Using the SharePoint Agent Access Report to Improve Copilot Governance

Posted on Today at 7:52 am

Organizations are moving fast to adopt Microsoft Copilot, and with that excitement comes a growing need for transparency. Leaders want to understand how AI agents are interacting with their content. Compliance teams want visibility. IT wants a way to separate assumptions from reality. That’s exactly why the Agent Access Report in the SharePoint Admin Center matters right now more than ever. It gives your organization a simple and powerful way to track which Copilot agents have accessed SharePoint sites recently, and just as importantly, how often.

This report is a cornerstone for strong Copilot governance. Let’s break down why it exists, what it shows, and how to use it to strengthen security, compliance, and readiness across your tenant.

Why the Agent Access Report Exists

When organizations deploy Microsoft Copilot, the first big concern is usually:

How can we tell what Copilot is doing with our content?

Microsoft’s goal has always been to ensure that Copilot honors your existing permissions model. No back doors. No secret access. No magical new super-permissions. But admins still needed visibility to verify trust.

The Agent Access Report gives you exactly that: a detailed, transparent look at which agents accessed which sites over the last 30 days. It’s simple, but incredibly important for validating your Copilot governance strategy.

Where to Find the Agent Access Report

You’ll find it in the SharePoint Admin Center, under the Reports section. The official Microsoft documentation is here:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/SharePoint/insights-on-agent-access

Inside the report, you’ll see a list of SharePoint sites and the Copilot agents that have interacted with them. This includes:

SharePoint agents
(other) Declarative agents
Custom agents

For each site, you can drill into access frequency, which gives you patterns like whether an agent is:

Helping users with content referencing
Pulling data for grounded responses
Supporting cross-application experiences

What Signals the Report Gives You

Here’s what makes this powerful: the report doesn’t overcomplicate things. It gives you the essentials that matter most for administrators and governance teams.

1. Which agents accessed a site

This helps you verify that only allowed agents are touching content in sensitive areas.

2. How frequently agents accessed content

A spike in access might indicate:

Increased user activity
A business unit leaning more on Copilot
Content that’s becoming a knowledge hotspot
A potential governance or compliance area that needs review

3. The presence (or absence) of Copilot activity

If Copilot isn’t touching critical content areas at all, it could mean:

Permissions are too restrictive
Users don’t know Copilot can help
The content isn’t structured or labeled well enough for Copilot to use

All three scenarios matter if you’re trying to build a Copilot-ready organization.

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How to Use This Report in Your Copilot Governance Framework

If you’re building a strong Copilot governance plan, the Agent Access Report should be part of your monthly governance rhythm. Here’s how to use it effectively.

1. Identify High-Value Sites

Look for sites where Copilot agents frequently access content. These are potential:

Knowledge hubs
Training opportunities
Areas where Copilot usage is already delivering business value

Document these sites and give them priority in your governance roadmap.

2. Validate Permission Boundaries

Copilot should only have access to content users can access.

If you spot an agent accessing content in unexpectedly sensitive areas, double-check:

The permissions
Site classification
Sharing controls
Sensitivity labels

This visibility helps prevent accidental overexposure.

3. Detect Underutilization

If major business units aren’t seeing Copilot activity, that’s a sign:

Users may not be adopting Copilot
Content might not be useful to Copilot yet
Permissions or architecture are blocking it

Use this insight to guide training, adoption programs, and IA improvements.

4. Use It to Drive Content Lifecycle Improvements

Copilot works best on well-structured content.

When you notice Copilot accessing outdated, cluttered, or ungoverned sites, consider:

Archiving unused content
Reducing ROT
Improving metadata
Migrating legacy content into modern SharePoint

The report becomes a map of where cleanup will have the biggest impact.

Why This Matters for the Future of Copilot

As Microsoft Copilot becomes more deeply embedded across M365, transparency and governance are no longer optional. Organizations need:

Clear visibility
Strong permission hygiene
A repeatable process to monitor usage
A proactive stance on data readiness

The Agent Access Report is one of the simplest ways to stay ahead of the curve. If you’re building Copilot initiatives, pilots, or enterprise rollout plans, this report should be part of the operational workflow. It helps you validate that your Copilot agents are interacting with the right content, at the right time, with the right boundaries.

Your Next Steps

Try out this report and see what it says about your environment. If you need help creating agents that make finding information easier and more secure, just contact me below!

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