Microsoft says Claude models in Copilot will be processed within the EU Data Boundary for organisations in the European Union and European Free Trade Association by the end of 2026.

For eligible EU and EFTA customers, Microsoft says the move will apply across Copilot experiences, including Copilot Cowork. Organisations already using Claude models in Copilot won’t need to change a setting. Processing will move into the boundary automatically once the update is available.

Admins still control access

Claude models are off by default in the EU and EFTA. An admin can enable access for everyone or selected users and groups in the Microsoft 365 admin centre.

Microsoft says its enterprise data protection commitments apply, customer data won’t be used to train foundation models, and admins decide who can use Claude. Those commitments sit alongside your own decisions about which staff can use the models and for what work.

The UK is outside this announcement

Microsoft’s post names the EU and EFTA. It doesn’t announce the same processing change for UK organisations. Microsoft Learn currently lists the UK among regions where Claude models are off by default, so UK schools and trusts should check their tenant settings and UK-specific service terms rather than assume the EU commitment applies.

The EU Data Boundary covers EU and EFTA regions. Microsoft separately describes in-country data residency for organisations that need Microsoft 365 data stored in a particular EU or EFTA country. That option is available in 10 countries. Its documentation also says web search queries are outside the EU Data Boundary.

What to check

  • Confirm your tenant’s country or region and which contractual data commitments apply.
  • Check whether Anthropic models are enabled in the Microsoft 365 admin centre, and which users or groups can access them.
  • Review the Copilot experiences your staff will use, including any features that send queries to web search.
  • Update your internal guidance so staff know which information they can use with Claude in Copilot.

For EU and EFTA organisations, the stated date is the end of 2026. UK organisations should wait for a UK-specific commitment before treating this as a change to their data location.

Have you checked which model providers are enabled for your users in Copilot?

Sources