{
  "id": 226553,
  "title": "Microsoft excludes Domain Exclusion from MS 365 Copilot – days after rolling it out",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/06/microsoft-excludes-domain-exclusion-from-ms-365-copilot-days-after-226553",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-08-06T14:34:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register Science",
    "slug": "the-register-science",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/08/06/microsoft-excludes-domain-exclusion-from-ms-365-copilot-days-after-rolling-it-out/5284106"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Microsoft has reversed its decision to introduce Domain Exclusion for Microsoft 365 Copilot, just days after initially rolling out the feature. Originally, administrators were able to create a list of up to 1,000 web domains to exclude from Copilot's web-grounded responses, in order to ensure that the assistant's answers were not influenced by unwanted or non-compliant sources. Microsoft had touted this as a way to help organizations maintain control over the AI assistant's behavior and align it with their policies, compliance expectations, and trusted source strategies. However, Microsoft has now rolled back the feature, citing the need for further evaluation of its implementation. The company did not provide a specific reason for the rollback, stating only that they understand the importance of the capability and are actively exploring next steps. While the feature was initially seen as a practical control for administrators, its block list design proved to be limiting, as the vast size of the public web and potential workarounds using Copilot to access blocked sites created challenges for organizations.",
  "summary": "Perhaps an allow list of domains might be better?",
  "key_points": [
    "Microsoft reverses decision to include Domain Exclusion in MS 365 Copilot.",
    "Feature allows administrators to exclude up to 1,000 web domains from Copilot's responses.",
    "Company cites need for further evaluation and actively exploring next steps."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Register",
        "title": "Microsoft excludes Domain Exclusion from MS 365 Copilot – days after rolling it out",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/06/microsoft-excludes-domain-exclusion-from-ms-365-copilot-days-after",
        "published": "2026-08-06T14:34:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}