MC1263276: Microsoft 365 Copilot: Admins will be able to enable third‑party model providers for specific users and groups

[Introduction]

Today, IT admins can enable or disable**** third‑party model providers**,** such as Anthropic and xAI (US only), at the tenant level in the Microsoft Admin Center. With this update, admins will be able to assign access to a third‑party model provider to specific users or groups within the tenant.

This update is related to MC1193920 , which announced that Anthropic models would be enabled by default for many customers in certain Copilot experiences and offered under the Microsoft Product Terms and Data Protection Addendum (DPA) as a Microsoft subprocessor.

This message corresponds to Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 557371.

[When this will happen]

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out inlate April 2026 and expect to complete inlate April 2026.

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• Organizations that use or plan to usethird‑party model providers in Microsoft 365 Copilot and in Copilot Studio
• Admins who manage access in the Microsoft Admin Center , Power Platform Admin Center (PPAC) , or Copilot Studio

What will happen

• Admins will see a new control in the Microsoft Admin Center that allows assigning a third‑party model provider to specific users or Entra ID groups.
• The setting will apply at the provider level, not at the individual model level.
• Assignments will be enforced consistently across the Microsoft Admin Center, PPAC, and Copilot Studio.
• The control will apply to subprocessors and independent processors for all current and future third‑party model providers.
• Admins can add up to any combination of 999 groups and users; nested groups are supported.

[What you can do to prepare]

• Review your existing settings for Anthropic and xAI (US only) in the Microsoft Admin Center.
• Update user or group assignments to align with your internal governance policies.
• Update any existing agents and experiences that may be impacted when model access is limited by Entra ID security groups.
• Communicate any planned changes to your helpdesk or impacted user groups.
• Update internal documentation where you track AI access or model provider settings.
• Review Microsoft documentation on managing third‑party model providers when it becomes available.

Learn more:

• Anthropic as a subprocessor for Microsoft Online Services | Microsoft 365 Copilot | Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn
• Choose an external model as the primary AI model | Microsoft Copilot Studio | Microsoft Learn
• Enterprise data protection in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat | Microsoft 365 Copilot | Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn
• Microsoft Products and Services Data Protection Addendum (DPA) | Licensing Resources and Documents | Licensing | Microsoft
• Product Terms | Licensing | Microsoft

[Compliance considerations]