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Home » AI Learning Center » Should We Fix SharePoint Permissions Before Turning on Copilot?

Should We Fix SharePoint Permissions Before Turning on Copilot?

Short answer: yes. Absolutely. Every time.

This is the #1 lesson businesses learn the hard way after rolling out Copilot. The tool itself is secure – but it surfaces whatever your users already have access to. If your SharePoint is a mess of “shared with everyone” sites, forgotten Teams channels, and overly broad permissions, Copilot will quietly hand all of that to anyone who asks the right question.

Real examples:
  • An employee asks Copilot to "summarize our exec comp plan" – and it pulls salary data from a site nobody realized was wide open
  • A junior staffer prompts Copilot for "M&A updates" – and gets confidential deal info from a folder shared too broadly
  • A new hire asks "what's our pricing strategy?" – and gets internal margins, vendor costs, and customer-specific discounts
What to fix before flipping the switch:
  • Audit "everyone" and "anyone with the link" shares across SharePoint and OneDrive
  • Remove access for former employees and stale accounts
  • Apply sensitivity labels to confidential content
  • Lock down HR, finance, and exec sites

Fix the foundation first. Then turn on Copilot. Not the other way around.

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