How to Recover Deleted Data in Microsoft Copilot

Retrieving Active Chat Threads from Your Microsoft Account History

Learn what Copilot content can be recovered, where to check chat history, and how to restore related files from OneDrive or SharePoint.

Restoring AI-Generated Documents via OneDrive and SharePoint

Check Copilot history first, then search the related OneDrive or SharePoint location.

1. Step 1: Sign in with the same account used for Copilot.
2. Step 2: Review active Copilot conversations.
3. Step 3: Search OneDrive and SharePoint for related files.
4. Step 4: Check the cloud recycle bin.
5. Step 5: Restore a prior file version when available.
6. Step 6: Save recovered content under a new filename.

Why this helps: Copilot chats and Copilot-assisted files use different recovery paths.

Alternative Workflow: Accessing the Windows Clipboard for Unsaved Prompts

• The chat was deleted rather than merely hidden in history.
• The response was copied into a file that was later deleted.
• A work account retention policy removed older activity.
• Enterprise Data Protection prevented the chat from being retained.

Securing Your AI Workflows Using WPS Office

If you find yourself repeatedly trying to recover Deleted Data in Microsoft Copilot due to synchronization delays or restrictive cloud-only retention policies, transitioning your document creation to WPS Office provides a more resilient local environment. WPS Office cannot change Microsoft's server-side retention settings or restore a chat deleted from a Microsoft server. However, WPS Office features its own integrated WPS AI for drafting, summarizing, and editing documents, paired with aggressive local Auto-Backup features that prevent data loss in the first place.

By utilizing WPS Office for your AI-assisted writing, you bypass the risk of browser crashes destroying your chat-based drafts. Whenever you invoke WPS AI to generate text inside a Writer document, the software automatically saves sequential versions to your local hard drive. To ensure your AI-generated documents are fully protected against accidental deletion in WPS Office:

• Open the WPS Office desktop application and click the Settings gear icon located in the top-right corner of the global dashboard.
• Select Settings from the dropdown, then navigate to the Backup Settings tab.
• Check the box next to Local Backup and set the backup interval to "Every 5 minutes".
• Click View Backup Files to immediately open the hidden directory where WPS automatically stores time-stamped versions of your AI drafts. If you ever close a document without saving, you can open this folder and double-click the most recent backup file to restore your work instantly.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can a manually deleted Copilot chat be restored?

Usually no. Copilot does not provide a user-facing recycle bin for a chat that was deliberately deleted.

Where should I look for a Copilot-created document?

Search OneDrive or SharePoint, then check the recycle bin and the file’s version history.

Why is some work-account Copilot history missing?

Enterprise data protection or an organization retention policy may limit whether chat history is stored.

Can Windows clipboard history recover an old prompt?

Only if clipboard history was already enabled and the item has not been cleared or replaced.