Document server-side telemetry in Copilot usage metrics (#61727)

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Joe Clark <31087804+jc-clark@users.noreply.github.com>

Author: 4 people

content/copilot/concepts/copilot-usage-metrics/copilot-metrics.md

@@ -35,7 +35,11 @@ Metrics are available through:
 
 ## Which usage is included?
 
-{% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} usage metrics are derived from telemetry across multiple {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} surfaces, including IDE and {% data variables.copilot.copilot_cli_short %} activity. Because many metrics come from IDE telemetry, **end users must have telemetry enabled in their IDE to be included in these metrics**.
+{% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} usage metrics are derived from telemetry across multiple {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} surfaces, including IDE and {% data variables.copilot.copilot_cli_short %} activity. Most metrics come from client-side IDE telemetry, and **end users need telemetry enabled in their IDE** for the richest data in these metrics.
+
+In addition, {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} usage metrics incorporate **server-side telemetry** to identify active users that client-side telemetry alone may miss. Network conditions, proxy configurations, and client settings can prevent client telemetry from reaching {% data variables.product.github %}, so server-side signals ensure those users still appear in your reports.
+
+Users surfaced through server-side telemetry are fully counted toward your active user totals (such as daily active users), but their dimensional breakdowns—such as `totals_by_ide`, `totals_by_feature`, and lines-of-code metrics—remain empty until richer telemetry is available for them. Top-level totals and breakdowns for users already captured by client telemetry are unchanged.
 
 The data **does not include** activity from other {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} surfaces, such as:
 

content/copilot/how-tos/administer-copilot/view-usage-and-adoption.md

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ After your initial rollout, the {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short
 {% data reusables.copilot.access-copilot-metrics-dashboard %}
 1. In the left sidebar, click **{% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} usage**.
 
-Data in the dashboard is based only on IDE telemetry, and may appear up to three full UTC days behind the current date. See [AUTOTITLE](/copilot/concepts/copilot-metrics).
+Data in the dashboard is primarily based on IDE telemetry and is supplemented by server-side telemetry to capture additional active users. Data may appear up to three full UTC days behind the current date. See [AUTOTITLE](/copilot/concepts/copilot-metrics).
 
 ## Using {% data variables.copilot.copilot_chat_short %} to analyze exported data
 

content/copilot/reference/copilot-usage-metrics/copilot-usage-metrics.md

@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ Per-user reports contain one record per user for the reporting period. The 28-da
 
 ### Aggregated enterprise and organization report fields
 
-Aggregated reports contain one record per enterprise or organization, summarizing all users for the day. The following tables list the active-user counts, then the activity totals and breakdowns.
+Aggregated reports contain one record per enterprise or organization, summarizing all users for the day. Active-user counts include users identified through both client-side and server-side telemetry. Users surfaced only through server-side telemetry are counted in active-user totals but may not appear in the dimensional breakdown arrays (`totals_by_ide`, `totals_by_feature`, and similar). The following tables list the active-user counts, then the activity totals and breakdowns.
 
 Active-user counts:
 

content/copilot/reference/copilot-usage-metrics/reconciling-usage-metrics.md

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ The {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} usage metrics dashboard,
 
 ## Prerequisite
 
-IDE-based {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} usage metrics depend on **telemetry from users’ IDEs**. If a developer has disabled telemetry in their IDE, their IDE-based {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} activity will **not** appear in the dashboard, API reports, or exported data.
+IDE-based {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} usage metrics depend on **telemetry from users' IDEs**. If a developer has disabled telemetry in their IDE, their detailed IDE-based {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} activity, such as per-IDE, per-feature, and lines-of-code breakdowns, will **not** appear in the dashboard, API reports, or exported data. However, server-side telemetry may still surface these users in your active user counts even when client telemetry is unavailable.
 
 If you notice missing users or unexpectedly low adoption numbers, verify IDE telemetry settings before troubleshooting other causes.
 
@@ -78,3 +78,9 @@ The value `Unknown` appears in some API or export breakdowns when telemetry from
 | Model | Appears when the event lacks information identifying the model used. Some internal models (for example, `gpt-4o-mini`) may appear alongside `Unknown` when used for non-user-facing operations such as summarization or intent detection. |
 
 `Unknown` values are excluded from dashboard visualizations but appear in API and NDJSON data for completeness. The amount of `Unknown` data decreases as users upgrade to newer IDE and extension versions that send richer telemetry.
+
+## Users surfaced by server-side telemetry
+
+{% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} usage metrics combine client-side and server-side telemetry to identify active users. Users confirmed as active through server-side telemetry, but for whom no client telemetry was received, are included in your active user totals (such as `daily_active_users`). However, their dimensional breakdowns (`totals_by_ide`, `totals_by_feature`, `totals_by_language_feature`, `totals_by_language_model`, `totals_by_model_feature`) and lines-of-code metrics will be empty.
+
+This means your top-level active user counts may be higher than the sum of users reflected in the breakdown arrays. This is expected behavior and does not indicate a data error.

data/reusables/copilot/copilot-usage-metrics-sources.md

@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 > [!NOTE]
-> {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} usage metrics reflect activity in supported IDEs only. Usage in {% data variables.copilot.copilot_chat_short %} on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom_the_website %}, {% data variables.product.prodname_mobile %}, {% data variables.copilot.copilot_code-review_short %}, or {% data variables.copilot.copilot_cli_short %} is not included in dashboard data.
+> {% data variables.product.prodname_copilot_short %} usage metrics primarily reflect activity in supported IDEs. Server-side telemetry supplements client-side IDE telemetry to surface additional active users. Usage in {% data variables.copilot.copilot_chat_short %} on {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom_the_website %}, {% data variables.product.prodname_mobile %}, {% data variables.copilot.copilot_code-review_short %}, or {% data variables.copilot.copilot_cli_short %} is not included in dashboard data.