How to turn the Copilot on or off and control the data sent

What is it for?

The Copilot comes switched off. Each part is turned on with its own switch, per company, and whatever sends text to an artificial intelligence (AI) provider stays off until the company decides. Here you also decide whether personal data goes as it is or with fictitious values, which providers outside the European Union (EU) you can use and how much you can spend per month.

When to use it?

• You are going to start using the Copilot in a company.
• You want to stop, immediately, everything the Copilot sends outside.
• The company has chosen a provider with servers outside the EU (Z.ai or DeepSeek).
• You want to limit the monthly AI spending.

Where to find it?

• Turn on and off: Copilot › Control › Switches.
• Personal data and consent of each connection: Copilot › Connections to the AIs › Connections.
• Spending limits: Copilot › Connections to the AIs › AI settings.
• History of consents: Copilot › Control › AI consents.

Before you start

• Your profile is Fiscal administration (or the administrator). The Copilot itself says so when it is switched off: “Only those with “PT Localization — Invoicing, accounting and tax levels: Fiscal administration” (Settings › Users › Access Rights tab) can turn on the Copilot, the AI connection and this agent and set the AI key.” With the Certified Accountant / Fiscal Manager profile, Connections to the AIs only shows AI providers. The steps in this article were done with the administrator; the Fiscal administration profile has the same menus (Connections and AI settings), but it was not walked through with a user having only that profile.
• Check the active company in the top bar: switches, connections and limits belong to each company.

How to use it

Turning the Copilot on

1. Open Copilot › Control › Switches. The Type column says Safe (does not leave the company), Outside (sends text to an AI provider) or You decide.
2. Click Turn on the essentials. The message confirms: “Copilot. The essentials are on for "Empresa Demonstração, Lda": 6 switches. The ones that talk to the outside stay off.”
3. To use the AI, turn on in the On column the AI connection (calls to the AI provider) line and the line of each agent you want to use, for example AI - Document reader.
4. Open Copilot › Connections to the AIs › AI settings and fill in Monthly spend limit of the company (EUR). With the limit at zero, no call goes out (see “Common problems”).

Turning off

• Everything: turn off Copilot (master switch of the company). As the line says, “without it nothing of the Copilot works in this company”.
• Only what goes outside: turn off AI connection (calls to the AI provider). The Safe switches keep working.

Each change is recorded in Copilot › Control › Log, with the date and the user, for example “Switch “AI connection (calls to the AI provider)” turned on.”

Deciding what happens to personal data

By default, people's names, NIF, Social Security numbers, IBAN, email, phone, address and employee number go to the AI with fictitious values, and the answer comes back with the real ones. Credentials, passwords and keys are never sent.

1. Open Copilot › Connections to the AIs › Connections and open the connection.
2. In the PERSONAL AND SENSITIVE DATA group, Allow personal and sensitive data on this connection is off. Leave it that way, unless the company has a legal basis and the signed consents.
3. To allow it, click Allow personal and sensitive data…, read the declaration, tick I declare it, in the name of the company and click Allow the data. It applies only to that connection.

Giving or withdrawing consent for a provider outside the EU

1. On the Z.ai or DeepSeek connection, the KEY AND CONSENT group shows “No valid consent: the provider stays off.”
2. Click Give consent and read the Consent for a provider outside the EU notice.
3. Tick I agree, in the name of the company and click Give consent. The connection then shows who gave consent, when and the notice version.
4. To withdraw, click Withdraw consent and Confirm: “The provider is switched off at once, for every connection of this provider.”

Expected result

• The switches turned on appear in green in the On column, and the Log keeps each change.
• In Copilot › Control › AI consents, each consent has the State Valid or Withdrawn, and who gave or withdrew it and when.

Important notes

Personal data and providers outside the EU

Allowing personal data or giving consent to a provider outside the EU is a company decision on data protection (GDPR), not a technical option. Decide with whoever handles data protection in the company before ticking the declaration. Pending legal validation: legal basis for sending personal data to an AI provider.

• A consent once given is never changed or deleted: you withdraw it and give another. If the notice text changes, a new one is needed.
• What has already been sent can be consulted in Copilot › Control › AI calls.

Common problems

The AI does not answer because of the limit

• Message: “The monthly AI spend limit of company "Empresa Demonstração, Lda" (0.00 EUR) would be exceeded: 0.00 EUR already used this month. Nothing was sent. Ask the Fiscal administration profile to raise the limit in the AI settings, or wait for next month.”
• What to do: in AI settings, fill in the Monthly spend limit of the company (EUR) with a value above zero.

I cannot save the AI key

• Message: “This server has no encryption key for the credentials vault, so nothing was saved and nothing was revealed.”
• What to do: the key is kept in an encrypted vault and the server needs the encryption key. Ask the server administrator; it is not an Odoo setting.

Giving consent or allowing the data without ticking the box

• Messages: “Tick “I agree” to give the consent. Nothing was recorded: …” and “The declaration is not ticked, so the data were not allowed. Nothing was changed: …”
• What to do: read the text, tick the box and click the button again, or close the window.