Microsoft Purview
Microsoft Purview is Microsoft's set of data security, data governance and compliance solutions. It labels sensitive data, prevents leaks with DLP, detects insider risk, catalogs data estates, and handles audit, eDiscovery and retention, including for prompts and responses in Copilot, agents and other AI apps.1
Also known as Azure Purview, Microsoft 365 compliance, Purview
- Intended for
- Data security and compliance teams, Legal and eDiscovery teams, IT teams preparing Copilot and agent rollouts, Chief data officers and data stewards
- Runs on
- Microsoft cloud service in the Microsoft Purview portal, Microsoft 365 workloads, Windows devices onboarded for endpoint DLP, Multicloud and third-party data sources through Data Map and DSPM integrations
At a glance
- What is it?
- Purview groups three areas in one portal. Data security covers Data Loss Prevention, Information Protection with sensitivity labels, Insider Risk Management, Information Barriers, Privileged Access Management and Data Security Investigations, with Data Security Posture Management (DSPM, current version in preview) as a unifying view. Data governance covers Data Map and Unified Catalog. Data compliance covers Audit, Communication Compliance, Compliance Manager, Data Lifecycle Management, eDiscovery and Records Management. Microsoft created the brand on 19 April 2022 by combining Azure Purview and the Microsoft 365 compliance portfolio.12
- What does it do?
- Classifiers and sensitive information types find regulated or confidential data, and sensitivity labels mark and can encrypt it. DLP policies warn or block when such data is shared, including pasting into third-party generative AI sites from onboarded Windows devices. Insider Risk Management flags risky behavior, with a template for risky AI usage. Prompts and responses from supported AI apps are captured in the audit log, can be searched with eDiscovery and kept or deleted by retention policies. Data Map scans multicloud sources for metadata, and Unified Catalog lets data teams curate data products, trace lineage and manage data quality.34
- Who needs it?
- Compliance, legal and data security teams in regulated organizations; IT teams preparing Microsoft 365 Copilot or agent rollouts that must stop oversharing; and data offices that need a governed catalog of data for analytics and AI. It also fits organizations that allow staff to use third-party AI tools but want visibility into, and control over, what data goes into them.3
- What does it need?456
- Licenses that include the Purview features you need; Microsoft lists Microsoft 365 E5, the Microsoft Purview Suite and pay-as-you-go options
- The Microsoft Entra Compliance Administrator role or the Microsoft Purview Compliance Administrator role group
- Sensitivity labels enabled for Office files in SharePoint and OneDrive
- Windows devices onboarded to Microsoft Purview for endpoint DLP
- The Data Governance Administrator role to set up Data Map and Unified Catalog
- Security Copilot capacity for the Purview triage agents
- What it is not
- Purview does not give people access to data through its catalog: Data Map and Unified Catalog hold metadata only, and their roles grant no access to the underlying data. It is not an identity product; Microsoft Entra decides who can sign in, while Purview governs what happens to the data. Sensitivity labels only protect content in AI interactions where labels are applied and, for SharePoint and OneDrive files, enabled for those services. The current DSPM version is in preview.34
Availability and licensing. Generally available. The current Data Security Posture Management version and the Security Copilot agents in Purview are in preview (checked 26 Oct 2026). Microsoft lists Microsoft 365 E5, the Microsoft Purview Suite and pay-as-you-go as ways to buy, and data governance solutions have their own billing. The pages checked show no prices.57
The problem it solves
Sensitive data is spread across Microsoft 365, other clouds and SaaS apps, and generative AI makes it easier to surface or leak. An AI answer can include content a user can technically open but should not see, and staff may paste confidential data into public AI tools.
Purview finds and labels sensitive data, enforces DLP and insider risk policies, records AI interactions for audit and eDiscovery, and gives data teams a catalog of governed data that AI projects can rely on.1
How it works
- Shared capabilities: classifiers, connectors, data explorer, activity explorer and sensitivity labels are used across solutions.
- Data security: labels travel with files and emails; when a label applies encryption, Copilot and other supported AI apps return the content only if the user holds both VIEW and EXTRACT usage rights. DLP and Insider Risk policies act on activity in Microsoft 365, on devices and in AI apps.
- AI coverage: Purview groups AI apps into Copilot experiences and agents (for example Microsoft 365 Copilot, Security Copilot, Copilot in Fabric and Copilot Studio), enterprise AI apps (Microsoft Foundry, Entra-registered AI apps, ChatGPT Enterprise, Anthropic Claude Enterprise) and other AI apps detected through browser activity.
- Compliance: prompts and responses land in the unified audit log and in the user's mailbox, so Audit, eDiscovery, Communication Compliance and retention policies apply to them.
- Governance: Data Map scans sources, and Unified Catalog organizes governance domains, data products, lineage and data quality.13
Diagram as a list
Copilot & business apps
- Microsoft Purview portalOne portal for security, governance and compliance solutions
Agents & automation
- AI apps and agents (Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, Foundry, third-party AI)Interactions governed by Purview policies
AI models & platform
- Security Copilot agents in Purview (preview)Triage DLP and insider risk alerts
Data & analytics
- Audit, eDiscovery and Data Lifecycle ManagementRecord, search and retain content, prompts and responses
- Data Map and Unified CatalogScan sources for metadata and curate data products
Security, identity & governance
- Classifiers and sensitivity labelsFind and label sensitive data
- Data Loss PreventionWarn or block risky sharing, including to AI sites
- Insider Risk ManagementDetect risky user and AI activity and share insights with Defender XDR
- Data Security Posture Management (preview)Objectives, AI observability and remediation across sources
Capabilities
Information Protection and sensitivity labels3
Labels show content sensitivity in Office apps and can apply encryption; supported AI apps return encrypted content only when the user has VIEW and EXTRACT rights.
Why it matters: Keeps protection attached to content when Copilot or agents use it.
Limits: Labels must be applied, and enabled for SharePoint and OneDrive, to protect files there.
Data Loss Prevention, including AI sites3
Content inspection and policies across Microsoft 365 services and endpoints; endpoint DLP can warn or block pasting sensitive data into third-party generative AI sites.
Why it matters: Reduces leaks to email, cloud apps and public AI tools.
Limits: Endpoint DLP requires Windows devices onboarded to Purview; users can override warnings if the policy allows.
Insider Risk Management3
Machine learning and signals flag risky insider activity, with a Risky AI usage template covering prompt injection attempts and access to protected materials.
Why it matters: Finds data theft and risky AI use early, with pseudonymization to protect privacy.
Limits: Needs careful policy design and privacy review.
Data Security Posture Management (preview)16
Data security objectives with guided remediation, AI observability for apps and agents including Microsoft Agent 365, and coverage of third-party platforms such as Google Cloud Platform, Snowflake and Databricks.
Why it matters: One view of where sensitive data is, who can access it and how it is protected.
Limits: Preview; Microsoft locations in asset explorer currently cover Microsoft 365 only; data appears about a day after setup.
Audit, eDiscovery and retention for AI interactions3
Prompts and responses are captured in the unified audit log, searchable with eDiscovery, and kept or deleted by retention policies.
Why it matters: Lets legal and compliance teams treat AI use like other business communication.
Limits: Covers supported AI apps; coverage differs by app.
Data Map and Unified Catalog4
Data Map scans assets and multicloud sources for metadata; Unified Catalog adds governance domains, data products, lineage, data quality and export to OneLake for analysis in Fabric.
Why it matters: Helps data teams find trusted data for analytics and AI.
Limits: Holds metadata only and has its own billing model.
Security Copilot agents in Purview (preview)7
The Triage Agent in Insider Risk Management and the Alert Triage Agent in DLP sort alerts into categories based on user, file, sensitivity and exfiltration risk.
Why it matters: Cuts the time analysts spend on low-risk alerts.
Limits: Preview; agents run as the admin who turned them on, and their authentication expires after 90 days.
Practical use cases
Before rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot, IT worries that it will surface overshared sensitive files.
- Approach
- Run DSPM data risk assessments to find oversharing, apply sensitivity labels and DLP policies, and audit Copilot interactions.
- Role of Microsoft Purview
- Purview finds exposed data, protects it and records how AI uses it.
- Data, infrastructure and skills
- Purview licensing for the features used and labels enabled for SharePoint and OneDrive.
- Type of benefit
- Reduced oversharing risk
- Caveats
- The current DSPM version is in preview, and labels only protect content they are applied to.
- First step
- Run the default data risk assessment in DSPM.
Employees paste customer data into public chatbots.
- Approach
- Onboard Windows devices to Purview and create endpoint DLP policies that warn or block pasting sensitive information into generative AI sites.
- Role of Microsoft Purview
- Purview DLP inspects the content and enforces the policy on the device.
- Data, infrastructure and skills
- Windows devices onboarded to Purview and sensitive information types that match your data.
- Type of benefit
- Data leak prevention
- Caveats
- Warnings can be overridden if the policy allows; coverage depends on device onboarding.
- First step
- Start with a policy in warn mode for credit card and customer ID patterns.
Analysts cannot find trusted datasets for AI projects.
- Approach
- Scan sources with Data Map, organize governance domains and data products in Unified Catalog, and track data quality.
- Role of Microsoft Purview
- Purview provides the governed catalog that data consumers search and request access through.
- Data, infrastructure and skills
- The Data Governance Administrator role and access to the sources to scan.
- Type of benefit
- Trusted data
- Caveats
- The catalog holds metadata only; access to the data itself still goes through the source systems.
- First step
- Assign the Data Governance Administrator role and scan one source.
Who uses it
County of Kern
In productionCounty of Kern: protecting data with Purview before Copilot
over 13 million files (measured)
Government, United States (Kern County, California)
Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group
In productionChow Tai Fook: 400+ AI agents for jewelry retail staff
over 400 agents (measured)
Retail and consumer goods, Hong Kong (story dateline); store network across several markets
Make-A-Wish America (national office and chapters)
In productionMake-A-Wish America: unified data, Copilot and an IT help bot
roughly two-thirds of staff (measured)
Nonprofit, United States
Works with
Optional integration
- Microsoft 365 CopilotPurview labels, DLP, audit, eDiscovery and retention apply to Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions.
- Microsoft Copilot StudioCopilot Studio is one of the Copilot experiences Purview covers.
- Microsoft FoundryMicrosoft Foundry apps are covered as enterprise AI apps.
- Microsoft FabricPurview covers Copilot in Fabric and can export catalog data to OneLake.
- Microsoft Defender XDRInsider Risk Management insights flow into Defender XDR.
- Microsoft Security CopilotSecurity Copilot powers the Purview triage agents and DSPM prompts.
- Microsoft Agent 365DSPM AI observability lists Agent 365 agents, and Purview publishes controls for Agent 365.
- Microsoft SentinelDSPM can use the Sentinel data lake for partner data (preview), and Sentinel graph powers Purview insider risk views.
Complementary tools
- Microsoft Copilot ChatPurview DLP can stop items with specific sensitivity labels from being used in Copilot Chat responses, and retention and audit policies apply.
- Microsoft SentinelSentinel graphs power Insider Risk Management and Data Security Investigations views in Purview, and Purview DSPM can use the Sentinel data lake for partner data (preview).
- Power BISecurity and governance are shared through Microsoft Purview.
- Microsoft 365 CopilotPurview classifies and labels data, helps prevent leakage and reviews Copilot prompts and responses.
- Microsoft FabricPurview adds information protection, DLP and audit for supported Fabric data.
Optional integration for
- Microsoft Agent 365Purview provides information protection, DLP and risk safeguards for agents.
- Windows 11 and Copilot+ PCsRecall can use Microsoft Purview endpoint DLP as its DLP provider.
- Microsoft Defender XDRDefender takes signals from Purview Data Loss Prevention and Insider Risk Management.
- Azure Machine LearningPurview can discover and catalog Azure Machine Learning data assets.
- Microsoft Security CopilotEmbedded in Purview with DLP and insider risk triage agents (preview).
- Microsoft 365 E7Advanced Purview from E5 plus agent-focused governance.
- Azure AI SearchFoundry IQ honors Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels.
- Microsoft FoundryThe product page names Purview among the governance integrations.
Relationship labels follow Microsoft's documentation. "Alternative approaches" does not mean one is better: each profile says when it fits.
Getting started
Open the portal
Sign in to the Microsoft Purview portal with a Compliance Administrator account.
Check: The Solutions list shows DSPM, DLP, Information Protection and the other solutions.
Set up DSPM
Open Solutions > DSPM and accept the initial setup tasks; allow about a day before data appears.
Check: The Posture page shows metrics and suggested objectives.
Label and protect
Enable sensitivity labels for SharePoint and OneDrive, publish labels, then create DLP policies for the most sensitive data.
Check: Labels appear in Office apps and DLP matches show in activity explorer.
Govern AI interactions
Check Copilot and AI activity in Audit and in the AI activities tab of activity explorer, then add retention policies for AI interactions.
Check: AI interaction events are listed and retention policies show as applied.
Official resources
Deciding whether you need it?
Three free tools apply Microsoft's own published guidance to your situation, and say when Microsoft Purview or any new technology is not needed.
Sources
Each statement above links to the source it comes from. Labels say who reported it.
- Learn about Microsoft Purview (Microsoft Learn) (opens in a new tab)
- Azure Purview is now Microsoft Purview (Azure blog, 19 April 2022) (opens in a new tab)
- Microsoft Purview data security and compliance protections for Microsoft 365 Copilot and other generative AI apps (opens in a new tab)
- Learn about data governance with Microsoft Purview (Microsoft Learn) (opens in a new tab)
- Microsoft Purview product page (opens in a new tab)
- Learn about Microsoft Purview Data Security Posture Management (Microsoft Learn) (opens in a new tab)
- Microsoft Security Copilot agents in Microsoft Purview (Microsoft Learn) (opens in a new tab)
- Plan costs and understand pricing and billing for Microsoft Sentinel (Microsoft Learn) (opens in a new tab)
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