01Access
Oversharing and permissions
Find where files and sites are shared too widely and tighten access, so Copilot cannot reach what it should not.
Microsoft Copilot
Copilot is worth having once your Microsoft 365 is fit for it. We are Microsoft certified. We settle the licensing, the permissions and the labelling before rollout, so Copilot can only reach what the person using it is meant to reach.
Software and AI / Microsoft Copilot
Copilot is a licensing choice, and a governance decision
Three things share the Copilot name. Copilot Chat is the free chat experience. Copilot Business is the paid licence that puts Copilot to work across your own Microsoft 365 content in Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams, and eligible organisations can add it to an existing plan. Business Standard with Copilot and Business Premium with Copilot are plans that include that licence, while Business Premium alone does not, so compare like with like. Microsoft publishes the current routes and rates on its Microsoft 365 Copilot pricing pages (opens in new tab).
Copilot is useful: it drafts, summarises, searches and answers across the documents, email and chats your business already holds. That is exactly why it is also a governance problem. It can see whatever the signed-in person can see, so if your files are over-shared, permissions have drifted, or sensitive documents are not labelled, Copilot will surface them faster and more helpfully than anyone ever has. The tool is not the risk. The state of your Microsoft 365 underneath it is. In a regulated business, an assistant that surfaces the wrong salary spreadsheet or a client's data to the wrong person is an incident, not a productivity gain.
01 · What readiness means
Six things to settle before Copilot is switched on
The groundwork we put in before a single licence is enabled.
02Labels
Sensitivity labelling and DLP
Label sensitive content so it stays protected wherever it goes, with data loss prevention rules Copilot output has to respect.
03Identity
Identity and conditional access
Multi factor authentication and conditional access, tightened, because Copilot inherits whatever an account can do, including a compromised one.
04Policy
An AI acceptable use policy
A short policy telling staff what Copilot may and may not be used for.
05Licensing
The right licence route
We compare the routes with you: the Copilot Business add-on for the people who need it, or a Business Standard or Business Premium plan with Copilot included.
06Adoption
A staged rollout
A staged rollout with the controls in place, reviewed as you go rather than switched on and forgotten.
02 · How we run it
Copilot readiness and governance
We start with a fixed-scope assessment of your Microsoft 365: sharing, labelling, identity and licensing. You get a written report of what to fix and what it will cost, priced before anything begins.
AssessReadiness assessmentOversharing, labelling, identity and licensing, before anything is switched on.
FixGovern and secureWe close the gaps with security and governance in place before rollout.
RunRollout and reviewControlled enablement, reviewed quarterly alongside your Microsoft 365 support.
03 · Part of a bigger picture
Copilot is one governed AI tool among several
Copilot is the right answer when your work lives in Microsoft 365. When it does not, the principle holds: AI should be useful and provably under control.
Our wider AI adoption work brings the same discipline to other tools, with a kill switch, an audit trail and UK-hosted deployment options where they are needed. If staff are pasting company data into public chatbots, the fix is in our guide on how to stop staff leaking data to AI tools. Buyers in regulated and supply-chain work increasingly ask about governed AI, which is why we treat it as part of governance and audit.
FAQ
Common questions
Is Microsoft Copilot safe to use in a business?
It can be, but safety depends on your Microsoft 365 set-up rather than on Copilot itself. Copilot only sees what the signed-in user can see, so the risks are over-shared files, drifted permissions and unlabelled sensitive data. Fix those, add an acceptable use policy, and Copilot is safe to switch on. More in our guide on whether Copilot is safe for business.
What changed with Copilot licensing in July 2026?
Microsoft introduced permanent Microsoft 365 Business Standard with Copilot and Business Premium with Copilot plans on 1 July 2026. The base business plans continued, and so did the Copilot Business add-on for an eligible existing plan: separate routes rather than one upgrade path, so taking Copilot stays a decision you make. The detail is in our guide to the July 2026 Copilot changes, and we advise on which route fits.
How much does Microsoft Copilot cost?
Copilot is priced per user per month, with two paid routes: the Copilot Business licence added to an eligible existing plan, or a Business Standard or Business Premium plan with Copilot included. What you pay depends on which route fits, how many people need it, and your billing term. Microsoft licensing and promotional prices change, so we confirm current UK pricing and eligibility in writing before an order is placed. See our explainer on what Microsoft Copilot costs.
Can a regulated or defence-supply business use Copilot?
Yes, with the governance in place. The concerns in regulated, finance and defence-supply work are data residency, access control, and an auditable record of what AI can and cannot do, which is what the readiness work settles. We support governed AI for defence and aerospace and fintech firms.
Do we need anything before switching Copilot on?
You need your access and sharing under control, sensitive content labelled, identity hardened with multi factor authentication and conditional access, and a short AI acceptable use policy. A readiness assessment finds the gaps before they become an incident.
Talk to us about Copilot readiness
Book a readiness call and we will tell you how ready your Microsoft 365 is and what to fix first. Part of our software and AI practice.