Table of Contents
Summary
- User-level connectors in Microsoft 365 Copilot enable secure connections to external apps like Notion and Canva in real time.
- Admins can manage visibility and compliance of these connectors from the Microsoft 365 admin center.
- End users can access and utilize live data through these federated connectors directly within Copilot experiences.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot license is necessary to use this feature.
- Admins can create and manage custom user-level connectors for specialized data sources.
Admin Impact: Medium
User Impact: Medium
Release Start: 15 Nov 2025
Release End: 15 Nov 2025
Services: M365 Copilot
Category: Stay informed
Tags: New Feature, User Adoption, Admin Action
History
11/19/2025 Item Added to Message Center
Microsoft Message
We’re introducing user-level (federated) connectors in Microsoft 365 Copilot, enabling users to securely connect external apps such as Notion, Canva, or Hubspot directly within Copilot experiences like Researcher. Unlike traditional indexed connectors, federated connectors use the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to access data in real time. This allows users to fetch and read information from connected sources using their own credentials, while maintaining admin-level visibility, control, and governance in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
This feature will be available on the web platform.
A Microsoft 365 Copilot license is required to use this feature.
This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 501585.
When this will happen
Public Preview: Rollout will begin by November 15, 2025.
How this affects your organization
Who is affected: All tenants using Microsoft 365 Copilot with access to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
What will happen:
- End users will be able to connect to Microsoft-published federated connectors (such as Canva, Notion, Intercom) directly within Copilot experiences to search or fetch live data.
- Admins will have visibility and control from the Copilot > Connectors section, where they can
- View all default user-level connectors enabled by Microsoft.
- Disable any connectors that are not relevant or compliant for their organization.
- Use staged rollout to enable these connectors for a limited group of users
- Admin can also create and manage custom user-level connectors for internal or specialized data sources using an MCP endpoint.
What you can do to prepare
- Review the list of default connectors that will appear in your tenant under Copilot > Connectors > Your Connections.
- Ensure all available connectors align with your organization’s data and compliance policies. Disable any that do not meet requirements directly from the admin center.
- For custom connectors, configure your MCP endpoints with the required tools (search and fetch) and proper authentication (OAuth2).
- Communicate this change to helpdesk staff and update internal documentation as needed.
Compliance considerations
Question: Does the change introduce or significantly modify AI/ML or agent capabilities that interact with or provide access to customer data?
Answer: Yes. Federated connectors allow Copilot to fetch live data using user credentials, introducing new real-time AI interactions.
Question: Does the change add any integration to 3rd party software products, and if so what?
Answer: Yes. It enables connections to external apps such as Notion, Slack, Figma, GitHub, and Gmail.
Question: Does the change include an admin control and can it be controlled through Entra ID group membership?
Answer: Yes. Admins can manage connector availability and rollout via the Microsoft 365 admin center, and staged rollout can be configured using Entra ID group membership.
Question: Does the change allow a user to enable and disable the feature themselves?
Answer: Yes. Users can connect or disconnect federated connectors within Copilot experiences.