While Microsoft's Copilot generative AI assistant has been available for consumers, education, and business customers for some time, a version made for US government duties has not been made available. Today, the company stated that the first of two scheduled launch waves for Copilot for Microsoft 365 GCC (Government Community Cloud) is provisionally set to happen sometime in October 2024. The deadline is still subject to approvals from the US government.
In a blog post, it was revealed that Copilot for Microsoft 365 GCC will be launched with web grounding turned off as the default so that sensitive government data does not leak out to the public. That means the service will not be able to use live content from the web.
The blog post, which the company says was written with assistance from Copilot for Microsoft 365, added:
Copilot for Microsoft 365 GCC represents a significant leap forward in empowering government agencies to work more efficiently and serve the public more effectively. By automating routine tasks, providing data-driven insights, and enhancing collaboration, Copilot frees up valuable time for public servants to focus on what matters most—improving the lives of citizens.
If the US government signs off on Copilot for Microsoft 365 for an October 2024 first-wave launch, some of the features it will have will include:
- Copilot for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook apps
- Copilot Graph-grounded chat
- Copilot for Teams chats and channels
- Intelligent Meeting Recap for summaries of public hearings or policy discussions
Again, subject to US government approval, the second wave of features for Copilot for Microsoft 365 GCC will become generally available in March 2025. That will include adding Copilot AI features for
- Teams Meetings
- OneNote
- Microsoft Stream
- Planner
- OneDrive for Business
- Loop
Microsoft says the government edition of Copilot could be used for a number of jobs. That includes accessing it to analyze government policies. It stated:
For instance, health departments could use Copilot to analyze public health trends and draft evidence-based policy recommendations, allowing them to respond more effectively to emerging issues.
Other possible uses for Copilot in government work include optimizations of budgets, project management, training, and more. Microsoft has not announced what the prices will be for accessing the service.
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