Lets Copilot pull fresh information from Bing by sending a brief query it writes itself, never the full prompt. It is governed by a Cloud Policy setting (Allow web search in Copilot), and where allowed, people get a Web content toggle.
Read more: Microsoft Learn
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains Web search in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- Cloud Policy service for Microsoft 365
Delivers per-user settings to Microsoft 365 Apps on whatever device someone signs in to, for instance whether Copilot may search the web. Admins manage it in the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center and target Microsoft Entra groups.
- Allow web search in Copilot
Decides whether Copilot experiences can look things up on the web, and admins aim it at chosen users or groups through Cloud Policy service for Microsoft 365. If it's left unconfigured, searching the web remains possible unless optional connected experiences have been turned off.
- WHERE
Limits a SELECT, UPDATE or DELETE to just the rows meeting a condition. Omit it, and the statement hits every row.
- Get
Key Vault permission on secrets that allows a single secret to be read; App Service Key Vault references need nothing beyond it.
Related terms
- Generated search query
When web search is switched on, Copilot turns a user's prompt into a brief query of a few words and passes that, rather than the prompt itself, to Bing. Whole files and any user or tenant identifiers are left out, and the full prompt is sent only if it is very short.
- Researcher
A Microsoft-built agent in Microsoft Copilot that works through in-depth, multi-step research, drawing on organisational files and the web and producing a cited report. Copilot licences include it, and it respects the web search policy.