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Consultant KB for the whole Microsoft Copilot estate. Spans Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, the Dynamics 365 Copilots, Power Platform Copilot, Fabric & Power BI Copilot, Copilot in Azure, Windows & consumer Copilot, extensibility & agents, Security Copilot, and GitHub Copilot, plus admin/security and cross-product decision guides. Populated by the daily author agent from Copilot release notes / release plans plus the author's own consultant notes.

copilot/11-fabric-power-bi-copilot/feature-fabric-iq.md
feature-fabric-iq.mdv1 · history
CurrentApplies to Fabric / Power BIUpdated 2 months agoSource Microsoft Learn ↗

What it does

Fabric IQ is a semantic/context layer on top of OneLake that gives AI agents and apps a consistent business vocabulary, so Copilot can reason over governed Fabric and Power BI data rather than raw tables. Announced at Ignite 2025, it also extends into M365 Copilot Chat and Cowork so agents there can query your governed data.

Key facts

  • Fabric IQ is a Fabric workload that layers ontologies and semantic models over unified OneLake data to give agents a shared business meaning.
  • It builds on capabilities including Semantic Models, Ontologies, Digital Twin Builder, Graph, Planning, Data Agents and Operations Agents.
  • Ontology in Fabric is a new item type carrying semantics, business rules and organisational knowledge; data agents can be built directly on it. Ontology is in preview, with GA flagged as "coming months" from Ignite 2025.
  • Fabric data agents now integrate with M365 Copilot, so authorised users reach them from Teams, web and desktop.
  • The Fabric IQ plugin for M365 Copilot Cowork is in preview and available to all Power BI customers who use Cowork, starting with Power BI data.
  • Microsoft's own figures for ontology-grounded agents: 2.2x more "excellent" responses and a 4.5x win rate in side-by-side comparisons. Treat vendor numbers as vendor numbers.
  • Fabric IQ is one of three "IQ" layers from Ignite 2025 (with Work IQ and Foundry IQ). They are distinct; only Fabric IQ is the data/semantic one.

When to use / skip

Use Fabric IQ when the goal is agents, whether M365 Copilot Chat, Cowork or custom data agents, answering questions over trusted enterprise data with real governance behind them. It's the answer to "can Copilot chat with our actual warehouse data safely". Skip it for anything you need in production this quarter on a fixed spec. Most of it is preview, ontology GA is unconfirmed, and the surface is changing release to release. Pilot it, don't bet a delivery date on it.

Configuration decisions

  • Decide whether to start with existing semantic models or invest in building an ontology. Ontology is the richer grounding but is preview.
  • Work out which data agents surface in M365 Copilot and who's authorised for each; agent access follows Fabric permissions.
  • Confirm Cowork is in play for the client before promising the Fabric IQ plugin there.
  • Plan governance: what data an agent can reach, and how that maps to existing OneLake and workspace permissions.

Gotchas

  • "Preview" here is meaningful. Behaviour, availability and possibly pricing can move between releases.
  • Ontology and semantic model are not interchangeable. Ontology sits alongside semantic models; be precise about which grounds a given agent.
  • Vendor uplift numbers are from Microsoft's own testing. Validate on the client's data before repeating them as fact.
  • Governance is inherited, not automatic magic. An agent can only be as safe as the underlying permissions you set.

Consultant notes

  • This is the strategic piece for clients asking "when can Copilot just talk to our data". Position it as direction of travel plus a pilot, not a shipped solution.
  • Keep Fabric IQ, Work IQ and Foundry IQ straight in your own head before the client meeting. The naming invites confusion.
  • The Cowork plugin is the easiest hands-on entry point for a Power BI customer today. Good first pilot.

Ontology GA and Cowork plugin scope are both unsettled. Confirm current status before committing anything to a client.

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