Microsoft Copilot Conversation Retention Settings: How to Configure

Microsoft Copilot stores your conversations to improve responses and allow you to resume past chats. By default, Copilot retains conversation history for a set period, but your organization may have policies that require shorter or longer retention. If you manage Copilot for your business, you need to know where these settings live and how to adjust them. This article explains the retention options available in the Microsoft 365 admin center and the Copilot settings pane, and provides step-by-step instructions to configure them.

What Are Copilot Conversation Retention Settings?

Copilot conversation retention settings determine how long the system stores your chat history. This history includes prompts, responses, and any data Copilot references during a conversation. Retention applies to both the Copilot chat interface and Copilot embedded in Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, and Teams.

Two layers of retention settings exist. Tenant-level settings are managed by a Microsoft 365 global administrator or a Copilot administrator in the Microsoft 365 admin center. User-level settings appear in the Copilot pane under Settings > Privacy. The tenant setting overrides the user setting when both are configured.

Retention periods range from 1 day to 90 days, or you can choose to never delete conversations. The default retention period is 30 days for most Microsoft 365 business subscriptions. When a conversation reaches the end of its retention period, Copilot deletes it permanently. Users cannot recover deleted conversations.

Prerequisites for Configuring Retention

To change tenant-level retention settings, you need one of these admin roles: Global Administrator, Copilot Administrator, or Compliance Administrator. To change user-level retention, the user must have a Copilot license assigned. The retention settings are available for Copilot with Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Standard, Business Premium, and Copilot Pro subscriptions.

Steps to Configure Tenant-Level Retention in the Admin Center

1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center
   Go to admin.microsoft.com and sign in with an account that has the Global Administrator or Copilot Administrator role.
2. Open Copilot settings
   In the left navigation menu, select Settings then Copilot. If you do not see Copilot in the Settings menu, expand the list by selecting Show all.
3. Navigate to Data sources
   On the Copilot settings page, select the Data sources tab. This tab shows the data retention options for Copilot conversations.
4. Set the retention period
   Under Conversation history retention, select one of the following options:
   – 1 day
   – 7 days
   – 30 days (default)
   – 90 days
   – Never delete
   Select Save to apply the change. The new retention period applies to all new conversations. Existing conversations follow the previous retention period until they expire.

Steps to Configure User-Level Retention in the Copilot Pane

1. Open Copilot in a Microsoft 365 app
   Open Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Teams. Select the Copilot icon in the ribbon or the Copilot button in the top-right corner of the window.
2. Open the Copilot settings pane
   In the Copilot pane, select the Settings gear icon located near the top-right corner of the pane.
3. Go to Privacy settings
   In the Settings menu, select Privacy. This section lists options related to data handling and conversation history.
4. Adjust conversation history retention
   Under Conversation history, select your preferred retention period. The available options are the same as the tenant-level settings. If your tenant administrator has set a policy, the user-level options may be grayed out. Select Apply to save your choice.

If Retention Settings Do Not Apply Correctly

Tenant setting overrides user setting but user still sees old conversations

When you change the tenant-level retention period, existing conversations retain their original expiration date. Only new conversations use the new retention period. To force all conversations to follow the new policy, you must delete existing conversation history manually in the Microsoft 365 admin center. Go to Settings > Copilot > Data sources and select Delete all conversation history. This action removes all stored conversations for all users immediately.

User cannot see the Privacy section in Copilot settings

This usually happens when the user does not have a Copilot license assigned. Verify the license assignment in the Microsoft 365 admin center under Users > Active users. Select the user, then select Licenses and apps. Confirm that Microsoft Copilot is checked. If the license is present but the Privacy section still does not appear, have the user sign out of all Microsoft 365 apps and sign back in.

Copilot conversations are deleted before the retention period ends

A Microsoft Purview compliance policy may be deleting Copilot data earlier than the Copilot retention setting. Check the Microsoft Purview compliance portal under Data lifecycle management > Retention policies. Look for any policy that includes Microsoft 365 Groups, Exchange Online, or SharePoint Online as the target. If such a policy has a shorter retention period, it overrides the Copilot-specific setting. Adjust the Purview policy or exclude Copilot data from it.

Copilot Conversation Retention: Tenant vs User Settings

Item	Tenant-Level Setting	User-Level Setting
Where to configure	Microsoft 365 admin center > Settings > Copilot > Data sources	Copilot pane > Settings > Privacy > Conversation history
Who can change	Global Admin, Copilot Admin, Compliance Admin	Any licensed Copilot user
Retention options	1, 7, 30, 90 days, or never delete	1, 7, 30, 90 days, or never delete
Applies to	All users in the tenant	Only the signed-in user
Overrides user setting	Yes, when both are configured	No, tenant setting takes precedence
Affects existing conversations	No, only new conversations	No, only new conversations

The table above summarizes the key differences between the two configuration levels. Use the tenant setting when you need a uniform retention policy across the organization. Use the user setting when you want to allow individual users to choose their own retention period, and your organization does not have a compliance requirement that mandates a specific duration.

You can now configure Copilot conversation retention settings at the tenant level or the user level. Start by deciding which retention period fits your organization’s data governance needs. If you need to enforce a specific retention period for compliance, set it at the tenant level and inform users that their personal settings will not override it. For more granular control, review your Microsoft Purview retention policies to ensure they do not conflict with your Copilot settings.