nothing inherently scary about Microsoft Copilot. Used correctly, it can become an extremely valuable productivity tool. The goal isn't to lock down so much information that Copilot becomes useless. The goal is to make sure employees can access the right information while protecting information they shouldn't access.
That's good Microsoft 365 governance whether you use AI or not.
What is a Microsoft Copilot Readiness Assessment?
At Cloud Cover, we approach Copilot readiness as a review of the environment Copilot will be working within.
That can include areas such as:
- Microsoft 365 licensing
- SharePoint and Teams structure
- OneDrive usage
- Permissions
- External sharing
- Sensitive data
- Security controls
- Data governance
- Backup and recovery
- Employee readiness
- AI policies and acceptable-use guidelines
From there, organizations can create a practical cleanup and deployment plan rather than simply turning on Copilot licenses and hoping for the best.
Before you unleash Copilot, turn on the lights
AI is changing how employees interact with company information. That's an opportunity. It's also a good reason to finally clean out some of those dark corners of Microsoft 365 that nobody has looked at in years.
Thinking about Microsoft Copilot? Cloud Cover can assess your Microsoft 365 environment, identify potential risks and help develop a practical roadmap for deploying Copilot securely. Contact us to schedule a Copilot Readiness Assessment.