When AI Exceeds the Brief
A simple prompt about restricting Microsoft 365 Group creation turned into something far more valuable. Instead of just answering the technical question, Copilot anticipated what was needed next—user impact summaries, IT notification wording, and even comms suggestions. It didn’t just respond — it delivered clarity, structure, and practical rollout support. A perfect example of how AI can go beyond the brief and accelerate real outcomes.
Dawn Thiart
7/21/20251 min read
𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗽𝘁: "Manage M365 group creation. We will be running a powershell to restrict group creation to certain IT users. What will be the impact for our users."
Copilot 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 that it not only delivers what I ask for, but also reads between the lines to give me more than I expected — user impact, IT notification language, even comms suggestions included.
Here's what it came back with!
"Restricting Microsoft 365 Group creation via PowerShell (typically using an Azure AD policy) will have a 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 across Microsoft 365 services. Here's a summary of the 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁:
🔐 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴
You are limiting Microsoft 365 Group creation to a specific group (usually an IT-managed security group). This restriction is applied via PowerShell in Entra ID (formerly Azure AD).
📣 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆
𝟭. 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱
• 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: Users cannot create new Teams as each Team requires a Microsoft 365 Group.
• 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: Users must request IT to create Teams on their behalf.
𝟮. 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 & 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗽 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
• 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: Users cannot create new Plans in Planner or workspaces in Loop without group creation rights.
• Existing plans remain usable.
𝟯. 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗱
• 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: Users cannot create Outlook Groups (used for shared inboxes, calendars, etc.).
𝟰. 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗦𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱
• 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: Users cannot create new Team Sites linked to Microsoft 365 Groups.
𝟱. 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗜
• 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: Users may not be able to share Forms or Power BI workspaces with new groups unless created by IT.
✅ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀
• Users can still use 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀, 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀.
• Users can still create 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 (not linked to M365 groups).
• 𝟭:𝟭 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 will work normally.
💬 𝗦𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲
“To improve governance and data security, we are updating our Microsoft 365 settings to limit who can create Microsoft 365 Groups (which power Teams, Planner, and Outlook Groups).
This means users will no longer be able to create new Teams or Plans themselves. If you need a new Team or collaboration space, please submit a request via [insert form or method].
Existing Teams and collaboration spaces will continue to function normally.”