What Autopilot device preparation brings to Cloud PCs
Windows Autopilot device preparation automates the setup of Windows devices from a policy you define in Intune. With the automatic flow, that same model now applies to Cloud PCs: instead of waiting for a user to sign in and trigger enrolment steps, the preparation policy runs as part of the provisioning process itself.
The practical result is a Cloud PC that is already shaped to your standards by the time it is handed over — no separate post-provisioning pass required.
Why this matters for admins
Attaching a device preparation policy to Cloud PC creation shortens the gap between provisioning and productivity. Everything you would normally push after enrolment can be delivered up front.
- Apps, scripts and configuration profiles are applied immediately after the Cloud PC is created
- Less manual setup and fewer follow-up tasks for the service desk
- Users land on a Cloud PC that already reflects your baseline, rather than a partially configured desktop
- More predictable first sign-in experience across a fleet of Cloud PCs
Including a preparation policy in your provisioning policy
The configuration lives with the Cloud PC provisioning policy: you reference the Autopilot device preparation policy you want to use, and it is applied automatically whenever a Cloud PC is created from that provisioning policy.
Because the association is made once at the policy level, there is no per-device work to repeat. Keep the scope of the preparation policy aligned with the groups targeted by your provisioning policy, and test the combination on a small set of Cloud PCs before rolling it out broadly — an app or script that fails during preparation is easier to diagnose in a pilot than at scale.
Summary
Using Autopilot device preparation policies in the automatic flow lets you provision Cloud PCs that are configured from the moment they exist. If you already maintain preparation policies for physical devices, extending the same approach to Windows 365 is a low-effort way to standardise both estates.
Source: Microsoft Learn. Summarised independently — check the source for the latest detail.