Microsoft is prepping a version of its Copilot AI tool for the Pentagon, aiming for release no earlier than summer 2025.
The company confirmed this in a recent blog targeted at government customers.
"For DoD environments, Microsoft 365 Copilot is expected to become available no earlier than summer 2025," Microsoft wrote.
"Work is ongoing to ensure the offering meets the necessary security and compliance standards."
Copilot is Microsoft’s flagship generative AI. It powers tasks in Microsoft 365 apps like PowerPoint, Excel, and Word, automating workflows and boosting productivity.
Microsoft has been pumping resources into Copilot but is still searching for the best monetization model. Landing the Pentagon as a customer would be a huge win.
In a recent all-hands, Microsoft Chief Commercial Officer Judson Althoff said a customer with over 1 million Microsoft 365 licenses will be adding Copilot, according to attendee reports. He didn’t name the customer, and Microsoft declined to comment. The Defense Department is one of the few organizations large enough to meet that scale.
The Pentagon employs roughly 2.1 million military personnel and 770,000 civilian staff, per a 2023 Government Accountability Office report. The Department of Defense did not respond to requests for comment.
Microsoft has said it will add Copilot to high-security government versions of Microsoft 365 this year.
Currently, Copilot isn’t available via "GCC-High," Microsoft’s secure cloud for US government workers. However, on March 31, the company announced plans to bring Copilot to these environments by this summer.
"For organizations in GCC High, Microsoft 365 Copilot remains in development to meet security and compliance requirements," Microsoft said.
"We are planning on a general availability (GA) release this calendar year."
Source: Microsoft government plans, Microsoft blog update March 31
