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Microsoft 365 Copilot in the Government Community Cloud (GCC)

As of December 13, 2024, Microsoft began offering Microsoft 365 Copilot in its Government Community Cloud (GCC) environment. For city and local government IT teams operating in a GCC tenant, this means AI-powered assistance is now available directly within familiar tools like Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Teams—while keeping all processing within government-compliant infrastructure. The GCC environment is designed to meet standards such as FedRAMP High, CJIS, and IRS 1075, ensuring that sensitive or regulated data does not leave the secure government cloud boundary.

Additional Capabilities and Cost Considerations

In March 2025, Copilot capabilities in GCC expanded to include OneNote, SharePoint, Stream, and Copilot Pages, broadening how AI can assist with drafting, summarizing, and organizing information across an organization’s knowledge base. By default, web access for Copilot in GCC is disabled, giving IT administrators greater control over external data sources. For agencies already licensed under certain Microsoft 365 GCC plans, some Copilot functionality is being made available at no additional cost, which may be relevant when evaluating AI deployment strategies. This development is one of several examples of AI tools being adapted for secure, regulated environments—something worth tracking as governments look to integrate AI without compromising compliance or security.

Sidebar: What is the GCC?

The Government Community Cloud (GCC) is Microsoft’s dedicated cloud environment for U.S. federal, state, and local government entities, as well as certain contractors. Unlike the commercial Microsoft 365 cloud, GCC is hosted on separate infrastructure, meets higher security and compliance requirements, and is designed to handle controlled or sensitive information. AI tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot in GCC are adapted so that all data processing and storage remain within these protected boundaries, supporting compliance with regulations such as FedRAMP High and CJIS.