Copilot Control Admin Portal

Question

We have 365 E3 License for all users;

Is it possible to disable/enable Copilot on a user/group level?

Is it possible to disable/enable Copilot per program/applications (Word,Excel,etc)?

Example: User group Retail Employees should not have access to using Copilot within Outlook only.

Example: User group Customer Service should not have access to Copilot in Excel, Word, Outlook, Powerpoint, etc.

Example: User A should not have access to Copilot in any application.

Are these controls available to fine tune within the organization?

Where can they be found?

Answer 1

Hello @Derrick Rodriguez

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A Community! 

Thank you for your query regarding how to manage Microsoft Copilot availability within a Microsoft 365 E3 environment. Below is a detailed, professional overview of what is supported today, how to implement the controls, and important limitations to be aware of. 

1/ Enabling or disabling Copilot per user or per group   

• License assignment and removal  Copilot for Microsoft 365 is granted through an add‑on license. You can enable or disable Copilot for an individual user or at scale via group‑based licensing. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, navigate to Users, then Active users, open the user record, and under Licenses and apps remove Copilot for Microsoft 365. For scale operations, assign or unassign Copilot for Microsoft 365 through Azure AD group‑based licensing so changes flow automatically to all group members. Removing the Copilot license prevents access to Copilot across Microsoft 365 apps and services for that user. 
• Blocking or scoping the Copilot app in Integrated Apps  If you prefer to govern access through the application layer, use the Integrated Apps area in the Microsoft 365 admin center. Go to Settings, then Integrated Apps, locate Copilot, and either block it tenant‑wide or scope it to specific users or groups. When Copilot is blocked here, users will be unable to open Copilot across desktop, web, and mobile entry points. Scoping to specific users or groups allows a controlled rollout without changing other licensing.  

2/ Enabling or disabling Copilot per application 

Per‑application controls exist, but they are currently user‑side settings and are not centrally enforceable by administrators for the Microsoft 365 desktop apps. 

• Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote on Windows and Mac  Each application provides an in‑app setting to turn Copilot off. On Windows desktop apps, the path is File, Options, Copilot, then clear Enable Copilot. On Mac, the Copilot setting is available under the app’s Preferences panel. These toggles are app‑specific and device‑specific. Users must repeat the action in each app on each device where they want Copilot disabled.  
• Outlook  Outlook provides a Copilot toggle in Outlook settings. Turning this off disables Copilot in Outlook for that user but does not affect Copilot in other Microsoft 365 apps.  

Please refer to this article for more details: Turn off Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps - Microsoft Support 

3/ Addressing your specific scenarios 

The following summarizes what is possible today and the appropriate control to use. 

Scenario A: A user group such as Retail Employees should not have access to Copilot within Outlook only 

There is no centrally enforceable policy to disable Copilot only in Outlook while leaving it available in other Microsoft 365 apps for the same users. Users could manually disable Copilot within Outlook, but this is not an admin‑enforced control. If your compliance requirement is to ensure Outlook never exposes Copilot for those users, you must block Copilot for those users entirely through license removal or Integrated Apps scoping.  

Scenario B: A user group such as Customer Service should not have access to Copilot in Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft 365 apps 

This is supported. Remove the Copilot for Microsoft 365 license for that group using group‑based licensing or block the Copilot app for that group in Integrated Apps. Either approach will prevent Copilot access in all covered apps.  

Scenario C: A specific user such as John Doe should not have access to Copilot in any application

This is supported. Remove the Copilot for Microsoft 365 license for John Doe or block Copilot for that user in Integrated Apps.  

Scenario D: You want to restrict Copilot in Microsoft Teams meetings and webinars specifically 

This is supported separately from the Office desktop apps. Use the Teams admin center, navigate to Meetings, then Meeting policies, and set the Copilot control to Off in the relevant policy or create a dedicated policy for restricted users. This disables Copilot in covered Teams meeting experiences even if the user otherwise has a Copilot license. 

4/ Where to find and manage these controls

In Microsoft 365 admin center: 

• Licensing: Users, then Active users, select a user, Licenses and apps. Use group‑based licensing for scale management. 
• Integrated Apps: Settings, then Integrated Apps, select Copilot, and choose Block or Assign to specific users or groups.  

In Teams admin center: Meetings, then Meeting policies, adjust the Copilot setting as required for your policies or groups. 

User application settings: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote: File, Options, Copilot, clear Enable Copilot on Windows; equivalent Copilot setting in Preferences on Mac. Outlook: disable Copilot in Outlook Settings. These are end‑user controls and are not centrally enforced.  

I hope the given information is clear and help you answer your question. In case there are any other concerns, kindly let me know. 

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Answer 2

Yes, it is possible to disable or enable Microsoft 365 Copilot on a user or group level. You can manage access to Copilot for specific users or groups through the Integrated Apps portal in the Microsoft 365 admin center. This allows you to specify which users or groups can install and use the Copilot app.

However, as for disabling or enabling Copilot per specific applications (like Word, Excel, etc.), the context does not provide detailed information on controlling access at the application level. The controls mentioned focus on managing the overall access to the Copilot app rather than granular controls for individual applications.

To manage these settings, you would typically navigate to the Integrated Apps section in the Microsoft 365 admin center, where you can select specific users or groups for access management.

For more detailed steps on how to manage these settings, you can refer to the relevant documentation in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

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References:

• Manage Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
• User access