Microsoft is set to activate Anthropic's Claude models as the standard option for Copilot users across the UK starting 9 December, according to reporting by The Register. The shift means that unless administrators actively disable the feature before that deadline, their organisations will begin routing data to Anthropic, which handles processing operations from the United States.
Under Microsoft's current setup, Anthropic functions as a subprocessor—a third party managing customer information under Microsoft's contractual agreements and supervision, as outlined in Microsoft's Copilot documentation. The company has already made Claude the default across most of its commercial customer base, with the UK, EU and European Free Trade Association countries being the primary holdouts until now.
According to The Register's reporting, organisations that leave their configuration unchanged will automatically opt into Claude access. Those wishing to prevent this can still disable it manually. Microsoft stated: "This affirms Microsoft's commitment to offering choice between leading AI models while maintaining enterprise-grade security and compliance."
Beyond the EU Data Boundary
Microsoft's documentation indicates that Claude functionality within Copilot sits outside the company's EU Data Boundary framework. The models are similarly excluded from commitments regarding in-country data processing. Since the UK operates independently of the EU Data Boundary, Microsoft is implementing this default change there, The Register reported.
The rollout encompasses Claude across multiple Microsoft products: Copilot itself, Researcher, Copilot Studio, Power Platform and the Copilot integration within Microsoft 365 applications. Simultaneously, Microsoft is discontinuing a previous setting that restricted Claude usage to Microsoft 365 tools only.
Certain advanced Anthropic offerings, including Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5, will remain disabled by default across all regions. Since Anthropic retains data from these models for up to 30 days in most cases, administrators must explicitly enable them through a separate opt-in process, Microsoft explained.
The timing coincides with Anthropic's launch of Claude Sheets and comparable productivity tools that directly challenge Microsoft's existing office software portfolio.
Britain's Growing US Technology Dependency
The UK public sector's reliance on American technology vendors has become the focus of fresh analysis from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). According to The Register's coverage of the findings, less than one pound out of every six spent with the 150 largest technology suppliers remains within British firms.
When examining headline spending figures, approximately 42.5% of procurement appears directed toward UK-based companies. This proportion drops significantly to 15.4% when researchers examined actual ownership structures, employment locations and distribution networks. Among international players, the United States dominates, capturing £9.2bn from the total £19.2bn spent with leading suppliers.
The IPPR's report, titled Locked In, identified a pattern where artificial intelligence tools frequently enter government operations through pre-existing cloud infrastructure and software arrangements. NHS England's Copilot deployment reached 505,000 staff members through a national licensing agreement established in June 2023, predating Copilot's public launch.
The IPPR highlighted restrictions imposed by the United States on Anthropic's technology offerings. The institute also noted constraints on early-stage access for the UK's AI Security Institute.
The government has pledged £500m toward a Sovereign AI Fund. The IPPR is calling for Whitehall to consolidate purchasing power by acting as a unified buyer and to reduce barriers preventing supplier transitions. The institute additionally advocates for the UK to collaborate with France, Germany, Japan and South Korea on obtaining access to cutting-edge AI capabilities.
Roa Powell, senior research fellow at IPPR, stated: "But we cannot do it alone, and building domestic capability can't be our only bet."
UK administrators seeking to maintain Claude in a disabled state within Copilot have until 9 December to modify their configuration settings.
Source: The Next Web
