Updating our Controls for Anthropic Models for Copilot in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

[What and why:]

In May, we introduced the “Copilot in M365 apps with Anthropic models” setting in the Microsoft Admin Center to give admins more flexibility on model choice. When this setting was enabled, Anthropic models were available by default for Copilot in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Starting today, we’re rolling out additional improvements to this experience to ensure its clear which users have access to Anthropic models in various scenarios. First, we are elevating the “Copilot in M365 apps with Anthropic models” toggle to a top-level option under the “Choose which users can access Anthropic models” heading called “All Users for Microsoft 365 apps only”. Our intent here is to make it even more clear that enabling Anthropic models for Copilot in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is a distinct option that admins can choose. Second, we are renaming several of the options to further improve clarity.

More details on how the previous setting names relate to the new setting names can be found in the table below.

[Rollout schedule:]

Global: We will begin rolling out on mid-September 2026 and expect to complete by mid-September 2026.

[Impact on your organization:]

There should not be any impact to your organization, as this is purely a UX change. Your previous settings will map to the new settings as outlined above.

[Action required / Recommendations:]

Please review your settings after this migration to ensure that they continue to meet your business needs.