Enable web search in Copilot

Question

How do I enable web search in Copilot with my G3 subscription?

Answer 1

With a Microsoft 365 G3 subscription, web search in Copilot is controlled by your organization’s IT admin via policy. It can’t be turned on solely from the user side if the admin has disabled it.

To enable web search in Copilot with a G3 subscription, the IT admin must:

1. Open Cloud Policy service for Microsoft 365.
2. Configure the Allow web search in Copilot policy:
   • Turn it On for the relevant users/groups.
   • Choose one of these options:
     1. Enabled in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
     2. Disabled in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
     3. Disabled in Microsoft 365 Copilot Work mode; Enabled in Microsoft 365 Copilot Web mode and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
3. Ensure Allow the use of additional optional connected experiences in Office is not set to Disabled if they want Copilot Chat and related experiences to work broadly.

Once the admin has enabled web search:

• In Microsoft 365 Copilot work chat, users can control real-time web content using the Web content toggle:
  1. Open Microsoft 365 Copilot work chat.
  2. Select the menu (…) in the top-right corner.
  3. Turn the Web content toggle On to include real-time web content in responses.
• In Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, there is no user toggle; web search follows the admin’s Allow web search in Copilot policy.

If web search is disabled by policy, Copilot will still respond but without current web information, and the Web content toggle (in work chat) will be unavailable.

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References:

• Manage Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
• Data, privacy, and security for web search in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
• Understanding web search in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat