Purview governs your data inside M365.
Aona governs your data once it leaves.
Purview is excellent at protecting documents, emails, and chats inside the Microsoft 365 estate. The moment an employee copies that data into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, you are outside its reach. This page covers what each tool does, and where Aona fills the gap.
Data governance and DLP for the Microsoft 365 estate (SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, Exchange).
Browser plugin and native endpoint app that intercept AI prompts and files for hard-block DLP and policy enforcement.
Keep Purview for M365-native data governance, sensitivity labelling, and DLP. Add Aona for AI-specific governance: prompt-level inspection, hard-block DLP on AI prompts and files, and policy enforcement across browser and desktop AI tools. They are complementary layers, not alternatives.
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When to pick which
Five scenarios. The honest answer for each one.
Your only AI risk is Copilot for M365 inside the Microsoft estate.
Purview's native integration with Copilot for M365 governs prompts and outputs at the Microsoft layer. Adding Aona for that single use case is over-buying.
You have Purview for M365 data and employees use third-party AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) for work.
Purview cannot see prompts sent to non-Microsoft AI. Aona intercepts at the browser and the native app layer for the third-party stack.
You need to discover and govern Shadow AI tool usage across the workforce.
Purview's AI hub focuses on the Microsoft estate. Aona's catalog covers 5,600+ AI tools and tracks usage on managed devices.
You need real-time, hard-block DLP on AI prompts and file uploads to AI tools.
Purview alerts and audits; on AI prompts outside M365 it has limited or no enforcement. Aona enforces at the browser before the prompt is sent.
You want one set of sensitivity classifications applied consistently across both M365 data and AI usage.
Purview owns the labels. Aona's Purview integration is in scoping today; once shipped, label-aware AI policy enforcement is the layered story. Until then, classifications stay in Purview and Aona's policies run independently.
What each tool actually does
Three columns on the Aona side because the browser plugin and the native endpoint app cover different surfaces. Browser-only customers will see fewer green checks than customers with both.
| Capability | Aona browser plugin | Aona native app | Microsoft Purview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discover | |||
| Discovery of AI tool usage on managed devices | Browser AI tools | Browser plus native AI apps | Copilot for M365 only via AI hub |
| Native desktop AI app interception (ChatGPT, Claude desktop) | MITM proxy for desktop apps | ||
| Catalog of 5,600+ third-party AI tools | Catalog scope; active governance on top tier | Same catalog | |
| Discovery of files leaving M365 into AI tools | Inspected at browser upload | Inspected at browser plus native upload | Endpoint DLP for M365 files |
| Govern | |||
| Hard-block DLP on AI prompts (third-party AI) | Modal pauses, no override | Modal pauses, no override | No prompt-layer enforcement outside M365 |
| Real-time employee coaching at the moment of action | Policy tips inside M365 apps only | ||
| Sensitivity labels and classification taxonomy | Purview integration scoping | Purview integration scoping | Mature label and DLP policy engine |
| Policy templates for EU AI Act / ISO 42001 | Platform feature | Platform feature | General compliance templates |
| Protect | |||
| Native DLP across SharePoint / OneDrive / Teams / Exchange | Core capability | ||
| File redaction with layout preservation (DOCX / Excel) | Length-matched, real-time on upload | Length-matched, real-time on upload | Block or label, not redact-then-share |
| Operations | |||
| Time to first signal | Hours | Hours | Already deployed |
| macOS at enterprise scale (managed via MDM) | Plugin pushed via MDM | Manual install only today | |
Based on vendor documentation as of April 2026. Email trust@aona.ai if you find a factual error.
What it takes to ship each one
- Microsoft Intune (Windows MDM, only path shipped)
- Microsoft Entra (admin SSO + user/group sync)
- Active M365 tenant with Purview licensing
Where each one falls short
From public docs and customer interviews. If you find a factual error, email trust@aona.ai.
- Smaller enterprise install base than Microsoft. Some procurement teams will favour the incumbent.
- SOC 2 Type II only today. No FedRAMP, no IL5, no other government-cloud certifications Microsoft holds.
- Purview integration is scoping, not shipped. Sensitivity-label-aware AI policy is a future feature, not a current one.
- AI hub coverage is M365-native. Third-party AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) are largely out of scope for prompt-layer DLP.
- No real-time employee coaching at the moment of an AI prompt. Block / audit, no learn-at-the-moment loop.
- File redaction means classification or blocking, not layout-preserving entity replacement that lets the document still be useful in the AI tool.
How Aona and Microsoft Purview work together
The two work as adjacent layers. Purview governs the data inside Microsoft 365 (where it is created, stored, and shared). Aona governs the data once it crosses into AI tools (where employees actually use it). Together you get end-to-end coverage from the document to the prompt.
Microsoft 365 layer
Purview classifies data at rest, applies sensitivity labels, runs DLP on Microsoft surfaces.
AI usage layer
Aona intercepts at the browser and native AI apps. Hard-block DLP on prompts and file uploads.
End-to-end coverage
Sensitive data is governed from where it lives in M365 to where employees take it in AI tools.
Govern AI usage outside the Microsoft estate
90-day free trial. Deploys alongside Purview via Intune and Entra in under an hour. No Purview reconfiguration, no commitment.