Microsoft 365 Copilot Essentials

About This Guide

The Microsoft 365 Copilot Essentials guide is your starting point for understanding Copilot in U.S. Government environments. Whether you’re an executive evaluating the technology, an IT professional planning deployment, a security team member assessing risk, or an end user curious about what Copilot can do — this guide provides the foundational knowledge you need.

Who This Is For

This guide is designed for:

• Executives who need to understand what Copilot is and why it matters
• IT professionals preparing for deployment planning
• Security teams beginning their risk assessment
• End users curious about the AI tools coming to their workplace

Guide Structure

This guide covers six foundational topics:

1. What is Microsoft 365 Copilot?: Core capabilities and how it works
2. Why Copilot for Government?: The value proposition for government agencies
3. Copilot Across Microsoft 365 Apps: Where you’ll find and use Copilot
4. Government Cloud Environments: Understanding GCC, GCC High, and DoD
5. Feature Availability: What’s available now and what’s coming
6. Licensing and Requirements: What you need to get started

How to Use This Guide

For Executives:

• Focus on sections 1-2 for strategic context
• Review the Executive Decision Guide for deeper investment guidance

For IT Professionals:

• Use this as foundation before the IT Deployment Guide
• Pay attention to environment differences and requirements

For Security Teams:

• Start here, then proceed to Security & Data Governance Guide
• Note the baseline security architecture in section 1

For End Users:

• Focus on sections 1 and 3 to understand what’s available
• Proceed to End-User Adoption Guide for practical usage guidance

Key Takeaways

By completing this guide, you will:

• Understand what Microsoft 365 Copilot is and how it differs from consumer AI
• Know why government agencies are adopting Copilot
• See where Copilot appears across Microsoft 365 applications
• Understand which government cloud you’re in and what that means
• Know what features are available in your environment
• Understand the basic licensing and technical requirements

Prerequisites

No prerequisites — this is the starting point for all audiences.

---

Related Content

• Security & Data Governance — Deep dive into data protection and compliance
• Executive Decision Guide — Strategic guidance for leadership
• IT Deployment & Configuration — Technical deployment guidance

---

Guide Updates

This guide is updated regularly as:

• New Copilot features reach government clouds
• Feature availability changes across environments
• Licensing options evolve

Last Updated: November 26, 2025