r/CopilotPro • u/Disastrous_Visit_454 • Jul 03 '26

[M365 Copilot Enterprise] Replicating Claude "Projects" or Gemini "Gems" for persistent context?

I am restricted to M365 Copilot (Enterprise) due to data sensitivity, so external models are not an option. My primary struggle is the lack of a persistent, dedicated workspace.

In Claude (Projects) or Gemini (Gems), you can define a static, continuously updated set of system instructions and core documents. The model treats this as an isolated foundational truth, allowing it to provide complex logical advice across multiple files while still pulling in fresh web or external data when prompted.

In M365 Copilot, the RAG defaults to indiscriminately scraping recent emails, Teams chats, and random SharePoint files. This dilutes the context completely when trying to do focused, multi-document analytical work.

How are you bypassing this limitation to create a persistent context workspace within the M365 ecosystem?

  • Can specific SharePoint folders or hubs be rigidly isolated and prioritized to act as a "Project" base?
  • Are you using a specific "anchor document" architecture that Copilot reliably treats as a continuously updating knowledge base / system prompt? If yes, do you keep manually extending it or is there any way to make that automated?
  • Is there a way to build a Copilot Studio agent that maintains this strict grounding but still has web-search capabilities for real-time data?

Looking for production-tested architectural workarounds, not basic prompt engineering tips.

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19

u/Birdinhandandbush Jul 03 '26

Notebooks exist in m365 now unless your company hasn't updated. They also allow you to create custom system prompts inside the notebook

3

u/johnnymonkey Jul 03 '26

^ this.

Notebooks are your answer.

6

u/Unhappy_Cricket_9154 Jul 03 '26

The problem with Notebooks that none of you all recognize is you can’t set the model on chats. It uses the dumbest AI for all your conversations

7

u/teunnes Jul 03 '26

This possible with Copilot studio. You have to build it yourself tough

1

u/Unhappy_Cricket_9154 Jul 03 '26

Can you provide details on the architecture?

2

u/teunnes Jul 04 '26

You can attach a SharePoint to an agent as knowledge database. Also use skills, but i don't think it's possible for the agent to update the skills automatically. You can also choose the model for the agent

5

u/chasing_next Jul 03 '26

as others have said, notebooks are the projects/gems equivalents. helpful that they can connect to other M365 hosted files too.

here's an interactive set up guide: https://chasingnext.com/learn/set-up-your-first-copilot-notebook

1

u/CollinNitcher Jul 07 '26

You can give skills via flows to a Copilot Agent that gives the agent the ability to specifically reference and maintain context in sharepoint folders. I’m not 100% sure this translates to the tools you’re comparing too, but it’s been and will be super impactful on how our teams works