AI in SharePoint (Knowledge Agent) – Important Update for EU and UK Tenants

Originally posted by Microsoft Mar 3, 2026 Uncategorized 0 Comments

AI in SharePoint, formerly Knowledge Agent, is refreshed using Anthropic models for advanced capabilities. EU and UK tenants must explicitly enable Anthropic as a sub processor in the Microsoft Admin Center by March 2026 to continue using the preview; otherwise, users will see an error.

You’re receiving this message because your tenant is opted in to the SharePoint Knowledge Agent public preview, which is being refreshed and renamed AI in SharePoint.

As part of this refresh, AI in SharePoint now uses an Anthropic reasoning model to support advanced, action-oriented capabilities such as planning and executing tasks across SharePoint sites, pages, lists, and libraries. Due to EU data boundary commitments, this change requires explicit admin action for tenants based in the EU and UK.

When this will happen:

Public Preview (Production): Rolling out starting March 2026

Who is affected:

Microsoft 365 Copilot–licensed users in tenants who have opted-in to public preview and are based in the EU or UK. 

How this affects your organization:

If you previously opted into the Knowledge Agent (now AI in SharePoint) public preview but Anthropic is not enabled as a sub processor for Microsoft Online Services, users will not be able to use AI in SharePoint once the refreshed preview rolls out.

This setting is disabled by default in the Microsoft Admin Center for EU and UK tenants.

Background information:

To support advanced reasoning and action-oriented capabilities in AI in SharePoint, the public preview refresh will use an Anthropic reasoning model, selected based on internal evaluations, testing, and capacity considerations.

Because Anthropic models are currently excluded from EU data boundary commitments, Anthropic is automatically disabled as a sub processor for Microsoft Online Services in EU and UK tenants. To continue using the Knowledge Agent (now AI in SharePoint) public preview, tenant admins must explicitly enable Anthropic in the Microsoft Admin Center.

What you need to do to prepare:

If you would like your tenant to continue to experience the Knowledge Agent (now AI in SharePoint) public preview, you must enable Anthropic as a sub processor for Microsoft Online services for the tenant. Please see this article for more information.

If you previously opted into the Knowledge Agent (now AI in SharePoint) public preview and do not enable Anthropic, users in your tenant will see the following error indicating that the AI in SharePoint preview isn’t available due to your organization’s AI provider settings:

This preview experience isn’t available because of your organization’s AI provider settings. Contact your IT department for more info.

If you do not want to enable Anthropic as a data sub processor, we recommend opting out of the AI in SharePoint public preview to avoid users in your tenant seeing the error message.

Additional information:

• Blog about the new AI in SharePoint features that are part of the public preview refresh: http://aka.ms/SPat25/blog  
• Admin documentation: Get started with Knowledge Agent (preview) – SharePoint in Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn
• Enable Anthropic documentation:
  Anthropic as a subprocessor for Microsoft Online Services
• This preview experience is part of the Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

FAQs:

Why do I need to enable Anthropic for my tenant?

• AI in SharePoint leverages Anthropic for its underlying reasoning model. If Anthropic is disabled for the tenant, AI in SharePoint cannot run. In the future, other models will be available for AI in SharePoint.

What happens when I enable Anthropic for my tenant?

• Enabling Anthropic as a sub processor for Microsoft Online services enables the ability for your organization to use Anthropic models for Copilot experiences across Microsoft 365, not just SharePoint.

How will having Anthropic disabled impact end users?

• If a user has a Copilot license and the tenant is opted into the public preview but Anthropic is disabled, they will see the AI in SharePoint floating button, but when the user prompts in chat, an error message will display that says, “This preview experience isn’t available because of your organization’s AI provider settings.”

Why am I receiving an error that says,
“This preview experience isn’t available because of your organization’s AI provider settings”?

• Users will receive this error if Anthropic is not allowed as a sub processor for Microsoft Online services in the tenant. In tenants based in the EU and UK, this setting is automatically disabled because Anthropic models are excluded from the EU data boundary commitments. EU and UK-based tenant admins can turn Anthropic on via the Microsoft Admin Center or opt out of the AI in SharePoint public preview using PowerShell (https://aka.ms/SPAIoptin).

I was previously opted in to the Knowledge Agent (now AI in SharePoint) public preview. Now that it has transitioned to AI in SharePoint, the features are no longer working for me. Why?

• Check to be sure your tenant has Anthropic enabled as a sub processor for Microsoft Online services. Without this, users will not be able to access AI in SharePoint features. Admins can enable Anthropic via the Microsoft Admin Center.

Message ID: MC1242588