Forum Discussion
How to hide semantic model data from Power BI Copilot
Hi pjuvalainen ,
What you’re seeing aligns with how Copilot is currently designed and documented. The Prep data for AI feature, including instructions or verified answers, helps improve the quality of responses, but it’s not meant to control or restrict access to data.Copilot works on the entire semantic model based on user permissions and can read metadata and column values, which is why it may return data beyond what you specifically selected.
To properly control what users can access, you’ll need to rely on data governance practices, such as limiting access to the semantic model,especially Build permission, using RLS or object-level security, separating sensitive data into different models, or disabling Copilot at the tenant level if needed.
Refer these docs -
https://learn.microsoft.com/power-bi/create-reports/copilot-introduction
https://learn.microsoft.com/power-bi/create-reports/copilot-prepare-data-ai-verified-answers
https://learn.microsoft.com/fabric/fundamentals/copilot-power-bi-privacy-security
Thank you for the responses!
I tested the Prep data for AI feature, and at first it looked very promising. However, when I continued asking Copilot questions such as “show the content of 'table'[column]” or “list all data from the 'table'”, Copilot eventually listed the content of that column or the entire table even though it had not been selected for the analysis.
Copilot was also tested by another user who had either read or app permissions to the semantic model, and the results were the same.
This behavior may be due to the feature still being in preview, but based on these experiences, we do not feel confident enabling Power BI Copilot again due to data security concerns.
Hi pjuvalainen ,
What you’re seeing aligns with how Copilot is currently designed and documented. The Prep data for AI feature, including instructions or verified answers, helps improve the quality of responses, but it’s not meant to control or restrict access to data.Copilot works on the entire semantic model based on user permissions and can read metadata and column values, which is why it may return data beyond what you specifically selected.
To properly control what users can access, you’ll need to rely on data governance practices, such as limiting access to the semantic model,especially Build permission, using RLS or object-level security, separating sensitive data into different models, or disabling Copilot at the tenant level if needed.
Refer these docs -
https://learn.microsoft.com/power-bi/create-reports/copilot-introduction
https://learn.microsoft.com/power-bi/create-reports/copilot-prepare-data-ai-verified-answers
https://learn.microsoft.com/fabric/fundamentals/copilot-power-bi-privacy-security
Hi pjuvalainen ,
I wanted to check if you had the opportunity to review the information provided. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions.