Microsoft Responsible AI Standard

This document sets out Microsoft's binding rules for how its AI products—including Copilot—must be built and used, requiring fairness, human oversight, and strong privacy and security protections at every stage. At work, Copilot automatically inherits your organization's existing security rules, so only people with the right permissions can see what it generates. As a user, you can manage your privacy preferences at any time through your Copilot Privacy settings.

The Microsoft Responsible AI Standard establishes a defined framework of six core values—Fairness, Reliability and Safety, Privacy and Security, Inclusiveness, Transparency, and Accountability—that govern how Microsoft designs, builds, and operates AI systems across their full lifecycle. The document imposes affirmative obligations including maintenance of human oversight, responsible model validation, implementation of AI governance tooling such as the Responsible AI Dashboard, equal treatment of all persons, and prevention of discrimination based on personal characteristics. For Copilot specifically, the standard requires inheritance of existing organizational security and compliance requirements in workplace deployments, restricts access to generated content to permissioned users, and commits to retaining user-relevant details while protecting personal data. Users retain an unconditional right to manage their privacy preferences through Copilot Privacy settings, and legal and regulatory compliance alongside harmful-bias avoidance are established as affirmative requirements rather than aspirational goals.

This document means that Microsoft's AI systems, including Copilot, are required to treat you equally and avoid discrimination, keep your personal data secure while remembering details relevant to your daily life, and remain subject to human oversight rather than operating fully autonomously. In a workplace setting, only people with the right permissions can access content Copilot generates on your behalf. One concrete action you can take: manage your privacy preferences at any time through your Copilot Privacy settings.