In short. Copilot's documented Bing queries remove user and tenant identifiers, including Microsoft Entra username, domain, and tenant ID details.
Definition: No. As of Microsoft's Learn documentation updated in August 2026, Copilot sends generated web search queries to Bing with user and tenant identifiers removed. The documentation names Microsoft Entra ID details such as a username, domain, or tenant ID among the identifying information excluded from the query.
Key facts
- Copilot parses the prompt, selects terms where web information could improve the response, and generates a search query for Bing, according to Microsoft's web search privacy documentation.
- Copilot Chat sends its few-word web query to Bing through a secure connection and says that the query contains no user or tenant identifiers, as described in Microsoft's Copilot privacy documentation.
- The Microsoft 365 documentation gives username, domain, and tenant ID as examples of identifying information based on a user's Microsoft Entra ID.
- A normal generated query is different from the original prompt and usually contains only a few words informed by it.
- Microsoft says that web search queries sent to Bing do not affect Search Ranking, answers or Rich Captions, or social features such as Auto Suggest, Trending, and Zero Input.
What does Copilot send to Bing?
Web search begins when the feature is enabled and Copilot identifies terms that need current web information. The generated query is a short derivative of the prompt. Microsoft's example shows how a private document can inform a public search without the document itself becoming the query:
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The source explains that Copilot can reason over an internal strategy document, identify a major theme, and add that theme to the Bing query. It also states that the entire Microsoft 365 file is not included. A very short prompt can be treated differently: the user's entire prompt is excluded unless the prompt is very short, with "local weather" given as the example.
Which identifiers are removed?
The relevant identifier category is information based on the user's Microsoft Entra ID. The documented examples are username, domain, and tenant ID. Microsoft's Copilot Chat page uses the broader wording "user or tenant identifiers" and repeats those three examples. It also says that additional terms from an uploaded file or content actively viewed in Edge can be sent when Copilot Chat needs them to understand the prompt. The same page says whole uploaded files and whole web pages or PDFs summarized in Edge are excluded from the generated query.
The pages describe the current exclusion and its examples. They do not publish a raw Bing request or a change log that dates when the identifiers were removed.
What does this change for interpreting Bing data?
Microsoft describes the generated query as a web-grounding input. After Bing returns additional information, Copilot uses that information to compose the response. The documentation separately states that Copilot-generated web search queries sent to Bing do not affect Search Ranking, answers or Rich Captions, or social features including Auto Suggest, Trending, and Zero Input. That statement concerns the generated query's handling in Bing.
The query can be inspected in Copilot Chat through web search query citations. Microsoft's documentation says this linked citation section shows the exact queries sent to Bing, and that they remain available in the chat thread for 24 hours. The same documentation describes web search query logging for admins who need to search, audit, or use eDiscovery on the exact derived queries.
How can an organization control or inspect web search?
An IT administrator can use the Allow web search in Copilot policy in Cloud Policy service for Microsoft 365. Microsoft says the policy can turn web search on or off for users or user groups across the managed tenant. If web search is enabled, a user can also turn it off with the Web content toggle in the Microsoft Copilot app under Settings, Personalization, and Advanced. The available controls and policies vary by subscription plan.
Related terms
FAQ
Does the original prompt go to Bing?
Copilot generates a separate query from terms in the prompt. The entire prompt is excluded unless it is very short, such as "local weather".
Can an internal document add words to the query?
Yes. Copilot can identify a theme in a document and add terms about that theme to the Bing query. The documentation says the entire document is not included.
Can an administrator see the exact generated query?
Microsoft documents web search query citations in Copilot Chat and web search query logging for administrators. The chat citation view keeps the queries for 24 hours.
Sources
- Microsoft Learn, "Data, privacy, and security for web search in Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Copilot Chat", 18 August 2026
- Microsoft Learn, "Microsoft Copilot Chat Privacy and Protections", 24 August 2026
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