Compliance Alert
Default: On
Your Copilot data may now be processed outside Europe.
Has anyone checked?
Not because you changed a policy. Not because you signed a new contract. Because Microsoft introduced flex routing - and it's on by default.
This is the part that matters
Your files may still be stored in Europe.
But processing may not be.
If your business has told clients, auditors or regulators that Copilot processing stays in the EU or UK - that statement may now need checking.
What Microsoft is actually doing
What your business thinks is happening
What your documentation says is happening
That gap is how compliance problems start.
Two-minute check
In the Microsoft 365 admin centre, navigate to:
Copilot › Settings › View all
› Flex routing during peak load periods
› Flex routing during peak load periods
Then make a decision. Allow it, or turn it off.
Whichever way you go - document it.
A conscious decision on record is what matters.
The uncomfortable truth
Defaults change quietly.
Message Centre posts pile up. Someone assumes someone else is watching.
A live setting exists that affects data handling - without anyone senior ever making a conscious decision on it.
If nobody in your business owns that decision, that's the gap.
Not sure who owns this in your business?
This is not really a Copilot story.
It's a story about accountability.
We help firms spot quiet platform changes before they turn into compliance, client or board-level problems.
Talk to us about this →