MC1481313 - Microsoft Purview | DLM: Legacy Teams retention policies that cover Copilot will be treated as Teams-only

Microsoft 365 Message Center announcement MC1481313.

MS Message Center's Summary

Microsoft Purview is updating retention policy behavior so that legacy Microsoft Teams policies will no longer apply to Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions starting in late October 2026. This rollout completes by mid November 2026. Organizations must configure separate retention policies specifically for Copilot data to maintain ongoing compliance coverage. Compliance administrators should review current settings and create dedicated policies before the change takes effect.

Administrator impact
Administrators must review existing retention policies and configure separate policies specifically for Microsoft 365 Copilot data if ongoing compliance coverage is required.
End user impact
No direct end user impact is expected.
Importance
6/10: Compliance coverage for Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions will cease under legacy Teams policies and requires proactive administrator configuration.

Microsoft Summary

Legacy Microsoft Teams retention policies will no longer apply to Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions starting late October 2026. Organizations must configure separate retention policies for Copilot data to maintain compliance, as Teams policies will only govern Teams content going forward. Action is required if Copilot retention is needed.

Message Center ID
MC1481313
Category
plan For Change
Severity
normal
Services
Microsoft Purview
Tags
User impact, Admin impact
Roadmap ID
571306
Platforms
Web
Published
2026-09-28
Last updated
2026-09-28
Expires
2026-12-15

[What and why] Microsoft Purview is updating how legacy Microsoft Teams retention policies are applied. Some existing retention policies that are scoped to Teams currently also apply to Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions. Beginning with this rollout, these legacy policies will be treated as Teams-only policies and will no longer implicitly apply to Copilot workloads. [Rollout schedule] Worldwide: Beginning in late October 2026 and expected to complete by mid-November 2026 [Impact on your organization] Who is affected Organizations using Microsoft Purview retention policies that were historically configured for Microsoft Teams and currently rely on those policies to retain or delete Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions Compliance administrators and records management administrators responsible for retention policy configuration Platforms and services Microsoft Purview Microsoft Teams Microsoft 365 Copilot What will happen Legacy Teams retention policies that currently affect both Teams and Copilot data will be treated as Teams-only policies. Copilot interactions will no longer be retained or deleted through these legacy Teams retention policies. Retention behavior for Microsoft Teams content will remain unchanged. Organizations that require retention coverage for Copilot interactions must configure retention settings specifically for the Copilot workload. [Action required and recommendations] Action is required if you currently rely on Teams retention policies to govern Copilot interactions. Review existing Microsoft Purview retention policies to identify policies that may currently apply to Copilot interactions. Determine whether your organization requires retention or deletion controls for Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions. Configure retention policies explicitly for the Copilot workload to maintain the desired compliance coverage after this change. Update internal compliance documentation and administrator guidance as needed. Inform compliance and records management stakeholders of this change. [Compliance considerations] Question Answer Does the change alter how existing customer data is processed, stored, or accessed? Copilot interaction data will no longer be governed by legacy Teams retention policies and must be managed through retention policies explicitly configured for the Copilot workload. Does the change modify, interrupt, or disable retention policies, holds, or deletion workflows? Existing Teams retention policies that currently affect Copilot interactions will no longer apply to Copilot workloads. Organizations requiring Copilot retention coverage must configure retention policies specifically for Copilot.