HIPAA Compliant Web Content Queries with Microsoft 365 Copilot

UPDATE: I have updated this post with three additional videos showing the user experience accessing synchronized content via the Enterprise Websites cloud Microsoft Graph connector. The three videos show: 1- Accessing synchronized content from within Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. 2- Accessing synchronized content from a dedicated Copilot Agent. 3- Accessing synchronized content from within Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint. 

In this video I show Healthcare providers how to provide secure, HIPAA compliant, access to web based content like the CDC, NIH, and more… even when web search is disabled for Copilot! The secret sauce is in the use of the Enterprise Websites cloud Microsoft Graph connector.

*Note: Microsoft provides the tools for organizational HIPAA compliance but compliance is always a partnership between Microsoft and its tools and organizational implementation. 

1- Accessing synchronized content from Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat

2- Accessing synchronized content from within a dedicated Copilot Chat Agent

3- Accessing synchronized content from within Microsoft Word and PowerPoint

Resources:

• Enterprise Websites cloud Microsoft Graph connector | Microsoft Learn
• Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft 365 Copilot | Microsoft Learn
•  Secure and Govern Microsoft 365 Copilot | Microsoft Security
• Securing Microsoft M365 Copilot and AI with Microsoft's Suite of Security Products - Part 1 | Microsoft Community Hub
• Microsoft Purview data security and compliance protections for Microsoft Copilot and other generative AI apps | Microsoft Learn

As healthcare organizations increasingly adopt AI to enhance productivity and decision-making, ensuring HIPAA compliance remains paramount. Microsoft 365 Copilot offers transformative capabilities, but many healthcare providers face a critical question: How can we safely use Copilot to query public web-based content without compromising compliance—especially when web search is disabled by administrators?

The answer lies in a powerful, often underutilized tool: the Enterprise Websites cloud Microsoft Graph Connector.

Bringing Public Web Content Into Your Secure Microsoft 365 Graph

The Enterprise Websites cloud Microsoft Graph Connector allows organizations to index and ingest content from public or company-owned websites directly into their Microsoft 365 tenant 

Once indexed, this content becomes part of your internal Microsoft Graph, making it accessible to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Search—even if Copilot’s web search is disabled at the tenant level.

How It Works:

1. Identify Key Public Web Content: Choose trusted, relevant sources such as government health websites, medical journals, or clinical guidelines.
2. Configure the Graph Connector:
• Index up to 50 websites per connection.
• Use exclusion rules to filter out irrelevant or non-compliant content.
• No authentication is needed for public websites.
3. Ingest and Secure: The content is indexed and stored within your Microsoft 365 environment, where it is governed by your organization’s compliance and security policies.
4. Enable Copilot Access: Once indexed, Copilot can semantically search and reference this content as if it were internal data—without ever reaching out to the public web.

Why This Matters for HIPAA Compliance

Healthcare providers must ensure that any AI-driven tool accessing or processing data adheres to HIPAA’s stringent privacy and security rules. By bringing public content into the Microsoft 365 compliance boundary, organizations can:

• Avoid direct web access that might expose sensitive queries or user behavior.
• Maintain full control over what content is indexed and how it is used.
• Ensure auditability and governance through Microsoft Purview and other compliance tools.

Security and Compliance: Microsoft’s Best-in-Class Approach

Even with this interim solution, Microsoft 365 Copilot is built on a foundation of enterprise-grade security and compliance, including:

• Microsoft Purview: Enables data loss prevention (DLP), eDiscovery, audit logging, and compliance management across all indexed content 
• Enterprise Data Protection (EDP): Ensures that sensitive data remains protected through encryption, access controls, and conditional access policies.
• Customer Lockbox and Multi-Geo Support: Provide additional layers of control over data access and residency.

These features ensure that Copilot operates within the same secure and compliant framework as the rest of Microsoft 365, giving healthcare organizations peace of mind.

An Interim Strategy with Long-Term Vision

While the Graph Connector approach is a powerful interim solution, it’s important to view it as part of a broader strategy. Microsoft continues to evolve Copilot’s capabilities with native support for secure external data access, and future enhancements may offer even more seamless and compliant ways to integrate public content.

Conclusion

Healthcare providers don’t have to choose between innovation and compliance. By using the Enterprise Websites cloud Microsoft Graph Connector, organizations can empower their teams with AI-driven insights from trusted public sources—all within a HIPAA-compliant Microsoft 365 environment.

As you explore this approach, remember: Microsoft 365 Copilot is not just smart—it’s secure, compliant, and ready for healthcare.