Microsoft’s Unexpected Change of Heart on Domain Exclusion
In a classic Geordie twist, Microsoft has suddenly withdrawn Domain Exclusion for Microsoft 365 Copilot, right after boasting about it as a means to prevent the assistant from pulling answers from unreliable websites. If you were looking to filter out sources that don’t appeal to you, you’re out of luck for the moment.
The Domain Exclusion Fiasco
Last month, Microsoft unveiled Domain Exclusion with an ambitious plan: Copilot could access the public internet for answers, but that also risked it consuming a lot of nonsense. Admins were meant to have some control over which sources it utilized. A touch of AI Health and Safety, right? Microsoft went on about how “admins require practical controls that ensure web-based experiences stay in line with organizational policies, compliance requirements, and trusted source strategies.” Thus, Domain Exclusion emerged, enabling organizations to prevent up to 1,000 web domains from shaping what Copilot produced. Admins were able to create a list from a CSV file through PowerShell. Quite the undertaking!
The Unforeseen Retreat
But brace yourselves! This week, Microsoft timidly acknowledged they’d reversed the feature. Why? Who can say. They merely stated: “We recognize the significance of this capability and are currently assessing next steps.” Thanks, Microsoft. Just what we wanted – a useful tool made invisible.
Difficulties with a Block List
Now, the control was extremely useful, but the block list configuration had administrators engaged in a relentless game of Whac-A-Mole. 1,000 domains are negligible compared to the vast expanse of the web. Employees could still use Copilot to gather information from websites they’re prohibited from accessing directly. An approved sources list would be far more sensible, restricting Copilot to pages the organization already trusts. Some intelligent user even remarked: “I really wish this was reversed: Off, but add an allow list. The On, but disable some means we’d need to identify which sites were ‘bad.’ Seems counterintuitive to approach it that way.” Spot on, mate.
Summary
Tag: The Great Microsoft Flip-Flop
So, there you have it! With Microsoft pulling the rug from underneath us, all we can do is ponder and await their next decision. Perhaps they’ll get it right next time, or perhaps pigs will start to fly. Until then!
