Web grounding allows Copilot to pull live information from the internet to supplement its responses. For some business users, this feature introduces risks such as exposure to outdated or unverified sources. You may want to disable web grounding to ensure Copilot relies only on your organization’s Microsoft Graph data. This article explains what web grounding is, how to turn it off using Microsoft 365 admin settings, and what limitations to expect after disabling it.
Key Takeaways: Disabling Web Grounding in Copilot
- Microsoft 365 admin center > Copilot > Data sources: Toggle off the Bing search option to disable web grounding for all users.
- Microsoft Graph data only: After disabling web grounding, Copilot can only access your tenant’s SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange data.
- No per-user control: Web grounding is a tenant-wide setting. You cannot disable it for specific users while leaving it on for others.
What Is Web Grounding and Why Disable It
Web grounding is a feature in Copilot for Microsoft 365 that connects the AI model to Bing search results. When a user asks a question, Copilot can retrieve current information from public websites to supplement the response. This is useful for queries about recent news, public data, or external events. However, it also means Copilot may surface content from sources that are not vetted by your organization. For businesses that require strict data governance or that operate in regulated industries, disabling web grounding ensures that Copilot uses only the data stored in your Microsoft 365 tenant.
The setting controls whether Copilot can use Bing as a data source. When web grounding is disabled, Copilot relies exclusively on Microsoft Graph data. This includes content from SharePoint, OneDrive, Exchange, and other Microsoft 365 services that your organization controls. The change affects all users in the tenant who have a Copilot license. There is no per-user toggle for this feature.
How Web Grounding Affects Copilot Responses
When web grounding is enabled, Copilot can include citations from public websites in its answers. For example, if a user asks for the latest product announcements from a competitor, Copilot might pull that information from a news site. With web grounding disabled, Copilot will respond only with data from your tenant. If the answer is not available in your organization’s files, Copilot states that it cannot find the information.
Steps to Disable Web Grounding in Microsoft 365 Admin Center
You must be a Microsoft 365 Global Administrator or have the Copilot Administrator role to change this setting. Follow these steps to turn off web grounding for your entire tenant.
- Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center
Go to admin.microsoft.com and sign in with your administrator account. The admin center dashboard opens. - Navigate to Copilot settings
In the left navigation menu, select Settings. Then select Org settings. Under the Services tab, scroll down and select Copilot. - Open the Data sources tab
In the Copilot settings page, select the Data sources tab. This tab lists the external data sources that Copilot can access. - Disable the Bing search toggle
Locate the Bing search option. Toggle the switch to the Off position. A confirmation dialog may appear. Select Turn off to confirm. - Save the changes
Select Save at the bottom of the page. The setting applies within a few minutes. Users do not need to restart Copilot or sign out to see the change.
After saving, Copilot will no longer use Bing to ground its responses. All Copilot interactions will use only Microsoft Graph data from your tenant.
Common Issues After Disabling Web Grounding
Copilot Returns No Results for General Questions
Users may ask questions that have no answer in the tenant data. For example, a question about current weather or stock prices will result in Copilot stating that it cannot find the information. This is expected behavior. Train users to phrase questions that reference specific documents, emails, or files in your organization.
Copilot Still Shows Web Sources
If users still see web citations after disabling the toggle, the setting may not have propagated yet. Wait up to 30 minutes for the change to apply across all Microsoft 365 services. If the issue persists, clear your browser cache and sign out of Microsoft 365, then sign back in.
Cannot Find the Bing Search Toggle
The Bing search option appears only if your tenant has a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license assigned. If you do not see the toggle, verify that your organization has active Copilot licenses and that you have the correct admin role. Contact Microsoft support if the tab is missing entirely.
Copilot with Web Grounding vs Copilot Without Web Grounding: Key Differences
| Item | With Web Grounding | Without Web Grounding |
|---|---|---|
| Data sources | Microsoft Graph + Bing search | Microsoft Graph only |
| Response accuracy for recent events | Can answer questions about current news and public data | Cannot answer questions about external events |
| Citation sources | May include URLs from public websites | Only citations from tenant files |
| Data governance | External data may not be vetted | All data is under organization control |
| User experience | Broader range of answers | Answers limited to tenant content |
The decision to disable web grounding depends on your organization’s data security requirements. If your users need current external information, consider leaving web grounding enabled and supplementing it with a custom data policy. If data sovereignty is critical, disabling web grounding gives you full control over the data Copilot can access.
You can now disable web grounding in your Microsoft 365 tenant by using the Bing search toggle in the admin center. After turning off this setting, verify that Copilot responses no longer include public web citations. For more granular control, you can also use data classification labels to restrict which SharePoint sites Copilot can index.