Can individual work sources be excluded from a Copilot Chat answer?

Definition: Yes. Microsoft Copilot Chat documents a Change data sources menu with toggles that turn individual sources on or off before a prompt is sent. Microsoft gives Viva Engage as an example of a work source that can be turned off.

Key facts

• Microsoft's source controls documentation places source selection in the Change data sources menu.
• The same documentation says that the menu's toggles turn sources on and off, and gives Viva Engage as an example of a source that can be disabled.
• The Work IQ toggle controls access to work data such as emails, Teams messages, and files. Microsoft's grounding documentation says the separate Work and Web tabs were replaced by this control.
• The Change data sources menu has a Turn off all button. Microsoft says it turns off every data source except web search.
• Work data access depends on the account and subscription. The grounding documentation says availability varies by license, subscription, and admin settings.

How do you exclude one work source?

Open Copilot Chat with a Microsoft 365 work or school account. In the Message Copilot compose box, select Add and manage sources, then select Change data sources at the bottom of that menu. The relevant path is:

Add and manage sources > Change data sources

Microsoft's source controls documentation says to use the toggles in this menu to select the sources Copilot can reference while generating a response. Its example is specific: turning off Viva Engage prevents Copilot from using Viva Engage data for the prompt. The menu therefore provides a source-level control where that source is available.

How is this different from Work IQ?

Work IQ is the broader control for work data. Microsoft's grounding documentation describes work data as emails, files, chats, meetings, people, projects, accounts, and opportunities across Microsoft 365 apps. It says Work IQ is available to users with a Microsoft Copilot add-on license.

The same documentation says the separate Work and Web tabs have been replaced by the Work IQ button. Work IQ decides whether Copilot can reference work data, while the Change data sources menu exposes individual source toggles. When Work IQ is on, Copilot can reference work content that the user is already authorized to access, subject to the organization's security and governance controls.

What happens to web search?

The Turn off all control has a documented exception: web search remains on. Web search has its own setting. Microsoft's web search documentation directs users to the Settings and more menu, Chat settings, Personalization, and Advanced, where the Web search toggle turns web search on or off.

When web search is on, Copilot Chat generates a short Bing query from the prompt. The same documentation says that the Sources button shows the exact query sent to Bing and the sources used.

How can you check the sources after the answer?

Microsoft's source controls documentation says that Copilot Chat responses include inline citations next to the information they support. Select an inline citation to open its source file in a side pane. You can also select the Sources button at the bottom of the response and scroll through the complete source list. The page says selecting a source opens another side pane with the source file.

The available source list can vary. Microsoft's grounding documentation attributes source availability to license, subscription, and admin settings, so the documented Viva Engage example does not establish that every account has the same menu entries.

Related terms

• Microsoft Copilot
• Grounding
• Copilot Search in Bing

FAQ

Can all work sources be turned off at once?

The documented Turn off all control turns off all data sources except web search. To change web search separately, use its Web search toggle in Personalization under Advanced settings.

Does turning off Viva Engage turn off Work IQ?

Microsoft describes Viva Engage as one source toggle and Work IQ as the control for whether Copilot can reference work data. The two controls therefore operate at different scopes in the documented interface.

Sources

1. Microsoft Support, "Control and review sources of Microsoft Copilot Chat's responses", 2026-07-01
2. Microsoft Support, "What information does Copilot use to answer my prompt?", 2026-07-01
3. Microsoft Support, "How web search works in Microsoft Copilot Chat and agents", 2026-09-29

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