check before: 2026-05-15
Product:
Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Search, SharePoint
Platform:
Online, World tenant
Status:
Change type:
Admin impact, New feature, Updated message, User impact
Links:
Details:
Summary:
SharePoint administrators can designate authoritative sites to prioritize trusted organizational content in Microsoft Copilot Chat and Search, enhancing content reliability and relevance. This feature, requiring a Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) license, rolls out from mid-May to late June 2026 and is off by default until configured via PowerShell.
Details:
Updated June 3, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.
[Introduction]
Authoritative Sites enables administrators to designate specific SharePoint sites as trusted sources of organizational information. By prioritizing content from these sites in Copilot Chat and Copilot Search, this feature improves content reliability, enhances search relevance, and helps users quickly find accurate company information. This capability supports stronger governance and aligns Copilot responses with verified organizational content.
[When this will happen:]
Public Preview (Worldwide): We began rolling out in mid-May 2026 and expect to complete by late May 2026.
General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out on mid-June 2026 and expect to complete by late June 2026.
Change Category:
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Scope:
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Release Phase:
Created:
2026-05-15
updated:
2026-06-04
Task Type
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Docu to Check
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MS How does it affect me
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MS Preperations
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MS Urgency
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MS workload name
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Pictures
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summary for non-techies**
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Direct effects for Operations**
Content Prioritization
Without preparation, users may receive outdated or irrelevant information from Copilot Chat and Search, leading to confusion and inefficiency.
- roles: SharePoint Online Administrators, End Users
- references: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2023/05/01/introducing-microsoft-365-copilot/
User Experience
Users may struggle to identify trusted content, resulting in decreased trust in AI-generated responses and potential misinformation.
- roles: End Users, Microsoft 365 Administrators
- references: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2023/05/01/introducing-microsoft-365-copilot/
Governance and Compliance
Failure to properly configure authoritative sites may lead to compliance risks if users access unverified information, impacting decision-making processes.
- roles: SharePoint Online Administrators, Compliance Officers
- references: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2023/05/01/introducing-microsoft-365-copilot/
Configutation Options**
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Opportunities**
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Potentional Risks**
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Data Protection**
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IT Security**
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Hypothetical Work Council Statement**
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DPIA Draft**
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explanation for non-techies**
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** AI generated content. This information must be reviewed before use.
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change history
| Date | Property | old | new |
| 2026-06-04 | MC prepare | Identify key SharePoint sites (for example: HR, Legal, Communications) that should be marked as authoritative.
Configure authoritative sites using SharePoint Online PowerShell. Before running the commands, ensure the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell is installed. Set-SPOSite -Identity "https://<tenant>.sharepoint.com/sites/<siteName>" -IsAuthoritative $true Validate configuration in Copilot Search and Chat experiences. Pilot with a limited group of users. Gather feedback and refine site selection. Update internal documentation and inform helpdesk teams. Before rollout, we will update this post with new documentation. [Compliance considerations:] AreaExplanation Alters processing of existing dataCopilot and Microsoft Search will prioritize content from designated authoritative SharePoint sites, changing how existing content is ranked and surfaced. AI/ML capabilities interacting with dataCopilot responses will be influenced by authoritative site signals, improving grounding of AI outputs using trusted organizational content. New interaction with generative AIUsers will receive enhanced Copilot responses that emphasize authoritative content, improving trust and relevance in AI-generated answers. Admin control availableAdmins can configure authoritative sites using SharePoint Online PowerShell, enabling control over https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=35588 | Identify key SharePoint sites (for example: HR, Legal, Communications) that should be marked as authoritative.
Configure authoritative sites using SharePoint Online PowerShell. Before running the commands, ensure the latest SharePoint Online Management Shell is installed. Set-SPOSite -Identity "https://<tenant>.sharepoint.com/sites/<siteName>" -IsAuthoritative $true Validate configuration in Copilot Search and Chat experiences. Pilot with a limited group of users. Gather feedback and refine site selection. Update internal documentation and inform helpdesk teams. Review the following Learn article: SharePoint Authoritative Sites in Copilot Search [Compliance considerations:] AreaExplanation Alters processing of existing dataCopilot and Microsoft Search will prioritize content from designated authoritative SharePoint sites, changing how existing content is ranked and surfaced. AI/ML capabilities interacting with dataCopilot responses will be influenced by authoritative site signals, improving grounding of AI outputs using trusted organizational content. New interaction with generative AIUsers will receive enhanced Copilot responses that emphasize authoritative content, improving trust and relevance in AI-generated answers. Admin control availableAdmins can configure authoritative sites using SharePoint Online PowerShell, enabling control over https://learn.microsoft.com/sharepoint/sharepoint-authoritative-sites https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=35588 |
| 2026-06-04 | MC Summary | Authoritative Sites lets admins mark specific SharePoint sites as trusted, prioritizing their content in Microsoft Copilot Chat and Search to improve reliability and relevance. Rolling out May-June 2026, it requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) license and is configurable via PowerShell without changing permissions. | SharePoint administrators can designate authoritative sites to prioritize trusted organizational content in Microsoft Copilot Chat and Search, enhancing content reliability and relevance. This feature, requiring a Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) license, rolls out from mid-May to late June 2026 and is off by default until configured via PowerShell. |
| 2026-06-04 | MC Last Updated | 05/14/2026 22:18:27 | 2026-06-03T20:43:09Z |
| 2026-06-04 | MC Messages | [Introduction]
Authoritative Sites enables administrators to designate specific SharePoint sites as trusted sources of organizational information. By prioritizing content from these sites in Copilot Chat and Copilot Search, this feature improves content reliability, enhances search relevance, and helps users quickly find accurate company information. This capability supports stronger governance and aligns Copilot responses with verified organizational content. [When this will happen:] Public Preview (Worldwide): We began rolling out in mid-May 2026 and expect to complete by late May 2026. General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out on mid-June 2026 and expect to complete by late June 2026. | Updated June 3, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.
[Introduction] Authoritative Sites enables administrators to designate specific SharePoint sites as trusted sources of organizational information. By prioritizing content from these sites in Copilot Chat and Copilot Search, this feature improves content reliability, enhances search relevance, and helps users quickly find accurate company information. This capability supports stronger governance and aligns Copilot responses with verified organizational content. [When this will happen:] Public Preview (Worldwide): We began rolling out in mid-May 2026 and expect to complete by late May 2026. General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out on mid-June 2026 and expect to complete by late June 2026. |
| 2026-06-04 | MC Title | Authoritative Sites for SharePoint in Microsoft Copilot | (Updated) Authoritative Sites for SharePoint in Microsoft Copilot |
| 2026-06-04 | MC MessageTagNames | New feature, User impact, Admin impact | Updated message, New feature, User impact, Admin impact |
Last updated 2 weeks ago ago
