Preparing the organization for ChatGPT and M365 Copilot
Because ChatGPT is ‘off the shelf’ technology, most of the work needed to make it ‘enterprise-ready’ entails putting security and governance policies and procedures into place. Microsoft 365 Copilot is a different story.
As a technology that is tightly coupled with your existing Microsoft 365 infrastructure, you will need to take additional steps to be ready for Copilot deployment. Also note that while final pricing is still evolving, Copilot will incur additional costs on top of M365. So, initial access should be limited to a subset of users. Careful consideration is required to identify these users – those who can derive the most value from the tool. Data-driven decisions based on hard analytics should guide the selection process, ensuring fairness and effectiveness.
Content management: a crucial prerequisite
The consensus among experts is that robust content management practices must be in place before implementing M365 Copilot. Content hygiene, information architecture, labeling, security, and governance are central to a successful content management strategy.
Basic content hygiene ensures that only valuable content remains accessible. A proactive approach to content management and regular clean-ups prevent content from accumulating and becoming a hindrance to AI-powered tools like M365 Copilot.
Microsoft advice that it is critical for organizations to establish strong content management practices before using M365 Copilot. Proper content management enriches the Microsoft Graph index, enhancing the AI's ability to retrieve relevant and valuable information.
Specifically, here are content management tasks you will need to complete before your organization is ready for Copilot:
- Get your information ready for search.
- Verify you have implemented ‘just enough’ access for each user.
- Eliminate and govern over-sharing
- Review file level controls (through policy).
- Review and update Team or Site level policies.
- Review and update retention and disposition practices.
To learn about the prerequisites to rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot, read “Get your organizational data ready for AI”.
