Researcher with Computer Use: Unlocking Gated Data and Raising New Questions

Researcher with Computer Use takes the capabilities of what is arguably Copilot's most impactful agentic experience to a completely new level. The power of getting live data from websites that isn't accessible via search because it's hidden behind a login or complex UI makes completely new types of work processes possible.

However, should we be concerned what the publishers of such websites think of us giving AI agents the keys to their data?

One place where such gated content exists at scale is social media. But if we consider the user terms of LinkedIn (the social media platform owned by Researcher's maker, Microsoft), under prohibited uses it states: "use software, devices, scripts, robots or any other means or processes (such as crawlers, browser plugins and add-ons or any other technology) to scrape or copy the Services, including profiles and other data from the Services".

By my interpretation, Researcher is software, and if I'm using it, for example, to prepare me for a meeting by researching the participants using LinkedIn data, I would be in violation of these terms. The "right" answer is to buy Sales Navigator at $120/user/month - somewhat more than you're paying Microsoft for your Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

Is it likely that there will be a mass of LinkedIn account terminations due to people using Microsoft's own tools? Probably not. But this isn't an issue that's unique to LinkedIn, and it's certainly possible that some services will simply try to block this type of use entirely or maybe gate it to certain types of accounts.

There are lots of moving pieces when it comes to the way AI technology will change how we access data, and again this will drive a need for businesses at all points on that data chain to reassess how they participate, benefit, and, perhaps, even drive more revenue as a result.

First posted on Linkedin on 10/31/2025 -> View Linkedin post here