Unleashing Power BI with Microsoft Copilot

Unleashing Power BI with Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft Copilot in Power BI allows users to query data using natural language. It can automatically generate reports and provide AI-powered insights from semantic models.

Copilot in Power BI is available on:

• Premium Per User (PPU)
• Fabric F-SKU capacities

EPC Group implements Power BI Copilot for regulated industries such as healthcare, finance, and government.

Key facts

• Copilot in Power BI is available on Power BI Premium Per User ($24/user/month) and Fabric F-SKU capacities.
• Copilot lets users ask questions in plain English and get charts, summaries, and insights automatically generated.
• Copilot grounding quality depends on semantic model design — well-modeled data produces accurate Copilot responses.
• EPC Group has completed 1,500+ Power BI deployments including Copilot readiness configurations.
• Power BI Copilot readiness assessment and deployment: scoped after discovery.
• EPC Group holds core Microsoft Solutions Partner designations including Data & AI and Modern Work.

What Copilot Does in Power BI

Copilot adds four AI-powered capabilities to Power BI. Each one changes how business users interact with data.

• Natural language queries — Type a question in plain English. Copilot generates a chart or table from the semantic model.
• Narrative summaries — Copilot writes a plain-English summary of what a report shows — automatically updated when data refreshes.
• Report creation — Describe a report in text. Copilot generates a draft report page with suggested visuals and measures.
• DAX measures — Ask Copilot to write a DAX measure. It generates the formula and explains the logic.

Copilot Readiness Requirements

Power BI Copilot requires both technical prerequisites and governance preparation. Missing either creates poor Copilot results or security risks.

Technical Prerequisites

• Premium Per User (PPU) license ($24/user/month) or Fabric F-SKU capacity.
• Semantic models must use a star schema with clear measure names and descriptions.
• Field descriptions and synonyms configured in the semantic model for accurate natural language matching.
• Copilot language settings enabled in Power BI tenant settings by administrator.

Governance Prerequisites

• Data access review — confirm Copilot cannot surface PHI, PII, or financial data to unauthorized users.
• Row-level security (RLS) configured before Copilot is enabled — Copilot respects existing RLS rules.
• Sensitivity labels applied via Microsoft Purview — Copilot respects sensitivity label restrictions.
• Approved use case policy — define which departments can use Copilot and for which reports.
• User training on responsible Copilot usage and how to validate AI-generated insights.

Power BI Copilot for Regulated Industries

EPC Group deploys Power BI Copilot in regulated environments where data governance must be airtight before AI features are enabled.

• Healthcare (HIPAA) — PHI data access review, RLS on all clinical datasets, BAA confirmed, audit logging of Copilot queries.
• Financial services (SOC 2) — RLS and OLS on sensitive financial data, Copilot usage monitoring for SOC 2 evidence.
• Government (FedRAMP) — GCC or GCC High tenant required. Copilot availability in government tenants subject to Microsoft feature release schedule.
• Manufacturing — Production data isolation between plants and product lines before Copilot deployment.
• Education (FERPA) — Student record data isolated from Copilot-accessible reports per FERPA requirements.

Power BI Capacity Sizing for Copilot

Copilot features require Premium Per User or Fabric F-SKU. Choose capacity based on your user count and data engineering needs.

• Premium Per User (PPU) ($24/user/month) — Best for under 500 users. Includes Copilot, paginated reports, and deployment pipelines.
• Fabric F2 ($263/month) — Small shared capacity. Up to 4 GB memory. ~30 reports. Good for Copilot pilot programs.
• Fabric F4 ($526/month) — Mid-market. Semantic model refresh under 10 minutes. Supports larger Copilot user pools.
• Fabric F64 (~$5,003/mo (1-yr reserved)) — Enterprise. Power BI Copilot plus Fabric data engineering, lakehouse, and real-time intelligence.

EPC Group Copilot Deployment Timeline

A focused Power BI Copilot deployment follows a three-phase process.

• Phase 1 — Readiness (4–6 weeks): Data access audit, RLS review, sensitivity label coverage, semantic model optimization for Copilot grounding.
• Phase 2 — Pilot (4–6 weeks): 50–100 users in 2–3 departments. Measure accuracy, adoption, and governance compliance.
• Phase 3 — Full deployment (4–8 weeks): Remaining departments, training program, usage monitoring, ROI measurement.
• Total timeline: 12–20 weeks. EPC Group Copilot deployment packages: scoped after discovery.

Frequently asked questions

What is Copilot in Power BI?

Copilot in Power BI is an AI assistant designed for ease of use. It allows users to:

• Query data using natural language.
• Generate report pages from text descriptions.
• Receive narrative summaries of reports.
• Create DAX measures by describing them in plain English.

What license do I need for Power BI Copilot?

Organizations can choose between two options for Power BI:

• Premium Per User: $24/user/month or a Fabric F-SKU capacity.
• Basic Power BI Pro: $14/user/month, which does not include Copilot.

Most organizations begin with Premium Per User for a pilot before expanding to Fabric capacity.

Is Power BI Copilot available in GCC or GCC High?

Microsoft releases Copilot features to government cloud tenants on a delayed schedule compared to commercial users.

For the latest information, check the Microsoft 365 government feature roadmap. This roadmap includes the availability of specific Copilot features for GCC and GCC High.

Does Copilot respect row-level security in Power BI?

Power BI Copilot follows the current row-level security (RLS) rules. If a user is restricted from viewing certain rows in a report, Copilot will not display those rows in its natural language responses.

How does EPC Group deploy Power BI Copilot?

EPC Group performs a data access audit. We configure Row-Level Security (RLS) and sensitivity labels. Our team also optimizes semantic models for Copilot grounding.

Additionally, we run a structured pilot and deploy at full scale.

Our packages start at $50,000.

Schedule a Copilot readiness assessment

Contact an EPC Group Power BI architect for help with your Copilot deployment, optimizing your semantic model, or meeting governance needs for regulated industries.

To get started, you can:

• Call (888) 381-9725
• Request a 30-minute discovery call