How to use Copilot in Outlook with a Noiz mailbox
If you read your Noiz email in Microsoft Outlook, do not count on Copilot for that mailbox. Microsoft's own pages say a generic IMAP account added to Outlook does not get Copilot features, and that Copilot needs a mailbox hosted on Microsoft's Exchange Online. A newer Microsoft page says Copilot reaches other accounts in the new Outlook apps, naming Gmail, Yahoo and iCloud, but it does not mention IMAP mailboxes on your own domain. This page sets out what Microsoft says, how to test it on your own account, and the route we recommend if you want an AI assistant without sending your mailbox to Microsoft.
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026, against Microsoft's current documentation for Copilot in Outlook. Microsoft changes Copilot's plans and features often; where Microsoft's page differs from this one, Microsoft's page is right.
Official Documentation Reference
- Microsoft: Frequently asked questions about Copilot in Outlook: which mailboxes Copilot supports.
- Microsoft: Sharing Copilot in Outlook: Copilot across other email accounts in Outlook.
- Microsoft: Sync your account to the Microsoft Cloud: how the newer Outlook apps handle a mailbox from another provider.
- Microsoft: Accounts in the new Outlook for Windows: which account types the new Outlook supports and how.
Which Outlook you have decides the answer
| Outlook app | How it reaches your Noiz mailbox | Copilot for the Noiz mailbox |
|---|---|---|
| Classic Outlook for Windows | Directly, from your computer to Noiz | Not offered for third-party accounts |
| New Outlook for Windows | Microsoft's pages say it can sync IMAP accounts through Microsoft's cloud, keeping a copy there | Not documented for IMAP; test it |
| Outlook for Mac (new), iPhone, iPad and Android | Through Microsoft's cloud for IMAP accounts, per Microsoft | Not documented for IMAP; test it |
To find out which Windows Outlook you have, see "Know which Outlook you have" in How to set up email in Microsoft Outlook.
What Copilot needs
Microsoft's pages, as at October 2026, do not agree. Its Copilot in Outlook FAQ says Copilot is not supported on mailboxes not hosted on Exchange Online, and its classic Outlook tutorial says a Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud or generic IMAP account added to Outlook will not get Copilot features. Its newer page on sharing Copilot says that with a qualifying subscription (Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, Premium or Pro for the subscription owner, or a work account with a Copilot licence) Copilot reaches other accounts in the new Outlook apps, naming Gmail, Yahoo and iCloud, and not in classic Outlook for Windows. None of them says a mailbox on your own domain is included.
There is a second condition that Microsoft's Copilot pages do not spell out. The Outlook apps that offer Copilot for other accounts are the ones that sync those accounts through the Microsoft Cloud. When you add a Noiz mailbox to one of them, Microsoft's servers sign in to your mailbox with your password and keep a copy of your mail, calendar and contacts in Microsoft's cloud. Our journal post New Outlook hands your mailbox to Microsoft explains what that means for your business and for the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
How to check whether Copilot works for your mailbox
Only test this if you are comfortable with your Noiz mailbox being synced to Microsoft's cloud, or use a test mailbox with no business mail in it.
- Confirm your Microsoft subscription includes Copilot. Microsoft lists the plans on its Copilot pages.
- In the new Outlook for Windows or the Outlook phone app, open a message in the Noiz mailbox.
- Look for the Copilot button or the Summarise option at the top of the message.
- If it is there, ask Copilot to summarise a thread and check the summary against the messages.
- If it is missing, Copilot is not available for that account with your subscription. Your mailbox still works normally.
The route we recommend instead
If you want an AI assistant to help with a Noiz mailbox without copying the mailbox to Microsoft, keep the mail on Noiz and bring the assistant to it.
- Use a mail app that connects directly. We recommend Thunderbird, which is free, open source and connects straight to Noiz over IMAP. See Why and how to switch to Thunderbird. Classic Outlook for Windows also connects directly while Microsoft supports it.
- Add an assistant that you control. Either connect Claude to the mailbox with a read-and-draft connector that runs on your own computer, or use Thunderbird with a connector.
- For one message, copy and paste. Copy the part you need into the assistant. Nothing else in the mailbox is shared. See How to use ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot safely with your email.
With either connector route, the messages the assistant opens still go to the AI service you use, so choose a business plan whose terms suit your mail. The difference is that the whole mailbox, and its password, stay off Microsoft's servers.
If you already use the new Outlook with a Noiz mailbox
You can move without losing mail, because the mail itself is on the Noiz server.
- Set the mailbox up in Thunderbird, or switch back to classic Outlook with the New Outlook toggle and add the mailbox there.
- In the new Outlook, open Settings > Accounts, choose Manage next to the Noiz mailbox, then Remove and Remove from all devices. Microsoft says this removes the account and its cloud copy across Outlook apps.
- Remove the account from the Outlook phone app as well.
- Change the mailbox password, because Microsoft held the old one: How to change an email account password in Plesk.
Troubleshooting
- Copilot appears for your Microsoft account but not for the Noiz mailbox. Your subscription or app does not extend Copilot to that account. Use one of the routes above.
- New Outlook keeps asking for the Noiz password. Its automatic set-up has guessed the account type wrongly. Choose IMAP and enter the settings by hand, as in the Outlook set-up article, or use Thunderbird.
- Classic Outlook shows Copilot, but only for a work account. That is expected. The Noiz mailbox in the same Outlook does not get it.
Mail that should stay off other people's servers
If your organisation's mail should never be copied to another provider's cloud, two things help: a mail app that connects directly, and a mail server of your own. Private Email is a mail server for one organisation that Noiz runs, and we recommend Thunderbird for every Noiz mailbox. Ask us about moving your team across.
