Published: 6 November 2026
Microsoft will process Anthropic’s Claude models in Copilot inside the EU Data Boundary by the end of 2026, it announced on 5 November. Organisations in the EU and EFTA can then use Claude across Copilot, including the Copilot Cowork agent. Their data is processed in the region where Microsoft already stores it. Claude stays switched off by default in Europe, so nothing changes until an admin turns it on.
Claude in Copilot still runs outside the EU Data Boundary today
Microsoft’s documentation, updated on 4 November, still calls Claude “currently excluded from the EU Data Boundary”. That covers Copilot, Researcher, Copilot Studio, Power Platform and Copilot in the Microsoft 365 apps. It is why Claude is off by default for tenants in the EU, EFTA and the UK. Most commercial customers elsewhere have it switched on.
The gap is largest in Copilot Cowork, the agent Microsoft built with Anthropic. Microsoft’s Cowork documentation says the agent can use Claude for most reasoning, drafting and tool work. For organisations within the EU Data Boundary, it supports only GPT models. Microsoft says customers “will no longer need to choose” between Claude and the regional data promises they rely on.
Do admins have to switch Claude on again after the move?
No, not if Claude is already on. Microsoft says organisations that already use Claude in Copilot need to take no action. Their processing moves into the EU Data Boundary automatically once it is available.
Organisations that kept Claude off can turn it on at any time. Until the move, though, their prompts are still processed outside the boundary. The setting sits in the Microsoft 365 admin center under Copilot, Settings, View all, “AI providers operating as Microsoft subprocessors”. In the EU, its default is “No users”. An AI Administrator or Global Administrator can select Anthropic and give access to all users or to chosen Microsoft Entra ID groups. Copilot Studio and Power Platform need an extra setting in the Power Platform admin center. Microsoft’s admin instructions walk through each step.
Microsoft has not named a date or the Claude models that move
Microsoft gives no date beyond the end of 2026 and promises more details closer to availability. It does not say which Claude models move either. The Cowork model picker currently offers Claude Opus 5.5, Claude Sonnet 5.5 and Claude Fable 5.1.
One group of models deserves extra care. Microsoft labels some Claude models “Anthropic models with Data Retention”, and its Cowork documentation says Claude Fable is one of them. For these models, Anthropic itself stores most inputs and outputs for up to 30 days. Its own terms apply, not Microsoft’s data protection addendum. The announcement does not mention them, so do not assume they move with the rest. It is also silent on the UK, and on whether Claude will fall under Microsoft’s in-country processing commitments.
Prepare the pilot group and the DPIA now, and switch Claude on after the move
For Dutch organisations in government, healthcare and finance, the place of processing is often the first question in a DPIA, the GDPR privacy risk assessment. This announcement removes the main objection to Claude in Copilot, but only once Microsoft updates its documentation. Until then, switching Claude on means processing outside the boundary.
Use the coming weeks to decide which teams need Claude and for what, such as long document and analysis work in Cowork. Create a dedicated Entra ID group for them, so access stays limited when you do switch it on. Add Anthropic as a Microsoft subprocessor to the DPIA and the processing register. Keep the Data Retention models off until Microsoft says where they are processed. Then check Microsoft’s documentation again in December. Once the words “currently excluded” are gone, the decision is yours.
For more information, visit the official announcement of Claude in the EU Data Boundary on the Microsoft Copilot blog.
