Microsoft Purview | Data Lifecycle Management - Separate Retention policies for Copilots and AI Apps

Admins can now set separate retention policies for Copilot and AI app interactions in Microsoft Purview, allowing faster deletion if needed. This feature, rolling out from mid-March to May 2026, enhances data lifecycle management and compliance controls for generative AI content.

[Introduction]

We’re introducing the ability for admins to configure separate retention policies for Copilots and AI apps. This enhancement gives organizations more flexibility to manage retention and deletion timelines for Copilot and generative AI interactions.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 520388.

[When this will happen]

General Availability (GCCH): Rollout is expected to begin in mid-March 2026 and will complete by May 2026.

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected: Admins managing Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management for Copilot experiences and AI apps.

What will happen:

• Organizations will now have controls to configure different retention policies for Copilots and AI apps under Microsoft Copilot Experiences, Enterprise AI Apps, and Other AI Apps.
• This feature provides options to delete Copilot and generative AI interactions faster if needed.

[What you can do to prepare]

• Review your organization’s retention requirements for Copilot and AI app interactions.
• Update internal documentation and communicate changes to your compliance and IT teams.
• Learn more about retention policies in Microsoft Purview: https://learn.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/compliance/retention-policies
• Automatically retain or delete content by using retention policies.

[Compliance considerations]

Question	Answer
Does the change alter how existing customer data is processed, stored, or accessed?	Yes. It introduces new retention policy options for Copilot and AI app interactions.
Does the change modify retention policies, holds, or deletion workflows?	Yes. Admins can now configure separate retention timelines for these interactions.
Does the change introduce or modify AI/ML capabilities that interact with customer data?	Yes. Applies to generative AI interactions managed under retention policies.