Microsoft Search for US government environments

Introduction

Microsoft Search is a powerful and intuitive service that helps users find relevant information across Microsoft 365 apps and the web. It offers consistent and personalized search experience that respects data security and compliance. However, depending on the cloud environment, some features and functionality of Microsoft Search may vary. This article provides an overview of the main differences between the US government clouds and the commercial cloud for Microsoft Search, and how to enable and customize Microsoft Search for your organization.

Microsoft Search Availability for US Government Clouds

Microsoft Search is available for US government cloud customers in the following environments: Government Community Cloud (GCC), Government Community Cloud High (GCC-High), and Department of Defense (DoD). However, not all features and functionality of Microsoft Search are currently supported in these environments. The table below summarizes the current feature availability for each cloud environment. For the latest updates, see the Microsoft Search Roadmap.

It is our general intent to deliver Microsoft Search commercial features and functionality to the government cloud environment. For a release time frame, see the Microsoft Search Roadmap.Microsoft Search Roadmap.

To get personalized, organization-wide results, users enter a search query in a search box on SharePoint, Microsoft OneDrive for Business, Office.com or any Office 365 app. When enabled, users who go to Bing, and sign in with a valid work account, can easily and securely find work results with Microsoft Search in Bing. To learn more about Microsoft Search features, see Microsoft Search Overview.

For GCC and GCC-High customers, Microsoft Search in Bing is off by default. Search admins can turn on Microsoft Search in Bing:

1. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Configurations
2. Under Microsoft Search in Bing settings, choose Change settings and turn on Allow your organization to use Microsoft Search in Bing. It takes up to 24 hours for this change to take effect. Search admins can also customize bookmarks, Q&A answers and Acronyms answers (admin-curated) in the Microsoft 365 admin center. For more information, see Plan your content.

Microsoft Search features

The following table outlines whether specified Microsoft Search features are available within the GCC, GCC-High, and DoD environments.

• Next = The next wave of features currently being worked on and will be shipping soon.
• Next+ = The wave of features that are planned to release after Next.

Feature	WW	GCC	GCC-High	DoD
Organization-wide search across files, sites, groups, and people	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Search box in suite navigation header in SharePoint, OneDrive, and Office.com	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Search suggestions (new types added periodically)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Search Engine Result Page: User actions directly on items	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Search Engine Result Page: People results cluster	Yes	Next	Next	Next
People Centric Search	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Search & intelligence admin center	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Search admin controls for Microsoft Search in Bing	Yes	Yes	Yes	Next
Enterprise homepage on Bing	Yes	Yes	Yes	N/A
Answers
Calendar Answer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Files Answer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
People Answer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Next
Bookmarks Answer (admin-curated)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Next
Bookmarks Answer (system-curated)	Yes	Yes	N/A	N/A
Search Engine Result Page: Deprecate promoted results for Bookmarks	Yes	Next	Next	Next+
Q&As (admin-curated)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Next
Acronyms (admin-curated)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Next
Acronyms (system-curated)	Yes	Yes	Next	Next
Topics	Yes	Yes	Next+	Next+
Dynamics 365	Yes	Next+	Next+	Next+
Verticals
Messages	Yes	Yes	Yes	Next
Converged People Vertical	Next+	Next+	Next+	Next+
Power BI	Yes	Next	Next	Next
Images Vertical	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Video Vertical	Yes	Yes	Next	Next
Data sources
Graph Connectors	Yes	Yes	Next	Next+
Federation Connectors	Yes	Next+	Next+	Next+
Insights
Usage analytics (Organization level)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Search and Intelligence Insight Feedback	Yes	Next+	Next+	Next+
Customizations
Result type - Connectors	Yes	Yes	Next	Next+
Result type - SharePoint	Next	Next+	Next+	Next+
Filters and Verticals - Connectors	Yes	Yes	Next	Next+
Filters and Verticals - SharePoint	Yes	Next+	Next+	Next+
Insights	Yes	Next+	Next+	Next+
Site Search settings
Result types	Yes	Next+	Next+	Next+
Verticals	Yes	Next+	Next+	Next+

"Next" = the next wave of features we are currently working on and will be shipping soon
"Next+" = the wave after that

In response to the unique, evolving requirements of the United States public sector, Microsoft has created Office 365 US Government plans (or Office 365 Government). For service descriptions and features overview specific to these environments, see Office 365 Government.