Will Grok Be Available in Microsoft Copilot in the EU?

Grok is coming to Microsoft Copilot. So, naturally, the first question for many European Microsoft 365 admins is: will we actually get it in the EU?

Microsoft announced on 12 September 2026 that Grok models from SpaceXAI are being added to Copilot.

The short answer for Europe is: not during the current preview.

Microsoft says Grok will first become available through the Microsoft Frontier program in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The preview is not available to Frontier customers in the European Union, EFTA or the United Kingdom.

That does not mean Grok is banned in Europe. Microsoft simply has not announced when, or if, this preview will expand to those regions.

The more interesting part: SpaceXAI becomes a subprocessor

For IT, I think this is at least as important as the model announcement itself.

Microsoft has added SpaceXAI to its Online Services Subprocessor List for this Copilot integration.

That means SpaceXAI may process the data required to provide the Grok model on Microsoft's behalf. Depending on the Copilot experience, that can include a user's prompt and relevant content supplied to the model to generate the response.

Microsoft explains the model in its AI Subprocessors overview. AI subprocessors are contractually required to meet Microsoft's security, privacy and data-protection requirements and may use the data only to provide the service Microsoft engaged them for.

So no, this is not the same as an employee opening the public Grok website and pasting a confidential document into it.

But it is also not the same as saying all processing happens only within Microsoft.

That is why I would treat enabling Grok as a governance decision, not just a new button in Copilot.

Before enabling it, I would want to know:

• Which users actually need it?
• What company data could be sent as prompt or context?
• Do privacy documentation or DPIAs need updating?
• Are there data classifications for which we do not want to use the model yet?

The admin control is disabled by default, which is exactly how I think third-party model access should work.

What about the EU investigation into Grok?

There is another reason why European organizations may look at Grok more carefully.

On 26 January 2026, the European Commission opened a formal investigation into X under the Digital Services Act. Part of that investigation concerns risks related to Grok functionality inside X, including manipulated sexually explicit images and other illegal or harmful content.

Two things are important here.

First, this investigation concerns X and the way Grok was deployed on that platform. It is not an EU decision banning Grok as an enterprise AI model.

Second, Microsoft has not said that the investigation is the reason Grok is excluded from the EU, EFTA and UK preview.

It is relevant governance context, but connecting the two directly would be speculation.

So, will Grok come to Copilot in the EU?

Maybe. Microsoft has not given a date.

For now, what we know is simple:

• Grok is coming to Microsoft Copilot through the Frontier program.
• Word, Excel and PowerPoint are the first announced experiences.
• SpaceXAI is being used as a Microsoft subprocessor.
• The admin setting is disabled by default.
• The current preview excludes the EU, EFTA and UK.

I actually like the direction Microsoft is taking with model choice. Giving organizations controlled access to models from different providers inside Copilot is much easier to manage than every department signing up for its own AI service.

But model choice also means provider choice.

“Available inside Copilot” should never automatically mean “approved for our data.”

If Grok becomes available in Europe later, I would review the final Microsoft documentation again before enabling it. The regional, contractual and data-processing details matter just as much as the model itself.

Learn more

• Expanding model choice in Copilot with Grok
• Overview of AI Subprocessors in Microsoft Copilot
• European Commission investigation into Grok and X