Microsoft 365 Copilot does not create new permissions, but it can make existing data access problems far more visible. Years of overshared, inactive and sensitive content across SharePoint, Teams and OneDrive can become part of the information surface available through Copilot, turning longstanding governance weaknesses into immediate business risk.

This Level 400 session presents a practical architecture for building Trusted Data for Microsoft 365 Copilot using the Trusted Data framework of Visibility × Governance × Evidence. Governance is operationalised through three control outcomes: Reduce, Restrict and Protect, while Measure provides the evidence needed to validate that these controls are working.

Rather than treating Copilot readiness as a single security configuration, attendees will learn how to reduce the information surface available through AI, restrict access to high-risk workspaces, protect sensitive information through classification and policy enforcement, and measure whether governance controls are operating effectively.

The session brings together Microsoft 365 Archive, SharePoint Advanced Management, container-level governance controls, Microsoft Entra permissions, Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels, encryption, DLP and data security insights into a unified governance architecture.

Using real-world scenarios, we will examine the architectural decisions behind each control, where controls complement and overlap with one another, and which risks cannot be solved through Copilot configuration alone. Attendees will learn how to prioritise remediation based on risk rather than attempting to remediate the entire Microsoft 365 estate before enabling AI.

Attendees will leave with a practical roadmap for assessing their Microsoft 365 environment, reducing oversharing, strengthening information governance, and building the evidence required to confidently scale Microsoft 365 Copilot and AI adoption.

Key Takeaway: Trusted Data for Microsoft 365 Copilot is not a Copilot configuration problem. It is an information governance challenge addressed through Reduce + Restrict + Protect + Measure, underpinned by Visibility, Governance and Evidence.