24.1 Prerequisites for DSPM for AI
Key Takeaways
- Open DSPM for AI from the Microsoft Purview portal at Solutions > DSPM for AI (classic); new tenants already have Microsoft Purview Audit on by default.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot and agent insights require Purview auditing plus Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses assigned to the users who use Copilot.
- Copilot in Fabric and Security Copilot need the enterprise version of Microsoft Purview data governance and a collection policy such as the one created from Secure interactions for Microsoft Copilot experiences.
- Third-party generative AI monitoring requires devices onboarded to Microsoft Purview and the Microsoft Purview browser extension on Windows; Edge DLP also needs an Edge configuration policy.
- Restricted administrative-unit administrators cannot create org-wide one-click policies; an unrestricted administrator must create those tenant-wide policies.
Prerequisites for Data Security Posture Management for AI
Quick Answer: Implement DSPM for AI prerequisites in the Microsoft Purview portal under Solutions > DSPM for AI (classic). Confirm Microsoft Purview Audit is on, assign Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses for Copilot users, onboard devices and deploy the Microsoft Purview browser extension for third-party AI sites, and add a collection policy plus enterprise Purview data governance before you expect prompts and responses from Copilot in Fabric or Security Copilot.
Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) for AI is the Microsoft Purview workspace that helps you discover how people use Copilots, agents, and other generative AI apps, then turn on protection and compliance controls without assembling those controls by hand in every solution. SC-401 tests whether you can implement the prerequisites so insights, one-click policies, and activity monitoring actually light up. If a prerequisite is missing, the Overview page still opens, but reports stay empty, third-party visits never appear, or Fabric and Security Copilot interactions show metadata without prompts and responses.
The exam skills measured (as of July 28, 2026) still say DSPM for AI. In the live portal you may also see the newer Data Security Posture Management solution, which Microsoft documents as the replacement that adds broader AI-app and agent coverage. Treat the newer DSPM as the long-term front door, and treat DSPM for AI (classic) as the experience the SC-401 bullets name. The classic Get started, Recommendations, Policies, Reports, Apps and agents, Activity explorer, and Data risk assessments pages are what this chapter teaches.
Why prerequisites are an exam topic
DSPM for AI is not a single switch. It reuses audit, endpoint onboarding, Insider Risk Management browser signals, Edge data-loss prevention integration, collection policies, pay-as-you-go billing, and (for some apps) the Microsoft Purview SDK. Microsoft publishes a different prerequisite list for each AI surface. Exam items usually describe a symptom — no Copilot graphs, no ChatGPT paste events, no Security Copilot prompt text — and expect you to name the missing foundation rather than create another DLP rule.
Sign in at https://purview.microsoft.com/ with an account that can manage compliance. Microsoft’s documented example is membership in the Microsoft Entra Compliance Administrator role. Open Solutions > DSPM for AI (classic) and keep the All AI apps view selected on Overview while you work through Get started.
Get started actions you must complete
The Overview Get started section is the onboarding checklist. Select each action to open the flyout, take the action, and confirm status. Allow at least 24 hours after you turn on policies or change defaults before you expect Reports and Activity explorer to populate.
| Get started action | Why it exists | What you should see when it is done |
|---|---|---|
| Turn on Microsoft Purview Audit | Required to monitor Copilot and agent interactions | Auditing is on by default for new tenants. If Copilot licenses are already assigned, Copilot and agent activity begins to appear under Reports |
| Install Microsoft Purview browser extension | Prerequisite for third-party generative AI sites | Insider Risk Management can discover visits to supported AI sites; Endpoint DLP on Windows also needs the extension when users work in Chrome |
| Onboard devices to Microsoft Purview | Prerequisite for third-party generative AI sites | You gain visibility when users share sensitive information with those sites, and you can apply endpoint DLP to warn or block |
| Extend your insights for data discovery | One-click discovery policies for third-party generative AI sites | The same outcome as the Extend your insights button in AI data analytics; collection, DLP, and Insider Risk Management discovery policies are created |
No extra activation is required for the default data risk assessment. DSPM for AI automatically runs a weekly assessment of the top 100 SharePoint sites based on usage. The first time that default assessment is created, Microsoft documents a 4-day delay before results display. Custom data risk assessments are documented as preview and need extra Entra authentication if you want item-level scanning.
Prerequisite matrix by AI surface
Memorize this matrix. The exam will mix Microsoft 365 Copilot, Fabric, Security Copilot, Edge, and consumer ChatGPT in the same scenario.
| AI surface | Required before DSPM for AI can monitor or protect it |
|---|---|
| Any DSPM for AI work | Permissions documented for DSPM for AI (classic). Microsoft’s example for getting started is Microsoft Entra Compliance Administrator |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot and agents | Purview auditing enabled; users assigned a Microsoft 365 Copilot license |
| Copilot in Fabric and Security Copilot | Enterprise Microsoft Purview data governance (needed for the APIs); a collection policy such as the one created from Secure interactions for Microsoft Copilot experiences. Security Copilot also requires the in-product option that allows Microsoft Purview to access, process, copy, and store customer data from the Security Copilot service |
| Other AI apps in Microsoft Edge | An Edge configuration policy that activates Microsoft Purview integration in Edge |
| Third-party generative AI sites (examples Microsoft cites include sites used for Gemini and ChatGPT) | Devices onboarded to Microsoft Purview; Microsoft Purview browser extension deployed to Windows users for Insider Risk Management visit discovery and for Endpoint DLP in Chrome |
| Entra-registered AI apps | Apps integrated with the Microsoft Purview SDK if you need the full set of Purview capabilities |
| AI apps other than Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Facilitator | Pay-as-you-go billing set up for the organization. The portal shows notifications and instructions when this billing model applies |
Pay-as-you-go is a consumption model that extends Purview beyond Microsoft 365 and Windows/macOS sources. It requires associating the Microsoft 365 tenant with an active Azure subscription. Microsoft does not publish a single SC-401 dollar figure for DSPM for AI usage; do not invent one. When the UI tells you PAYG is required, complete that association rather than hunting for a hidden Microsoft 365 E5 checkbox.
Copilot licenses, audit, and what appears immediately
If audit is already on and users already have Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses, you start seeing Copilot and agent activity in Reports without creating a collection policy. That is a high-value distinction: Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat interactions are sourced from the unified audit log. A DSPM collection policy is not the thing that turns those Copilot events on, and deleting a collection policy does not stop Copilot audit ingestion.
Copilot in Fabric and Security Copilot are the opposite. Audit events can exist, but prompts and responses are captured only when a collection policy with content capture is in place — the one-click recommendation Secure interactions for Microsoft Copilot experiences is the documented path. If the exam says administrators see Fabric Copilot usage but cannot open prompt text, the missing prerequisite is that collection policy (and enterprise data governance), not another Copilot license.
For a current list of third-party sites Purview can treat as generative AI, use Microsoft’s Supported AI sites article rather than memorizing an unofficial list. Microsoft updates that list; the exam expects you to know that support is published, not to recite every hostname.
Administrative units and who can finish onboarding
If the tenant uses administrative units, restricted administrators cannot create the one-click policies that apply to all users. You must be an unrestricted administrator to create those tenant-wide policies. Restricted administrators still see Policies, reports, and activity explorer, but only for users in their assigned administrative unit. On SC-401, “the regional compliance admin created the one-click policy and nothing happened for the rest of the company” is almost always this constraint.
Extra prerequisites for data risk assessments
Data risk assessments are part of DSPM for AI, but Fabric and item-level Microsoft 365 scans have their own setup.
Fabric data risk assessments need a one-time Entra app and Fabric admin-portal configuration before you select Set config in DSPM for AI. Entra roles that can create the app are Cloud Application Administrator, Application Administrator, or Privileged Role Administrator. A Fabric administrator must enable Service principals can access read-only admin APIs and Service principals can access admin APIs used for updates, scoped to the security group that contains the app. Authenticate with federated credentials (Microsoft’s recommended, more secure option) or a client secret. Copy the Application (client) ID; if you use a client secret, copy the secret value immediately because it is shown once. Test the connection, then save. Supported Fabric item types for scanning include Dashboard, Report, DataExploration, DataPipeline, KQLQuerySet, Lakehouse, Notebook, SQLAnalyticsEndpoint, and Warehouse.
Microsoft 365 item-level scanning (custom assessments only, currently restricted to SharePoint sites) needs a separate Entra app with organizational-directory-only accounts, admin-consented Microsoft Graph application permissions Application.Read.All, Directory.Read.All, Files.ReadWrite.All, SensitivityLabels.Read.All, Sites.ReadWrite.All, and User.Read.All, plus a client secret and the Application (client) ID. OneDrive is not supported for item-level scanning. Microsoft publishes a maximum of 10 SharePoint sites for item-level scanning and a maximum of 200,000 items per location for default and custom Microsoft 365 assessments; the reported file count might not be accurate when there are more than 100,000 files per location.
Exam traps
- Do not confuse Purview DSPM for AI with Defender for Cloud AI security posture. SC-401 is a Microsoft 365 information-security exam; the portal is Purview.
- Do not assume device onboarding is required for Microsoft 365 Copilot graphs. It is required for third-party generative AI sites and endpoint enforcement.
- Do not invent unpublished numeric limits. Use the published assessment limits above; if Microsoft does not publish a value, say it is not published.
- Complete Get started in order of the AI surfaces you actually have. A tenant that only uses Microsoft 365 Copilot still needs audit and Copilot licenses; a tenant whose risk is paste-into-ChatGPT also needs devices, the browser extension, and Extend your insights.
Official references: Learn about DSPM for AI (classic), Considerations and prerequisites, Permissions.
A tenant already has Microsoft Purview Audit enabled. Compliance wants Insider Risk Management to discover when Windows users browse to third-party generative AI sites. Which Get started prerequisite is required for that visit discovery?
Administrators can see that Copilot in Fabric is being used, but Activity explorer does not show prompts and responses. Besides Purview auditing, what does Microsoft document as required to capture those interactions?
Your organization uses administrative units. A restricted administrator assigned to the Europe unit tries to create DSPM for AI one-click policies that apply to all users in the tenant. What is required?