Microsoft is introducing a new way for businesses to fine-tune AI tools with Copilot Tuning a low-code solution designed to help organizations tailor AI to their specific needs without the usual cost or complexity.

Many AI systems today rely on large language models and public datasets. While powerful, these models often miss the mark when it comes to understanding a company’s internal language, processes, or tone. Fine-tuning can help bridge that gap, but until now, it's been resource-heavy and technically demanding.

What Is Copilot Tuning?

Copilot Tuning allows makers and developers to fine-tune models using their own data directly from tools like SharePoint or Microsoft Graph. Built into Copilot Studio, the process uses automated “recipes” that require minimal coding and are backed by strong privacy and security safeguards.

Once trained, these task-specific models can be used by custom AI agents created in Agent Builder. These agents integrate with familiar Microsoft 365 apps like Teams, Word, SharePoint, and Chat, helping employees get intelligent support tailored to their work.

At the heart of Copilot Tuning is a new data preparation technique developed by Microsoft researchers. Instead of manually labeling thousands of data points, subject matter experts can now clean and label less than 10% of a dataset to prepare it for model training. This method, published in a peer-reviewed ICML paper, helps save time while ensuring accuracy.

Key Benefits

Data Privacy First: No one sees your documents during processing.

Built-In Access Control: The AI model respects existing file permissions.

Quick Setup: Choose data with a few clicks; no manual coding is required.

Pre-Configured Tasks: Three are available out of the box.

• Document Generation
• Document Summarization
• Expert Q&A

Real Use Cases in Action

Microsoft is working with companies across industries to pilot Copilot Tuning. Here’s how some organizations are putting it to work.

• Expert Q&A Agent: A customer service bot trained on internal support materials that understands company-specific terms and acronyms.
• Proposal Writer: An AI assistant that drafts RFPs based on your company’s existing formats and tone.
• Project Analyst: A smart summarizer that turns complex documentation into executive summaries or status reports focused on key metrics.

Early Access Program Now Open

Copilot Tuning is launching through an Early Access Program (EAP) for organizations with 5,000 or more Microsoft 365 Copilot seats. Interested businesses must align with one of the three supported task types and may receive onboarding support from Microsoft.

If your organization doesn’t meet the seat requirement, you can still talk to your Microsoft account manager about future eligibility. The program will expand in the coming months.

Microsoft Copilot Tuning aims to unlock the power of AI for every organization making fine-tuning accessible, secure, and easy to use with the Microsoft 365 tools your teams already rely on.

To explore the Early Access Program and get started, visit the FAQ page or connect with your Microsoft representative.