I was reviewing my client’s SharePoint sites last week when I realized most of them aren’t ready for what’s coming mid-June: Copilot in SharePoint (Microsoft Roadmap ID 501451). This isn’t another “someday” feature — it’s launching as an opt-out preview, which means it’ll be on by default if you have M365 Copilot licenses.
Here’s the thing: Copilot in SharePoint will surface content from your sites and libraries in ways you’ve never experienced before. That’s powerful — but only if your SharePoint house is in order.
Why This Matters Right Now
Copilot in SharePoint will let users ask questions like “What’s our latest project timeline?” or “Find Q1 sales reports” and get answers pulled directly from SharePoint. It uses the same permissions-aware architecture as M365 Copilot, meaning it only shows what users already have access to.
The catch? If your document libraries are a mess, your metadata is missing, or your permissions are overshared, Copilot will amplify those problems. The time to clean house is before mid-June, not after your team starts getting confusing or incomplete answers.
Getting Your SharePoint Ready: A Step-by-Step Plan
1. Audit Your Current SharePoint Sites
Start with a quick inventory:
- List your top 5-10 most-used SharePoint sites
- Identify which contain business-critical documents
- Note which sites are “dumping grounds” with poor organization
Action: Use SharePoint’s built-in Site Analytics (Site Settings → Site Usage) to see which sites get the most traffic. Focus your cleanup efforts there first.
2. Review and Fix Permissions
Copilot respects SharePoint permissions, but many sites have “Everyone” or “All Company” access when they shouldn’t.
Action:
- Go to each priority site → Site Settings → Site Permissions
- Remove overly broad groups
- Verify that sensitive content has restricted access
- Document who should have access to what
💡 Pro tip: If you find yourself saying “I don’t know why this person has access,” that’s a red flag. Fix it now.
3. Clean Up Document Libraries
Copilot searches through your documents, so poorly named files will produce poor results.
Action:
- Rename files from “Final v3 FINAL (2).docx” to descriptive names
- Delete outdated drafts and duplicates
- Move archived content to separate “Archive” libraries
- Create clear folder structures (or better yet, use metadata columns instead)
4. Add Metadata Columns
Metadata makes Copilot smarter. Instead of just searching file names, it can search by Project Name, Department, Document Type, Status, etc.
Action:
- Add 3-5 key columns to your main document libraries (e.g., Department, Project, Status)
- Populate metadata for your most important documents
- Set required fields for new uploads going forward
💡 Pro tip: Start small. Add metadata to your top 50 most-accessed documents first, not all 5,000 files at once.
5. Create a “Ground Truth” Page
Copilot works best when there’s a single source of truth for key information.
Action:
- Create a SharePoint page that lists your team’s key resources
- Link to your main document libraries, project sites, and templates
- Include brief descriptions of what’s in each location
- Pin this page to your team’s site homepage
This gives Copilot (and your team) a clear map of where things live.
6. Test with Existing Copilot Features
If you already have M365 Copilot licenses, test how it handles your SharePoint content today.
Action:
- Open Copilot Chat in Teams or at copilot.microsoft.com
- Ask: “Find the latest [project name] documents”
- Ask: “Summarize our Q1 planning documents”
- Note what works and what doesn’t
The gaps you find now are the areas to clean up before SharePoint Copilot launches.
What Happens Mid-June?
When Copilot in SharePoint goes live, users with M365 Copilot licenses will see new AI-powered features directly in SharePoint sites and libraries. Expect to see:
- Summarization of documents and pages
- Natural language search across libraries
- Answers pulled from SharePoint content in Copilot Chat
Licensing note: This requires M365 Copilot licenses ($30/user/month). If your org doesn’t have Copilot yet, you have time to prepare before purchasing.
Quick Takeaway
You have about 3-4 weeks to get ready. Focus on:
- Permissions — lock down what shouldn’t be widely accessible
- Naming — make files easy to find and understand
- Metadata — add structure so Copilot can filter and categorize
- Cleanup — delete the junk now before Copilot surfaces it
Copilot in SharePoint won’t magically organize your content — but if you do the prep work, it’ll make your team dramatically more productive.
Ready to go deeper? I’m running hands-on training sessions on preparing SharePoint for Copilot and making the most of M365’s AI features. Check out upcoming sessions at sharepointmentoring.com — designed for real-world practitioners, not checkbox learners.
💡 Test your knowledge: Before or after your next training session, try one of our free scenario-based Knowledge Reviews at sharepointmentoring.com — covering Power BI, Copilot, Power Automate, SharePoint, MS Project, and more. No login required.
