How to Use Anthropic Claude AI in Microsoft Copilot

Artificial intelligence is moving fast, and Microsoft now offers Anthropic’s Claude as an optional model inside Microsoft 365 Copilot. For business users, Claude means that you can choose it for certain Copilot-related tasks with your admin’s permission. 

Thus, you can leverage Claude’s strengths, like long-form reasoning and safety-focused responses. Below is a guide that walks you through enabling, governing, and using Claude inside Copilot.

Quick Overview 

Use Claude as a selectable LLM inside Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Studio for agent and researcher tasks.

• Anthropic’s models may be hosted outside Microsoft-managed environments and have their own terms and data handling. Thus, admin consent and awareness are required.

Before You Start—Admin Checklist Must-Haves

1. Microsoft 365 admin access. Only admins can allow third-party LLM providers for the organization.
2. Compliance & legal sign-off. Anthropic models may process data outside Microsoft’s direct control. Moreover, confirm data handling, retention, and regulatory implications with security or compliance teams. 
3. Licensing and cost awareness. Check your organization’s Copilot/Copilot Studio licensing and any additional costs or quotas for using Anthropic models.

Admin: Enable Anthropic in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center

1. Sign into the Microsoft 365 admin center.
   
2. Go to Copilot → Settings → Data access (or the “Connect to AI models” area).
   
3. Under LLM providers for your organization, locate Anthropic and allow the provider. You’ll need to accept any Terms & Conditions shown. After saving the connection, it may take a few hours to complete.

Why this matters: enabling at the tenant level is a gate; you won’t see Claude until the admin allows it.

Configure Governance & Data Controls

1. Scope access by OU or security group: Restrict Anthropic access to pilot teams (e.g., product, research) before full rollout.
2. Data handling policy: Document which data types are allowed (no sensitive PHI/PCI unless permitted), and whether documented content can flow to Anthropic’s environment. Microsoft’s docs clearly state that Anthropic models are hosted externally and record that for audits.
3. Monitor logs & telemetry: Ensure Copilot usage logs and DLP (Data Loss Prevention) rules are active so you can track what content was sent to third-party models.

How Does a Business User Select Claude Inside Copilot?

Once your organization permits you and enables Anthropic:

1. Search and open the Microsoft 365 Copilot app or Copilot chat inside the apps like Word, Excel, and Outlook.
   
2. In Copilot, select the Researcher or choose the Copilot Studio when you are building agents. You’ll see a Try Claude option or be able to pick Anthropic’s Sonnet/Opus models in Copilot Studio when configuring model options. Select Try Claude or the desired Claude model.

Tip: In Researcher, try Claude, which routes the agent’s prompt and required context to Anthropic’s model so you can compare outputs versus Microsoft’s default model.

Practical Workflows To Try First 

• Document summarization & briefings: Use Claude for long context summaries, including meeting bundles and long reports. 
• Research & sourcing: Run comparative literature scans or assemble annotated research briefs via the Researcher agent. 
• Customer insights: Also, analyze large feedback datasets, transcripts, or email themes to surface trends. 
• Copilot agents: In the Copilot Studio, create task-specific agents like expense review and onboarding helper. Choose Claude for tasks that require careful reasoning or safety filters.

Prompt and Interaction Tips for Business Users

• Be explicit with context: Moreover, it includes relevant documents, date ranges, and desired output format. Provide an executive 3-bullet summary with action items. 
• Ask for sources: Request citations or evidence traces when using Researcher for factual work. 
• Iterate and constrain: For certain sensitive workflows, keep prompts tightly scoped and avoid pasting unredacted PII. 
• Compare outputs: Additionally, when piloting, run the same prompt against Microsoft’s default model and Claude to see which performs better for your task.

Test, Measure, and Scale

1. Run a small pilot (2–4 teams) for two to six weeks and collect qualitative and quantitative feedback. 
2. Track metrics such as accuracy, hallucination incidence, time saved, user trust score, and number of DLP incidents. 
3. Use findings to expand access, create templates, and build internal prompts for repeatable tasks.
   

Security and Compliance Reminders

• Anthropic models may process your organization’s content in Anthropic-hosted environments. Further, ensuring legal and privacy teams approve this transfer.
• If needed, admins can block Anthropic later via the same data access settings in the tenant admin center.

Closing: Why Try Claude in Copilot?

Additionally, Anthropic’s Claude offers an alternative model choice inside Microsoft’s Copilot ecosystem, letting your businesses match model strengths to tasks. 

Hence, with proper governance, a measured pilot, and clear user guidance, Claude can become a powerful addition to your Copilot toolkit. 

For admin setup and official step-by-step instructions, you can check Microsoft’s Copilot admin docs and Anthropic’s announcement posts.