# Copilot connector

> An admin-deployed link that brings content from an outside system, such as ServiceNow, Salesforce or Jira, into Microsoft Graph so Copilot can find it.

**Category:** Copilot

**A Copilot connector widens what Copilot can see beyond Microsoft 365.** Once a connector indexes an external system into [Microsoft Graph](/glossary#microsoft-graph), that content shows up in Microsoft Search, Copilot Chat, Researcher and Analyst, and as a knowledge source in Agent Builder. The Connectors gallery lists well over a hundred prebuilt options.

An admin with the AI administrator role deploys it from the Microsoft 365 admin center. For some connectors (self-serve sync and federated) the admin enables it once and each user then signs in with their own account, but there is no fully self-serve option. The admin also picks **who sees the content**: only people who can already open it in the source system, or everyone in the organisation. Permission changes only reach the index on a full crawl, not on the frequent incremental ones.

## At work

A support team asks IT for a connector to their ticketing tool, specifying that only people with access in the tool itself should see tickets through Copilot.

## Often confused with

A Claude [connector](/glossary#connector). You switch on a Claude connector yourself and it affects only your chats; a Copilot connector is an admin decision that applies to the whole tenant.

## Related terms

- Microsoft Graph
- Connector
- Agent Builder
- Grounding

## See it in a lesson

[Connectors](/en/learn/copilot/working-smart/connectors)

## Further reading

- [Copilot connectors overview (Microsoft Learn)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/connectors/overview): How connectors bring external content into Microsoft Graph.
- [Microsoft 365 Copilot connectors overview (Microsoft Learn)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/connectors/prebuilt-connectors-overview): The connectors gallery and what the prebuilt connectors cover.
- [Deploy Microsoft 365 Copilot connectors (Microsoft Learn)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot/connectors/deployment-overview): How admins deploy connectors from the Microsoft 365 admin center.

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Last updated: 14/10/2026  
Source: Rollo Academy glossary