Copilot does not work with on-premises Exchange. What now?
Microsoft says Copilot is cloud based and has no access to on-premises mailboxes. If your mail is on Exchange Server, you still have options.
Move the mailboxes to Exchange Online, or connect an AI to Exchange Server through a guard. AddSync AI does the second, with one service user, your rules and a journal.
What Microsoft says
In its guidance on hybrid Exchange and Copilot, Microsoft states that Copilot is cloud based and has no access to on-premises mailboxes. For a user whose mailbox is on site, grounding Copilot with mailbox content, including calendar information, is not supported. Copilot needs the mailbox in Exchange Online.
Many companies keep Exchange Server on purpose: data location, cost, regulation, or applications that depend on it. For them, "just move to the cloud" is not a plan for this quarter.
Your options
- Migrate to Exchange Online. It unlocks Copilot, but it is a project with cost, risk and policy questions.
- Go without AI on mail. Safe, but people will use public chatbots anyway.
- Connect an AI through AddSync. The mailbox stays on your server. People use Claude or ChatGPT, or AddSync chat, under your rules.
How AddSync AI connects to Exchange Server
Create a service user
The administrator sets up one service user in Exchange. No one shares a mailbox password.
Set the rules
Data filters hide what the AI must not see. Access is limited to each person's own mailbox by default.
Ask and approve
People ask in their AI tool. Actions that change something wait for their approval.
Check the journal
Every question is logged: who, when and which button, without message text.
Questions
Which Exchange versions are supported?
Exchange Server 2016, 2019 and Subscription Edition. See AI for Exchange Server.
Do I need a hybrid setup?
No. AddSync AI works with an on-premises mailbox. You do not have to move it to Exchange Online.
Does the mail leave my server?
Mail stays in place. The AI reads only what it needs to answer a question, and the guard checks every request first.
Can I move to Microsoft 365 later?
Yes. Microsoft 365 is supported as well, so the same approach continues after a migration.
Can the AI send mail from my server?
No. It can search, show, save a draft and propose. People send themselves.
Try it on your own mailbox
A 14-day pilot with a few mailboxes shows more than any comparison.
