Where does your sensitive data actually live? This Microsoft Learn blog post introduces Microsoft Purview, the unified platform for data security, governance, and compliance across multicloud environments. Read the blog post to see how Purview supports secure AI adoption.
What is Microsoft Purview and why does it matter in the era of AI?
Microsoft Purview is a unified platform of data security, governance, and compliance solutions designed for organizations that are increasingly using AI.
Instead of managing separate point tools, Purview helps you govern, protect, and manage data wherever it lives—on-premises, in the cloud, and across AI applications. It is built to address:
- Fragmented data spread across many systems
- Lack of visibility that makes protection and governance difficult
- The rapid acceleration of AI adoption and its impact on data risk
- The blurring of traditional IT roles as security, compliance, and data teams converge
With Microsoft Purview, your organization can:
- Gain visibility into data across the organization
- Safeguard and manage sensitive data across its lifecycle
- Govern data in more comprehensive, federated ways
- Manage regulatory and compliance requirements
- Protect against oversharing and data leakage in generative AI scenarios
In short, Purview helps you rethink how you secure and govern data so you can adopt AI with more confidence and control.
How does Microsoft Purview help secure data, especially with generative AI?
Microsoft Purview provides a coordinated set of data security solutions that work together to protect data throughout its lifecycle, including when that data is used in AI scenarios.
Key security capabilities include:
- Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) – Helps prevent accidental or inappropriate sharing of sensitive information.
- Data Security Investigations – Supports investigation and response when data security issues arise.
- Information Barriers – Limits communication and data sharing between specific groups when needed.
- Information Protection – Uses labels and policies to classify and protect sensitive data.
- Insider Risk Management – Helps identify and manage risky user activities involving data.
- Privileged Access Management – Controls and monitors high-risk administrative access.
For AI specifically, Purview extends these protections to:
- Copilot experiences and agents
- Enterprise AI apps you build
- Other AI apps you use
In preview, Microsoft Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) adds another layer by helping you:
- Discover where sensitive data resides across your digital estate
- Protect that data consistently across traditional apps and AI apps/agents
- Investigate and remediate sensitive data risks from a central view
Together, these capabilities help you reimagine your data security posture so that AI adoption does not outpace your ability to manage risk.
What governance and compliance capabilities are included in Microsoft Purview?
Microsoft Purview brings together data governance and data compliance capabilities in a single portal so you can manage your data estate more consistently.
Data governance solutions help you manage and understand your data services across the organization and support a federated governance model. Key components include:
- Microsoft Purview Data Map – Builds a map of your data estate so you can see what data you have and where it resides.
- Microsoft Purview Unified Catalog – Provides a central catalog to discover, understand, and use data assets.
Data compliance solutions help you minimize compliance risks and meet regulatory requirements:
- Microsoft Purview Audit – Captures and surfaces audit logs for investigations and oversight.
- Communication Compliance – Monitors communications to help meet policy and regulatory obligations.
- Compliance Manager – Assists in assessing and managing compliance posture.
- Data Lifecycle Management – Manages retention and deletion of data over time.
- eDiscovery – Supports legal discovery and investigations.
- Records Management – Helps classify and manage records in line with policy.
Many capabilities are shared across these solutions, such as:
- Classifiers for identifying types of data
- Connectors to bring in data from multiple sources
- Data explorer and activity explorer for visibility into data and usage
- Sensitivity labels to consistently classify and protect data
The Microsoft Purview portal is designed with a consistent look and streamlined navigation so your teams can more easily:
- Access data governance, security, and compliance solutions from one place
- Explore capabilities and configure policies
- Plan and execute an AI data security and governance strategy
This unified experience helps you reshape how you manage data risk and compliance across your entire data estate.