Copilot in Word/Excel does not know my files
Copilot reads your own documents in OneDrive and SharePoint via Microsoft Graph. If they are not indexed, Copilot does not see them.
Try this first
- 1Is the file in OneDrive for Business or a SharePoint library you have access to? Files on the local C: drive are invisible to Copilot.
- 2Test: search Microsoft Search (the top bar in Office) for the file. No hit there = Copilot will not find it either.
- 3Files just uploaded? Give Microsoft Graph a few hours to index. Larger tenants take longer than small ones.
- 4SharePoint libraries with restrictive controls (ITAR, sensitive labels) are often excluded from Copilot by policy. Ask your admin.
- 5In a chat: use / to explicitly attach a file, that way you do not depend on Copilot finding it on its own.
When to bring us in
Company files are not indexed for weeks, or Copilot only sees your own files and not the shared library: tenant setting, mail us.
See also
- Can I paste a customer file or email into ChatGPT?Depends on the account and settings. Free ChatGPT and a Team tenant behave very differently from what most people assume.
- I want a one-page AI policy for my teamA real one-pager beats a thick document nobody reads. Four headers and concrete examples.
- How do I tell if an AI answer is made up?Models sound confident even when they are wrong. A few habits catch most mistakes.
None of the above fits?
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