Why Copilot in SharePoint Fails and What Can You Do About It? 

Microsoft Copilot in SharePoint promises a future where you don’t have to search for documents anymore. You just ask for it in a simple, conversational query, and this smart AI assistant does the rest. You can give instructions like ‘summarize this document for me’, or ‘draft an email with key findings from the latest sales report’, and Copilot will carry out for you. So, if you do it right, SharePoint Copilot can be a lifesaver. 

In the past couple of years, many of our clients here at Evolvous have invested in time and effort in using Copilot AI in SharePoint. Some of them have even designed and deployed a custom Copilot using Microsoft Copilot Studio. Yet we still get to hear that things aren’t working the way they were supposed to! 

So, here’s the thing – in most cases, your Copilot doesn’t fail. The issue is with your SharePoint foundation. When we offer SharePoint Copilot consulting, we make it a point that our clients realize that when you are talking about Copilot in SharePoint, you are talking about two different platforms. So, if your SharePoint isn’t right, your Copilot will be failing. 

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What Does Copilot Actually Do in SharePoint? 

Before we go deeper into the problem, let us understand the basics of SharePoint Copilot and how it works. The copilot in SharePoint doesn’t ‘think’ on its own. It does three very specific things: 

• Reads what your users already have access to. 

• Interprets the structure, metadata, and relationships. 

• Summarizes, retrieves, and reasons over that content.  

So, if your SharePoint environment is disorganized, poorly governed, or has permission and metadata issues, then Copilot will not fix it. A poor SharePoint will mean poor Copilot. 

Did You Know? 

Apart from the in-built Copilot, you can also create your own custom Copilot and deploy it within your SharePoint environment. We use Microsoft Copilot Studio to help you do just that! 

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Why SharePoint Copilot Fails? The 5 Main Reasons 

Let us now look at the common SharePoint Copilot issues that might be holding you back.  

• You are Treating SharePoint Like a File Dump 

This is something that we have seen a lot with many organizations. They just save files on SharePoint, without thinking much about the structure. 

You might have migrated from a third-party server, or setup the system from scratch. Whatever might be the case, you just create a library and folder as you see fit and just continue to store files. 

Such environments often deal with the following issues: 

• Deep folder hierarchies 

• Cryptic file names 

• No consistent metadata 

• Duplicate files everywhere 

See, your Copilot considers titles, metadata, content types, and relationships as signals. These help to find the right file and fetch it within seconds. If you are using SharePoint as a file dump, Copilot will not work like it should. 

• You Consider Metadata as ‘Optional’

Metadata is the language of SharePoint Copilot. If you and your team are not using it properly, then Copilot wouldn’t even understand what a piece of document is all about. 

Here are some of the common challenges that we have seen business struggle with when it comes to SharePoint metadata. 

• Metadata is not designed around how the business works. 

• The team is not trained in proper metadata practices. 

• Libraries are created without proper metadata structure. 

For example, if you are asking Copilot ‘Show me the latest approved policy related to vendor onboarding’, then it will struggle because ‘approved’, ‘policy’ and ‘vendor onboarding’ are not properly defined. Hence, the results it surfaces are not entirely accurate. 

• Your Permissions are a Mess 

Copilot is fully committed to preserving permissions. This is done so that sensitive information is never accessible to users who don’t have access to it, no matter how they ask. 

When it comes to permissions, here are some of the issues that are quite common: 

• Broken inheritance. 

• External sharing without definite boundaries. 

• Some users have an unnecessary level of permission. 

If your permissions are poorly configured, then this can cause issues like partial answers, overly cautious responses, or even show documents to the wrong users. 

• Too Many Sites without Any Clear Ownership

Copilot scours through your teams and communications to find the information that you are looking for. However, when organizations have been using SharePoint for years, the following scenarios become quite common. 

• Hundreds of sites 

• No lifecycle management 

• No clear content owners 

• No well-defined process for archiving 

Now, without providing ample clarity on the site’s purpose, accountability of ownership, and improper information architecture, Copilot cannot think of a clear pathway that it needs to follow to get your answers, quickly and accurately. 

• You Aren’t Serious About Governance

SharePoint has in-built settings for data governance. However, many users don’t seem to use it well. This leads to issues like: 

• Outdated documents resurfacing 

• Difficulties in identifying the ‘final version’ of a document 

• Conflicting ‘sources of truth’ which confuses users. 

Now, because of such reasons, users can’t trust the results. This prevents you from getting the desired performance from Copilot. 

What Can You Do About SharePoint Copilot Issues? 

At Evolvous, we offer extensive SharePoint Copilot support that helps businesses solve critical issues with your Copilot and SharePoint issues. To solve the issues that we have just mentioned above, let us look at some of the SharePoint Copilot troubleshooting ideas that you should go for. 

• Redesign SharePoint Information Architecture 

Stop designing SharePoint around folders and teams. At Evolvous, we prefer to design the SharePoint Information architecture around how you actually use it. This not only makes the environment more aligned, it also enhances the performance of your Copilot in SharePoint.  

We design the IA around: 

• What users search for 

• What information is required during reviews 

• What is needed during audits 

• What is critical for frontline workers. 

You see, Copilot thrives when the SharePoint architecture reflects the user’s intent. So, we always strive for it. 

• Implement the Correct Metadata Models

When we are executing SharePoint migration, or building the document libraries from scratch, we go beyond generic metadata. Instead, we use meaningful metadata like: 

• The purpose of the document. 

• The status of the document. 

• The business function. 

• The process stage. 

• The regulatory relevance of the document. 

 

• Clean Up Permissions 

To avoid the issues with ‘messy’ permissions, we prefer to clean things up. However, this doesn’t mean that we will be locking your data up, so it can’t be shared with anybody. We will focus on the following things: 

• Role-based access 

• Clear ownership 

• Controlled external sharing 

• Reviewing the access regularly 

The aim is to make the access model to be more logical and intentional, not something that is ‘just there’. 

• Establish Content Lifecycle Ruless 

As said above, Copilot needs to be sure that the document that it is looking at is the latest version. So, how do you do that? Simple – by establishing a well-defined content lifecycle. 

We help you build processes and systems to implement a lifecycle that is built on: 

• Versioning guidelines 

• Archiving policies 

• Review methodologies 

• Markers for the ‘Sources of Truth’ 

This also plays a fundamental role in establishing a robust document governance model.  

• Train Your Users, Not Just the AI Assistant 

Finally, it is also important that you train your users to use SharePoint Copilot in the right way.  

At Evolvous, we offer SharePoint Copilot training modules that helps your team to understand how Copilot finds answers, why structure matters and the best practices This helps you to make the most of the technology 

Find Out More About Our SharePoint Training Programs 

At Evolvous, we offer tailored SharePoint training programs that not only assist you in using Copilot, but other useful features effectively. 

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Leverage Copilot to its Fullest Potential with Our SharePoint Consultants 

At Evolvous, we help organizations assess why Copilot is underperforming in SharePoint. We will also help you identify what needs to be done before using the AI platform. Reach out to us today for an in-depth SharePoint Assessment Report 

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