Copilot Data Security Checklist: 25 Questions Every Leader Should Ask

Is Your Data AI-Ready?

AI has made information easier than ever to find, which is both helpful and hurtful. This level of accessibility saves time but introduces new risks for data exposure, compliance, and confidentiality.

93.2% of organizations lack full confidence in securing AI-driven data.

— BigID, 2025

Nearly every organization is struggling to keep pace with how quickly AI is changing data visibility and control, creating new challenges for protection and governance.

Traditional security frameworks weren’t designed with AI in mind. What was once protected under standard practices can now be quickly searched, surfaced, and summarized by AI.

Copilot Security is a Shared Responsibility

Microsoft Copilot is built on the same enterprise-grade data protection and security standards as Microsoft 365.

While Copilot is secure by design, your organization is responsible for ensuring your settings, policies, and permissions are properly configured before enabling AI in your environment.

If your files, chats, or emails aren’t properly classified, user permissions are loose, and governance isn’t consistently enforced, Copilot can unintentionally surface sensitive content you never meant to make visible.

The organizations that succeed with Copilot will be those that treat security as a shared responsibility between Microsoft’s built-in enterprise protections and their own security and governance maturity.

Copilot Security Assessment

Copilot respects your existing security settings, but are they AI-ready? To safely adopt Copilot, your organization must adapt its security strategy for AI.

Organizations that take a proactive approach to data readiness reduce the risk of exposure, strengthen compliance, and build confidence in AI-powered productivity.

Download the infographic to discover how prepared (or unprepared) you are for Copilot to access your data.