Using Copilot Chat for Web Research

Overview

Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat can be a powerful tool for researching topics, finding current information, and exploring questions that require up-to-date web sources. But in government environments—GCC, GCC High, and DoD—web grounding behaves differently than in commercial tenants.

This video walks you through how web grounding works in Copilot Chat, how to ask effective research questions, how to verify the responses you receive, and what you need to know about the controls and defaults that apply in government clouds.

What You’ll Learn

• How Web Grounding Works: Understand what happens when you ask Copilot Chat a research question
• Asking Effective Questions: Craft specific, actionable prompts that yield better research results
• Verifying Responses: Use citations and cross-reference sources to validate information
• Government Controls: Navigate the default OFF policy for web grounding in GCC, GCC High, and DoD

Script

Hook: web research is powerful, but you need to understand how it works

Copilot Chat can help you research topics, find current information, and explore questions—when web grounding is enabled.

But in government environments, web access has specific controls and defaults. It’s not always on. And even when it is, you need to know how to use it effectively and verify what you get back.

Let’s make sure you know how to use this capability safely and get the best results.

How web grounding works in Copilot Chat

So what actually happens when you ask Copilot Chat a research question?

First, Copilot analyzes your prompt and determines whether information from the web would improve the response. If it decides web data is helpful, it generates a short Bing search query based on your question. That query is different from your original prompt—it’s optimized for search, usually just a few keywords informed by what you asked.

That search query is sent to Bing to fetch current, publicly available information. The results come back, and Copilot uses them to ground its response in up-to-date web data.

Here’s the privacy piece. The search query is sent to Bing without your user or tenant identifiers. Your identity isn’t part of the search. That’s by design.

But here’s the critical piece for government users: web grounding is OFF by default in GCC, GCC High, and DoD environments. This protects sensitive data from leaving the compliance boundary. It’s a governance decision.

If web grounding is off in your tenant, Copilot will tell you it cannot access web data when you ask a question that would normally trigger a web search. You won’t get web-sourced answers unless an administrator has explicitly enabled the feature.

So before you rely on Copilot Chat for web research, check with your IT team. Know whether web grounding is available in your environment and what the policy is.

Asking effective research questions

Let’s say web grounding is enabled in your environment. How do you ask questions that get useful results?

Start with specificity. Vague questions get vague answers. Instead of “Tell me about FedRAMP,” try “What are the latest FedRAMP authorization requirements for cloud AI services?” Instead of “CMMC info,” ask “Find recent guidance on CMMC 2.0 implementation timelines.”

The more specific your question, the better Copilot can narrow the search and synthesize a useful answer.

Use follow-up questions to refine results. Copilot Chat maintains context within a conversation, so you can ask clarifying questions or dig deeper. “What does that mean for DoD contractors?” or “How does that differ from the previous version?”

You can also ask Copilot Chat to summarize, compare, or analyze what it finds. “Compare the FedRAMP High baseline to the DoD IL4 requirements” or “Summarize the key differences between these two compliance frameworks.”

And here’s a powerful technique: combine web research with uploaded files. Upload a document, then ask Copilot to use both the document and web sources to answer your question. “Based on this policy document and current Microsoft guidance, what’s the recommended approach?”

The key is treating Copilot as a research assistant, not a search engine. You’re asking it to reason over information, not just retrieve links.

Understanding and verifying responses

Now, how do you know if what Copilot gives you is accurate?

When Copilot uses web grounding, it provides inline citations. You’ll see numbered references throughout the response. Click those citations to see the original source. This is critical. Always verify the source, especially for decisions that matter.

Cross-reference critical information with authoritative sources. If Copilot cites a blog post about compliance requirements, go verify that against the official government documentation. Don’t rely on a single synthesized answer for compliance, procurement, or security decisions.

Understand the difference between web grounding and Microsoft Graph data. Web grounding pulls from the public web. Microsoft Graph pulls from your organization’s data—emails, documents, chats. Copilot can use both, but they’re not the same. Make sure you know which one you’re getting.

Here’s the reality: Copilot synthesizes information. It’s not copy-pasting from a source. It’s reasoning over what it finds and generating an answer. That’s powerful, but it also means you need to verify before you act.

In a government context, this is especially important. Don’t rely on web research alone for compliance decisions. Use it as a starting point. Verify against authoritative sources. Document your decision trail.

Government considerations and controls

Let’s talk about what makes government environments different.

Web grounding is OFF by default in GCC, GCC High, and DoD. This is intentional. It protects sensitive data from leaving the compliance boundary. If your organization operates in a classified or controlled environment, this default makes sense.

But administrators can enable web grounding where appropriate. Maybe it’s enabled for certain groups, or for specific use cases, or across the board after a risk review. The point is: it’s a policy decision, not a technical limitation.

Before you rely on web research in Copilot Chat, understand your environment’s policy. If you try to ask a web research question and web grounding is off, Copilot will tell you. “I can’t access web data in this environment.” That’s your signal.

If web grounding is not available, you still have options. You can use Copilot to reason over uploaded documents. You can ask it to work with your organizational data through Microsoft Graph. Web grounding is one tool, not the only tool.

The key is knowing what’s available in your environment and working within those boundaries.

Close: best practices for web research with Copilot

So here’s your takeaway checklist for using Copilot Chat for web research.

Start with clear, specific questions. The more precise your prompt, the better the result.

Always verify citations and sources. Click through to the original material. Don’t trust synthesis alone for critical decisions.

Know your environment’s web grounding policy. Check with your IT team. Don’t assume it’s on just because you’ve seen it work elsewhere.

Use Copilot Chat to augment your research, not replace authoritative sources. It’s a tool to help you work faster, not a substitute for verification.

And finally, combine web research with organizational knowledge for the best results. The power of Copilot is in reasoning across multiple sources. Use that.

That’s how you do web research with Copilot Chat in a government environment. Specific questions, verified sources, and policy awareness.

Sources & References

• Data, Privacy, and Security for Web Search in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat — Primary Microsoft Learn documentation on how web grounding works, privacy model, and administrative controls
• Understanding Web Search in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat — End-user guidance on using web search effectively in Copilot Chat
• Manage Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat — Administrative controls and policies for managing Copilot Chat, including web grounding settings
• What Information Does Copilot Use to Answer My Prompt? — Explanation of different grounding types including web, Microsoft Graph, and uploaded files
• Microsoft 365 Copilot GCC — Government cloud-specific information including web grounding default settings for GCC
• Microsoft 365 Copilot is Now Available in GCC High — Announcement with details on GCC High defaults and controls for web grounding