Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is now rolling out to Government Community Cloud (GCC) tenants, bringing AI-powered chat experiences to Microsoft 365 apps in environments that meet U.S. government cloud requirements.
This update expands how users in GCC can interact with Copilot across apps like Outlook, Teams, and the Microsoft 365 Copilot experience on the web — while giving IT administrators the tools to manage access, security, and compliance at scale.
What’s Rolling Out
As of June 2025, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is rolling out across GCC tenants. Web Chat access for Copilot users also began its rollout in early June and is expected to complete by the end of the month.
These updates expand how users can engage with Microsoft 365 Copilot in supported applications and web environments.
What’s Included:
Copilot Chat – AI-powered chat integrated into core Microsoft 365 experiences:
- Microsoft 365 Copilot app (web)
- Outlook (web and desktop)
- Microsoft Teams (web and desktop)
Web Chat Access – A browser-based experience for Copilot Chat, offering another way for users to interact with Copilot outside of the Microsoft 365 apps.
These experiences are included at no additional cost for users with eligible Microsoft 365 and Office 365 licenses (F1, F3, G3, G5). Once available in a tenant, users can access Copilot Chat from the supported apps
Note: This rollout does not include agent functionality. Agent availability will be communicated in future updates.
Web Grounding and Admin Controls
Web Grounding
By default, web grounding is off in GCC. Copilot Chat will not access real-time information from the internet unless an administrator explicitly enables the “Allow web search in Copilot” Cloud Policy.
If the policy was previously enabled in your environment, newly released features like Web Chat will honor that configuration.
Administrative Control
Admins can manage access to Copilot Chat across all supported entry points. There are granular configuration options for Microsoft 365 Copilot app, Outlook, Teams, and Web.
Refer to this documentation for full configuration guidance: https://aka.ms/CopilotChatDocs
How to Prepare for Copilot Chat in GCC
1. Review Admin Settings
Ensure your Cloud Policy and Copilot access configurations are aligned with your organization’s security and compliance policies.
Once Copilot Chat rolls out and is available in your tenant, you will be able to manage access to it across entry points. To block access to Copilot Chat, refer to the documentation: Removing access to Copilot Chat.
To block access from the web, and in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app and Outlook, refer to Step 2.
To block access in Teams, refer to Step 3.
Note: As Copilot Chat will be available by default in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, Outlook, and Teams once available, you do not need to implement Step 1. Additionally, Copilot Chat will not be available initially through the Microsoft Edge sidebar, so you do not need to implement Step 4.
Web grounding in Copilot Chat is off by default unless you have explicitly allowed for web grounding using the “Allow web search in Copilot” policy. To manage web grounding in Copilot Chat, please refer to our documentation here.
2. Train and Support Users
To help your organization get the most out of the new Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, we have updated the Copilot Success Kit and added the new Copilot Chat and Agent Starter Kit. This includes:
- Copilot Chat user training guide to help your users get started with Copilot Chat and understand how to access it.
- Copilot Chat and agent IT set up and controls guide to plan, deploy, manage, and measure Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat in your organization.
- User engagement templates in a variety of formats—including email, Viva Engage, and Teams—that you can leverage to communicate updates and new features to your users.
Note: You can customize these assets to remove content about agents since agents are not initially available.
3. Monitor the Rollout
Stay current on rollout progress and feature updates via:
While this rollout does not change existing tenant configurations or licensing, it’s a good time to review and verify that Copilot-related policies are properly configured.
Where to Find Updates
For the latest updates and guidance on Microsoft 365 Copilot for government, visit:
- Microsoft 365 Copilot Overview
- Microsoft 365 Copilot for Government
- Using Copilot in Government
- Microsoft 365 Roadmap
- Microsoft 365 Admin Center
- Data, Privacy, and Security in Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Copilot Chat Documentation
Stay Connected
Join the Microsoft Public Sector Tech Community to ask questions, share implementation approaches, and stay up to date on the latest in Microsoft 365 Copilot capabilities for government.
If you're currently configuring Copilot Chat for GCC or planning deployment, we welcome your questions and lessons learned in the community.
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