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Updated March 3, 2026: Rollout of Anthropic models in the Researcher agent is ongoing through March. We expect the deployment to reach full completion by the end of the month. During this phased rollout, the Anthropic option in Researcher may not yet be visible in all tenants; the existing Researcher functionality remains unchanged. We will provide another update in this post when rollout to Researcher is complete.
Use Claude with Researcher in Microsoft 365 Copilot
[Introduction:]
In September, Anthropic models became available in certain Copilot experiences through an opt-in setting, where use was subject to Anthropic’s commercial terms and data processing agreement. On January 7, 2026, Anthropic models will be enabled by default for many customers and now offered under the Microsoft Product Terms and Data Protection Addendum. To enable this change, Anthropic has been onboarded as a Microsoft subprocessor. This transition extends Microsoft’s contractual commitments and data protection standards to the use of Anthropic models in Copilot experiences.
[How this affects your organization:]
Who is affected:
- Admins managing Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Copilot Studio.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed customers participating in select Frontier features such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Researcher agents, as well as Agent Mode in Excel.
Key changes
- Dec 8, 2025: New admin toggle for Anthropic models appears in the Microsoft 365 admin center (MAC). For most commerical cloud customers, it will be enabled ON by default (except customers in EU/EFTA and UK will be OFF by default). See "customer and region exclusions" section below for more details.
- January 7, 2026: Anthropic as a Microsoft subprocessor becomes enabled on your tenant; the legacy admin toggle to opt-in to Anthropic's commercial terms and data processing agreement is deprecated.
- If you previously opted in to the legacy Anthropic toggle, and you're in an excluded region, you would need to opt in to the new subprocessor toggle.
- Admins can opt out in MAC now - no need to wait until January.
Some features are only available when Anthropic models are enabled. If you turn off this option, certain features may no longer be accessible.
Customer and region exclusions:
The following customers and regions will not have the toggle set to default on:
- Customer tenants in EU/EFTA and UK: The toggle will be set to default off. You will need to opt in to use Anthropic models as a subprocessor.
- Government clouds (GCC, GCC High, DoD) or sovereign clouds: Anthropic models are not yet available in government or sovereign clouds. No toggle will be present for those clouds.
What does it mean that Anthropic is now a Microsoft subprocessor?
As a subprocessor for Copilot experiences, Anthropic will operate under Microsoft’s direction and contractual safeguards. This includes coverage under the Microsoft Data Protection Addendum (DPA) and Product Terms. In addition, use of Anthropic models in Microsoft 365 Copilot falls under our Enterprise Data Protection as described here. Note that Anthropic models are currently excluded from EU Data Boundary and when applicable, in-country processing commitments.
Learn more:
- Integrate and manage Anthropic's AI models in Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Enterprise data protection in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
- Use Claude with Researcher in Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Get started with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Agents (Frontier) in Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Choose an external model as the primary AI model - Microsoft Copilot Studio
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"ai_actions": [
"Review and configure Anthropic model admin toggle in Microsoft 365 admin center",
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"ai_model": "gpt-4.1",
"ai_summary": "Anthropic models will be enabled by default for Copilot experiences from Jan 7, 2026, with new admin controls and updated Microsoft data protections; region-specific defaults apply.",
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"category": "planForChange",
"details_map": {
"Summary": "Anthropic models will be enabled by default in many Microsoft 365 Copilot experiences starting January 7, 2026, with Anthropic onboarded as a Microsoft subprocessor under Microsoft\u2019s data protection terms. Admins can opt out, and some regions (EU/EFTA, UK) and government clouds have exclusions or require opt-in."
},
"id": "MC1193290",
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"last_modified": "2026-03-03T19:52:12Z",
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"services": [
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"severity": "normal",
"tags": [
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"title": "(Updated) Coming Soon: Anthropic models will be available by default in Copilot experiences"
}
}