Complete Guide to Microsoft 365 Copilot Memory for Admins and Users
Reading this article will give you a clear understanding of what Memory in Microsoft 365 Copilot really means, how it works today from both user and admin perspectives, practical ways to interact with it, and the governance controls we need in the trenches to keep things secure and aligned with company needs.
Hello, guys. A couple of months ago or more, I started hearing about Memory in LLMs, and so in Copilot. It sounded straightforward; just ask Copilot to remember something for later conversations. I thought it would be a nice little productivity trick, nothing more.
But as I dug deeper while preparing this post, I found much more than I expected. In this article, we’ll unpack exactly what memories Copilot manages and, more importantly for us as M365 admins, a couple of things for governance.
What Memory means in Copilot
Copilot Memory turns from a helper without personal context into something that actually learns about us over time. It comes in two main flavors:
Saved (User) Memory: Explicit information we directly tell Copilot to remember.
Inference (Implicit) Memory: What Copilot automatically infers and retains from our ongoing interactions across chats, apps, and conversations.
This practical feature adds personal context that can reduce repetitive prompting and make Copilot feel like it truly “gets” the user. But as admins, we know that with great memory comes great responsibility.
Interacting with Saved (User) Memory
Almost nobody knows the basics, but this is really great if you pay attention to it. In any Copilot chat, simply say things like:
“Remember that I always want reports in landscape format with charts first.”
“Remember my team’s preferred meeting-free days are Wednesdays.”
Copilot will confirm the memory has been saved and will start using it in future responses when it makes sense. The beauty is that you can use the same natural language approach to modify or remove memories later; just say “Forget that I prefer landscape reports” or “Update my meeting-free days to Tuesdays.”
What I find especially useful is the nice touch Microsoft added: when you ask Copilot to create, modify, or delete a memory, it not only answers but also shows a clear button at the bottom of the response. Hovering over it displays the exact change requested and gives you a quick link to manage all memories. It’s incredibly clear and helps users immediately understand the impact of their request.
There’s also a UI way to manage everything without chatting:
Go to Copilot Chat → … (ellipsis in the upper right) → Settings → Personalization → Saved Memories → Manage Saved Memories.
From here, you can review, edit, delete individual items, clear everything, or turn the whole feature off.
Interacting with Inference Memory
Inference memory captures patterns and context from interactions across Copilot-enabled apps to understand the user better, such as their role, interests, or goals. It helps Copilot to adapt its responses intelligently, offering more relevant guidance and aligning answers with the user’s likely needs over time.
Copilot decides what’s worth remembering based on patterns in your work but you can modify it:
Ask Copilot what it has learned about your style or the saved preferences.
Turn off Chat history personalization in settings to limit or clear inferences derived from past conversations.
Pro-tip: Because Copilot can show a combined view of what it’s storing (saved + inferred), users get good transparency. Ask Copilot “What do you remember about me?” or “List my saved memories” and take advantage of this to correct anything that feels off or no longer relevant. It helps build trust and keeps the AI aligned with how you actually work.
Another Pro-tip: Memories aren’t just for adding preferences. Use them to stop behaviors too. Try prompts like “Never suggest humor in formal client communications” or “Do not include emojis in executive summaries.” This level of control is key.
IT Governance Matters
Saved memory is available to both Copilot-licensed users and those with standard Microsoft 365/Office accounts. It works for everyone who has access to Copilot chat. Inference memory from past conversations is restricted to Frontier users at this moment.
Where is it stored? In a hidden folder in the user’s Exchange Online mailbox called CopilotMemory inside the Contacts folder. Memory, then, is contact-like-based, so storage impact is usually minimal. The good news is that it inherits the same security, encryption, retention, and eDiscovery capabilities as any other regular content, and Purview can reach it.
Not every company wants memory enabled by default. Some prefer tighter control, especially in regulated industries.
We, as admins, can manage this tenant-wide or selectively via the Microsoft Graph API. There is a beta endpoint for enhanced personalization, now only affecting memory settings.
The main options give us three solid configurations:
Available for the entire company (default).
Available only for specific groups (by excluding one Entra group only).
Disabled for the entire tenant.
# PowerShell code
# The endpoint
$graphEndpoint = "https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/copilot/settings/people/enhancedpersonalization"
# The body for enabling the Copilot enhanced personalization to all employees
$body = @{
isEnabledInOrganization = $true
} | ConvertTo-Json
# The body for disabling the Copilot enhanced personalization for a specific Entra group
$body = @{
isEnabledInOrganization = $true
disabledForGroup = "edbfe4fb-ec70-4300-928f-dbb2ae86c981"
} | ConvertTo-Json
# The body for disabling the Copilot enhanced personalization for all employees
$body = @{
isEnabledInOrganization = $false
} | ConvertTo-Json
# Calling the endpoint
Invoke-RestMethod
-Method PATCH `
-Uri $graphEndpoint `
-Headers $headers ` # Include the bearer token and the content type headers
-Body $bodyChanges typically propagate within hours. This is evolving, so expect more granular Copilot controls coming soon.
Conclusion
By understanding Memory in Copilot, we help our organizations strike the right balance between delightful employee experiences and responsible data handling. Memory serves to save time remembering their preferences and work context.
Don’t forget to share this article with your friends and colleagues… click on the heart if you liked it, or drop a comment and tell me your thoughts about Copilot Memory in your environment.
See you in the trenches! 🚀
References
Copilot personalization and memory: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/copilot-personalization-memory
Microsoft 365 Copilot enhanced personalization control: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/control-enhanced-personalization-privacy
Update enhancedPersonalizationSetting: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/api/enhancedpersonalizationsetting-update?view=graph-rest-beta&tabs=http
Personalize what Microsoft 365 Copilot remembers: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/personalize-what-microsoft-365-copilot-remembers-cba7b79a-c46f-4ca7-b46e-2fa22c563f90
How Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat history works: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/how-microsoft-365-copilot-chat-history-works-6ea899e3-3bb1-450a-a2ae-220341ac193a