Message Center: daily summary

What and why

Microsoft Purview is introducing sensitivity labels for Microsoft Entra cloud security groups. This capability extends label-based protection currently available for Microsoft 365 groups and SharePoint sites to cloud security groups.

With this change, organizations can apply published Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels directly to security groups and automatically enforce membership and guest access policies when groups are created or labeled. This helps administrators apply governance policies consistently across group types, reduce the risk of oversharing, and support controlled self-service group creation.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 568217.

What and why

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is introducing a new Exchange Online condition: Count of labeled documents is greater than. This condition enables administrators to detect messages that contain a high volume of sensitivity-labeled attachments and trigger DLP actions when a configured threshold is exceeded.

The condition is available for Exchange Online DLP policies and does not apply to SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, or Endpoint DLP workloads.

This enhancement helps organizations strengthen data protection by identifying potential data exfiltration scenarios where multiple sensitivity-labeled files are shared in a single email. The feature provides an additional volume-based signal that can be combined with existing content-based DLP conditions for layered protection.

What and why

Microsoft Teams is updating the Record and transcribe automatically setting in Meeting options, so meeting organizers see only the automatic recording and transcription options permitted by their assigned Teams meeting policies. This change reduces confusion, improves policy compliance, and helps ensure organizers cannot select options that are unavailable based on organizational settings.

As part of this update, Teams will introduce a new Record only option that automatically starts meeting recording without starting transcription.

What and why

To import data from the web with Power Query, use the newer Get Data from Web experience. The existing Get Data from Web (Legacy) functionality will be reduced. The newer experience provides modern authentication, table detection, data transformation, and refresh capabilities.

Existing queries that use the legacy experience will continue to refresh.

We've released updates to the following update channels for Microsoft 365 Apps:

• Current Channel
• Monthly Enterprise Channel
• Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel

What and why

We are introducing AI-generated status reports in Planner Agent. This feature uses Planner plan data to generate a status report that summarizes overall status, progress, risks, and next steps. Users can customize reports by specifying items such as audience, tone, length, reporting period, and report sections before reviewing and refining the generated content.

What and why

Microsoft Teams will soon support sharing video directly from OneDrive during Teams events. Organizers and producers using Manage what attendees see can load videos from OneDrive and present them on stage without screen sharing a local media player or embedding videos in PowerPoint. This improvement provides smoother, higher-quality video playback for attendees and simplifies event production through built-in video playback controls.

What and why

Microsoft Entra is changing who can create agent blueprints by default. Starting November 4, default users will be able to create new agent blueprints unless an administrator turns off Users can create agent blueprints. This means that users without built-in or custom Entra roles will be able to create new agent blueprints in their organization. From now until rollout begins, you can set your tenant preferences to prepare for this rollout. If you do not want users in your organization to create new agent blueprints and their identities, follow the instructions below.

What and why

We’re making updates across Microsoft Outlook experiences to improve clarity and consistency across endpoints. The first updates focus on visual details such as icons, spacing, and alignment, while maintaining familiar ways of working.

These updates are part of an ongoing series of improvements across Outlook experiences and are not a replacement for the classic Outlook experience.

What and why

Microsoft Entra Agent ID is enforcing tighter restrictions for autonomous creation of an agent’s own identities. Currently, all agents are granted AgentIdentity.CreateAsManager upon creation without administrator approval. Starting November 4, Microsoft Entra will no longer automatically grant AgentIdentity.CreateAsManager to agent blueprint principals, and creation of identities will need an admin to grant consent.

Agents that use app-only authentication to create their own agent identities must be explicitly granted the AgentIdentity.CreateAsManager Microsoft Graph application permission or move to another supported authorization model before enforcement reaches their tenant.

What and why

We’re removing the Agent 365 license requirement for observability data for supported agents built by Microsoft or on Microsoft platforms. This change expands access to usage and activity insights in the Microsoft 365 admin center, helping administrators monitor how agents are used.

This change is limited to observability metrics. It does not remove licensing requirements for other Agent 365 capabilities or for agent activity metrics for agents built on third-party platforms.

• Email: To, Cc, and Bcc
• Appointment: Owner, Required Attendees, and Optional Attendees
• Phone call: Owner, Call From, and Call To
• Task: Owner (co-owner)

Updated October 13, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Entra will soon recognize Windows Hello for Business (WHfB) and macOS Platform Single Sign-On (PSSO) as standalone multifactor authentication (MFA) factors in supported authentication scenarios.

Today, WHfB and macOS PSSO can satisfy MFA requirements during primary sign-in, but users may still be required to register and use an additional passkey or authentication method for certain step-up authentication prompts, Authentication Strength policies, and sign-in frequency checks.

After this rollout, users who authenticate with WHfB or macOS PSSO will be able to satisfy supported MFA requirements without registering an additional passkey. This change helps organizations expand the use of phishing-resistant authentication methods and reduce reliance on less secure authentication methods. As part of this change, a user's WHfB and macOS PSSO credentials will be displayed in My Security Info as auto-registered passkeys.

Updated October 13, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Purview Information Protection is introducing File Labeler and File Viewer applications for macOS. These clients will bring sensitivity labeling and protected file viewing capabilities to Mac users, aligning with the experience already available on Windows.

This update will help organizations consistently apply and enforce protection policies across platforms, supporting enterprise-grade security and compliance for sensitive content across devices.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 561327.

Updated October 13, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Edge is introducing an upgraded Copilot new tab page that brings Microsoft 365 Copilot chat, web search, and work content into a single experience. Users can search the web, navigate to websites, interact with Microsoft 365 Copilot, and access relevant work content from a single experience.

The updated experience includes enhanced Copilot chat integration, compose capabilities, suggested actions, curated work content, and a refreshed design to help users complete tasks more efficiently.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 566703.

Updated October 13, 2026: We have decided not to move forward with this change at this time. We will communicate via Message center when we are ready to proceed. We apologize for any inconvenience.

What and why

We are introducing Policy Sync and Device Health AI skills for Microsoft Purview Endpoint Data Loss Prevention. These AI-powered capabilities provide real-time visibility into policy deployment across devices and help admins quickly identify and resolve sync issues. By using AI to surface root causes and recommend actions, this feature improves troubleshooting efficiency and increases confidence that policies are enforced consistently across devices. This aligns with our enterprise-ready AI approach by delivering intelligent insights within Microsoft Purview.

Updated October 13, 2026: Following our earlier announcement, Apps in Copilot Studio has started its public preview rollout. Availability will expand gradually by region. Makers building apps in Copilot Studio will use the Copilot Credits available in the environment they're building in. Copilot Credits for app building are allocated, monitored, and billed through the same Power Platform admin center experience you already use for agents in Copilot Studio — no separate setup is required. Admins can review the credit allocation documentation in PPAC to learn more: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/admin/manage-copilot-studio-copilot-credits-capacity

What and why

We are announcing a preview of the new app-building experience in Microsoft Copilot Cowork. A corresponding experience in Microsoft Copilot Studio will follow within the next couple of weeks. These experiences make it easier for people to turn ideas into apps using natural-language guidance and generative AI.

Updated October 13, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Enable admins to apply retention policy or retention label in OneDrive and SharePoint for files that have not been accessed by anyone in the organization after a period of time. In this release, users will be able to set up delete policies based on Last Accessed Date of Office file types. Non-office file types are not supported in this release.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 472030.

Updated October 13, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We are updating the entry point for Copilot in Outlook to be more visually appealing and consistent. Located next to the Outlook ribbon, the Copilot entry point makes it easier for users to discover and use Copilot as they work. In addition to chat, it also surfaces contextual, AI-powered recommendations based on the task at hand, such as reading email, composing messages, or managing a calendar. With a single click, users can act on these suggestions to quickly summarize content, draft responses, organize information, and accomplish tasks more efficiently. The experience is designed to bring relevant Copilot capabilities closer to the user's workflow while providing a consistent Copilot experience across Microsoft 365 applications.

Updated October 9, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We're introducing a new Microsoft Entra capability that allows password change after secure sign-in directly from My Sign-Ins using an existing strong credential, such as a passkey, FIDO2 security key, or Windows Hello for Business. Users can complete this action even if they don't know their current password and without using self-service password reset (SSPR) or contacting the helpdesk.

Many organizations are adopting allowed password changes after secure sign-ins but still maintain passwords for legacy applications and services. This update helps reduce password-related support requests and removes a common barrier to adoption. The feature is disabled by default and requires administrator enablement before users can access it.

What and why

We are updating the Brand Center setup experience so that administrators can set up Brand Center without enabling Public CDN.

Today, Public CDN is enabled as part of Brand Center setup, even when an organization only wants to use branding governance capabilities that do not require it. With this update, organizations can begin using Brand Center while deferring Public CDN until they need capabilities that depend on it, such as organizational fonts.

What and why

Apps in Copilot Cowork are now available through the Frontier program, and Apps in Microsoft Copilot Studio are rolling out in public preview.To provide a unified experience for building apps with natural language, Microsoft is retiring the App Builder agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot and vibe.powerapps.com.

Copilot Cowork and Microsoft Copilot Studio will become the primary experiences for creating apps using natural language. This retirement helps consolidate app creation experiences and provides makers with a consistent path forward for building and managing apps.

What and why

Users of new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web will be able to create inbox rules that automatically reply to incoming messages using a saved template. This helps users reduce repetitive work while providing faster, more consistent responses. This change supports personal and team productivity by automating routine email responses.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 567318.

What and why

The Microsoft Graph AuditLogQuery API is generally available for programmatic access to Microsoft Purview Audit activity logs. We are also announcing the planned retirement of the Search-UnifiedAuditLog PowerShell cmdlet on October 15, 2027.

The AuditLogQuery API provides improved scalability and reliability, more granular workload-level permissions, and support for exporting up to 1 million audit records per query. As audit data volumes and automation scenarios have grown, Search-UnifiedAuditLog has reached scalability limitations that can affect reliability and performance for large-volume searches. Future investments and enhancements for audit search will focus on the AuditLogQuery API.

Updated October 12, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Teams is introducing AI generated meeting memory files that capture key insights from meetings (formerly archive files). These files help Microsoft 365 Copilot and Facilitator deliver more accurate context aware responses while maintaining strong privacy controls by not storing raw meeting content. This capability supports enterprise ready AI by improving knowledge grounding while keeping data secure and manageable.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 558933.

Updated October 12, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management is introducing the ability to archive SharePoint files based on retention policies. This feature helps organizations reduce storage costs by moving inactive content to Microsoft 365 Archive while maintaining compliance and discoverability. By excluding archived content from Copilot indexing, organizations can also improve the relevance and quality of Copilot responses, ensuring users focus on current, active data.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 561208.

What and why

We are introducing Full Workload Backup for Microsoft 365 Backup, a new capability that allows admins to quickly protect an entire workload (SharePoint, OneDrive, or Exchange) with a single policy. This feature automatically includes all existing and newly created artifacts that are not already covered by custom policies, helping organizations improve data protection coverage, reduce administrative overhead, and ensure continuous backup for critical business data at scale.

This enhancement supports enterprise-ready data protection and automation, enabling organizations to safeguard content more efficiently while maintaining control through existing policy configurations.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 464990.

Updated October 12, 2026: We have decided not to move forward with this change at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Introduction

To improve reliability, compliance, and collaboration, we’re updating where Microsoft Whiteboard files created from a Teams Channel tab are stored. Previously, these whiteboards were saved in the OneDrive of the user who created them, which could lead to access issues due to sharing settings, Information Barriers, or Conditional Access policies.

With this update, whiteboards created from Teams Channels will be stored in the associated SharePoint site for the channel, aligning Whiteboard with the storage behavior of other Microsoft 365 apps and ensuring consistent access for all channel members.

Updated October 12, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

We are introducing a new capability that allows users to connect Microsoft Teams meetings to existing Microsoft Planner plans.

Currently, Teams meetings automatically create separate Planner plans for meeting-related tasks, which can result in tasks for the same initiative being spread across multiple plans. This update enables users to link meetings to an existing plan so tasks can be tracked in a single location, improving organization and continuity across ongoing work.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 561490.

Updated October 1, 2026: We have updated the content and timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What it is

Microsoft is rolling out a new feature to streamline how app and agent availability and installation is managed across Teams, Outlook, and Microsoft 365 Copilot. Until now, IT admins configured availability and installation settings separately in both the Microsoft 365 Admin Center (MAC) and the Teams Admin Center (TAC), which led to mismatches. With this update, you’ll be able to unify availability and installation policies for apps and agents across both portals, making app management more consistent and efficient.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 393931, 485712 and 503105.

What and why

We have restored the Send Availability feature to the Microsoft Outlook mobile app experience. When composing a reply to an email, users can tap the calendar icon and select Send Availability, which allows them to see their availability and easily list time slots for their recipients. iOS users also have access to this feature through the on-screen keyboard and VoiceOver. This change makes it easier for mobile users to schedule meetings with others.

What and why

Microsoft is rolling out new capabilities in Audio Overview to make it easier to navigate longer content, support enterprise information protection, and create audio overviews from more types of content.

Episodes

For longer and more content-rich notebooks, Audio Overview can organize the discussion into topic-based episodes. This makes it easier for users to navigate the audio and focus on different parts of the content.

Sensitivity labels when saving to OneDrive

Audio Overviews now support Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels when saved to OneDrive. If the source content includes sensitivity labels, the saved Audio Overview inherits the most restrictive label from its sources. Sensitivity labels apply to the saved file in OneDrive. Audio Overviews within the notebook are not yet sensitivity labeled.

What and why

Microsoft is retiring pre-authenticated URLs, also known as tempauth URLs, from SharePoint Online and OneDrive. Beginning April 1, 2027, selected Microsoft Graph file APIs will no longer return URLs that contain embedded authentication information and will no longer issue HTTP 302 redirects to those URLs.

To help organizations prepare, new SharePoint Online tenant controls are coming soon in a future release of Microsoft SharePoint Online PowerShell. These controls will allow administrators to enable updated Microsoft Graph URL behavior for specific applications before the retirement date. This gives organizations time to validate application compatibility, improve security posture, and transition to standard Microsoft Entra ID authentication before the change takes effect.

What and why

We are introducing Custom Fields in Microsoft Planner, enabling users to tailor plans to match the way their teams work. Users can add Text, Number, Date, Yes/No, and Choice fields to capture information that matters to their workflows and manage that information across Board, Grid, and Task details.

What and why

We are retiring Themes by Copilot in Microsoft Outlook. Themes by Copilot currently allows users with a Copilot license to create and apply a Copilot-generated theme in Settings. As part of this change, Themes by Copilot will be removed from Settings, and users will no longer be able to select or return to a Theme by Copilot after changing to a different theme.

• A What's New section will showcase new features in Copilot Service admin center.
• A Did You Know section will highlight timely product updates, announcements, events, and other relevant information.

Updated October 9, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We're improving the PowerPoint Live presenting experience in Microsoft Teams by introducing a new light mode option. With this update, presenters can choose from light, dark, classic, or high contrast modes while presenting. This enhancement provides greater flexibility, accessibility, and personalization, allowing presenters to use the display mode that best matches their preferences and working environment.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 567469.

What and why

We are adding the ability to duplicate an event in Microsoft Outlook. From the event details, users can select Duplicate event to quickly create a new event based on an existing event without re-entering the same details.

What and why

We are updating the contextual menu for slides in Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows to make it more complete and consistent. Common slide actions will be available directly where users are working and organized in a more predictable order, helping users find frequent tasks faster.

As part of this update, due to low usage, the Photo Album... command will be removed from the contextual menu but will remain accessible through the Insert tab in the ribbon. This update will be enabled by default for all users and ships via standard staged rollout. There are no new SKU, licensing, tenant, geography, or admin controls, and files, data, security, and compliance are not affected by this update.

What and why

We are updating the contextual menu for slides in Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac to make it more complete and consistent. Common slide actions will be available directly where users are working and organized in a more predictable order, helping users find frequent tasks faster.

This update introduces several changes:

• Due to low usage, the Zoom... command will be removed from the contextual menus.
• To reduce duplication between contextual menus, the Cut and Copy commands will be removed from the slide contextual menu but remain available on the slide thumbnail contextual menu and the ribbon, and by using the ⌘X and ⌘C key combinations.
• The Layout and Reset Slide commands will be available on both the slide contextual menu and the slide thumbnail contextual menu.
• All other commands are unaffected but may appear in a different position within the contextual menus.

What and why

To align with updated Zendesk security requirements, Microsoft API Hub is changing how OAuth tokens are issued and managed for Zendesk connections. New Zendesk connections and existing connections that are reauthorized after rollout will receive access tokens that expire after 48 hours, refresh tokens that expire after 90 days, and automatic token refresh support.

What and why

Microsoft 365 Copilot in PowerPoint is introducing the built-in Clarify my thinking skill for PowerPoint on desktop. This skill was previously referred to as “GrillMe” and has been renamed to use more customer-friendly wording.

With this skill, users can ask Copilot to answer questions that help sharpen their ideas and improve their presentation before sharing or presenting. This can help users refine messaging, clarify points, and strengthen the overall quality of a presentation.

What and why

Microsoft 365 Copilot in PowerPoint is introducing the built-in Clarify my thinking skill for PowerPoint on web. This skill was previously referred to as “GrillMe” and has been renamed to use more customer-friendly wording.

With this skill, users can ask Copilot to answer questions that help sharpen their ideas and improve their presentation before sharing or presenting. This can help users refine messaging, clarify points, and strengthen the overall quality of a presentation.

What and why

Microsoft 365 Copilot in PowerPoint is introducing the built-in Clarify my thinking skill for PowerPoint on Mac. This skill was previously referred to as “GrillMe” and has been renamed to use more customer-friendly wording.

With this skill, users can ask Copilot to answer questions that help sharpen their ideas and improve their presentation before sharing or presenting. This can help users refine messaging, clarify points, and strengthen the overall quality of a presentation.

What and why

We're improving the PowerPoint Keep Source Formatting paste experience. When users paste slides using Keep Source Formatting, PowerPoint will now import only the slide masters and layouts required for the pasted slides instead of importing all slide masters and layouts from the source presentation.

This change helps reduce presentation file size, improve performance when opening large presentations, and enhance collaboration experiences such as co-authoring by minimizing unnecessary design content in presentations. Users who prefer the previous behavior can continue using it through a setting that allows them to choose their preferred slide paste experience.

What and why

We're improving the PowerPoint Keep Source Formatting paste experience. When users paste slides using Keep Source Formatting, PowerPoint will now import only the slide masters and layouts required for the pasted slides instead of importing all slide masters and layouts from the source presentation.

This change helps reduce presentation file size, improve performance when opening large presentations, and enhance collaboration experiences such as co-authoring by minimizing unnecessary design content in presentations. Users who prefer the previous behavior can continue using it through a setting that allows them to choose their preferred slide paste experience.

Updated October 8, 2026: We have updated the content. thank you for your patience.

What and why

As communicated in MC1454108, beginning in early September, 2026, Microsoft will start redirecting users from m365.cloud.microsoft to copilot.cloud.microsoft in organizations where access to copilot.cloud.microsoft is available. Organizations who may have blocked connection to copilot.cloud.microsoft will be redirected in October.

Backend services and Copilot in Edge will require connection to *.cloud.microsoft. To avoid disruption to Copilot access across the web app, desktop app, and Edge experience, review your organization's network and security controls to confirm that users can connect to *.cloud.microsoft.

Updated October 8, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Entra ID will support passkey registration and sign-in for B2B users, including internal guest users and external users. Eligible B2B users will be able to register and use passkeys issued by the resource tenant to satisfy that tenant's multifactor authentication (MFA) requirements.

Passkeys are already supported for member users in their home tenant. Until now, B2B users could not use a resource tenant passkey when that tenant required MFA and did not trust the home tenant's MFA. This update closes that gap and gives guest and external users a phishing-resistant way to satisfy MFA requirements in the resource tenant.

Updated October 8, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Users will soon be able to register a passkey as their first multifactor authentication method. Previously, people had to set up an alternate MFA method like SMS or Voice before they could add a passkey (FIDO2), Windows Hello for Business, macOS Platform SSO. That extra step pushed users toward weaker methods and slowed the move to phishing-resistant sign-in. Now password-only users can go straight to a passkey, making it easier to adopt strong authentication from day one. As part of this work, we will also be enabling Authenticator App passwordless sign-in to be a user's first registered MFA method.

What and why

To help improve meeting experiences and provide organizations with insights into call quality, Microsoft Teams is introducing call quality feedback (CQF) surveys for Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android. These surveys allow users to rate the quality of calls and meetings and provide feedback about audio, video, and screen-sharing experiences. Customer feedback collected through these surveys helps Microsoft improve Teams meeting quality and reliability across devices and services.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 543713.

What and why

Microsoft Edge is retiring its legacy direct-WAM sign-in implementation on Windows starting with Microsoft Edge version 157, completing the consolidation onto the OneAuth authentication library.

This change standardizes authentication flows across Microsoft 365 client applications, simplifies platform supportability, eliminates dual-stack authentication code paths, and provides improved diagnostic and recovery mechanisms. Windows Web Account Manager (WAM) itself is not being deprecated; OneAuth continues to use Windows WAM.

What and why

Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is expanding vulnerability coverage to selected Node.js, Python, and Java packages on supported Microsoft Defender for Endpoint-managed Windows devices. During this private preview, participating customers can identify supported vulnerable packages, affected devices, and detected versions through existing vulnerability investigation and recommendation workflows. Package data may also become available through supported API, export, and Advanced Hunting experiences as those preview paths are enabled. The expanded coverage can increase the number of records returned through assessment APIs and complete-file exports. For JSON assessment exports, customers can use supported server-side filters to limit the returned population. Complete-file exports include the full enabled population, so customers can filter the downloaded files by ProductCategory or use the Microsoft-provided legacy component support list to preserve their previous processing scope where needed. This preview provides curated coverage rather than a complete package inventory. Coverage varies by package, platform, collector, and product experience. It does not provide SBOM, dependency graphs, reachability analysis, package ownership, or complete ecosystem coverage. Participants will receive enablement guidance, known limitations, test scenarios, and a dedicated feedback channel.

What and why

We’re expanding analytics in the Microsoft Teams Pro Management portal to include utilization insights for bookable desks. IT admins will be able to better understand how desk spaces are being used across their organization, with insights into desk utilization, reservations, occupancy, and peak usage patterns. Desk-specific filters, including location and desk mode, will help admins analyze usage across their workplace and make more informed space planning decisions.

For utilization analytics to be enabled, a desk needs to have one or more peripheral device associated, and the desk needs to be licensed with Microsoft Teams Shared Space license or Microsoft Teams Shared Space - Single Space license.

What and why

We're extending Microsoft Teams URL protection in Microsoft Defender for Office 365 to detect and respond to malicious URLs embedded in QR codes. As attackers increasingly use QR codes to conceal malicious destinations, this update helps protect users by analyzing URLs extracted from QR codes after message delivery and applying post-delivery protections when malicious content is identified.

For organizations using Microsoft Defender for Office 365, this enhancement builds on existing Teams URL protection capabilities and improves visibility for security operations teams investigating QR-code-based threats. Security teams will also be able to identify QR code URL detections in Advanced Hunting through the MessageUrlInfo table.

What and why

Microsoft is introducing a Record a Skill capability in Copilot for PowerPoint. This capability helps users create reusable skills by recording actions in PowerPoint, so they can more easily repeat common PowerPoint tasks with Copilot.

Instead of manually recreating the same steps each time, users can record a workflow and use it as a repeatable skill. This can help users save time, improve consistency, and make Copilot in PowerPoint more useful for recurring presentation tasks.

What and why

Targeted release for Microsoft 365 services will be retiring in January 2027 as Microsoft 365 transitions to three release options: Frontier, Standard release, and Deferred release.

To prepare for this change, review users currently enrolled in Targeted release and configure the release preference that best meets your organization's needs.

Choose your preferred release preference in the Microsoft 365 admin center:

• Preview access
  • Frontier: Opt in to preview eligible AI and non-AI features before general availability.
• General availability access
  • Standard release: Receive updates at general availability.
  • Deferred release: Receive eligible major updates approximately 30 days after Standard release begins, allowing additional time for validation and readiness activities.

Updated October 7, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We're introducing support for Microsoft Purview sensitivity label inheritance from attachments in Outlook for iOS and Android. When users attach files that have Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels applied, Outlook can automatically apply or recommend an email sensitivity label based on your organization's configured labeling policies.

This enhancement helps organizations maintain consistent data classification and protection, reduces manual labeling effort for users, and supports compliance objectives across Outlook clients.

Updated October 7, 2026: We have updated the content and timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We’re introducing the Copilot skill "Create interactive slide" in PowerPoint for Windows, Mac and web. This capability helps users create interactive, full-slide visuals that explain complex concepts, timelines, comparisons, systems, and data.

• Users can start creating interactive slides from the PowerPoint ribbon, on the Home and Insert tabs with the "Interactive Slide" button, and in Copilot chat in PowerPoint with the "Create Interactive Slide" skill.
• Attendees will be able to interact with slides created by the skill when viewing the slide in PowerPoint Live for Microsoft Teams.

By making sophisticated visual communication easier to create directly in PowerPoint, this experience can help users communicate ideas more clearly and create engaging presentations with less manual effort.

Updated October 7, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We're introducing the third-generation Microsoft 365 sharing experience to make collaboration simpler, smarter, and more secure by default. At the center of this update is a new hero link—a single sharing link that controls access to a file or folder.

Users will see one consistent sharing experience whether they copy a link, share through email, or use the browser URL. The hero link consolidates sharing controls into a single link that can be updated after it has been shared, reducing the need to create and resend new links when access requirements change.

Updated October 7, 2026: We have decided not to move forward with this change at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience.

What and why

To help people discover and understand organizational information more easily, Microsoft is changing the default visibility of 11 existing profile card properties in Microsoft 365 profile cards. Today, these properties can be populated from Microsoft Entra ID and other supported external data sources such as People Graph Connectors and Microsoft 365 Organizational Data, but they are disabled by default and require administrators to manually enable them. You can find more on the existing profile card property management here.

With this update, these properties will be displayed by default when populated with data. This helps organizations surface relevant employee information more consistently while reducing administrative effort for commonly used profile attributes. Organizations retain administrative controls to manage visibility according to their business, privacy, and compliance requirements.

Updated October 7, 2026: We have updated the timeline and content. GA release will now be tracked separately in an upcoming MC post. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft is expanding the availability of Copilot for Legal in Microsoft 365 Copilot in Word to Frontier users worldwide in Public Preview.

Copilot for Legal was previously released in Frontier preview for users located in the United States only. This update expands access globally, enabling more organizations to benefit from this capability.

Copilot for Legal is a vertical-specific Microsoft 365 Copilot experience designed for legal professionals, built directly into Word. It helps legal teams review and negotiate contracts by identifying risks, comparing clauses to internal playbooks, and proposing edits using Word’s native tracked changes.

Updated October 7, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

As part of our ongoing mission to deliver a modern, secure, and scalable one-stop management portal for admins, we are transitioning Teams Android device management from the Teams admin center (TAC) to the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal (PMP).

This move consolidates management of all Teams devices, including Teams Rooms on Windows, Teams Rooms on Android, Teams phones, and Teams panels, into a single unified portal, providing IT admins a consistent and seamless experience for managing devices at scale.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 555235.

What and why

Beginning in early November 2026, Microsoft Purview will roll out improvements to the setup and activation experience for inline collection and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies that protect interactions with unmanaged cloud apps in Microsoft Edge for Business.

This update adds support for organizations that use Microsoft Intune multi-admin approval and provides clearer status information, more detailed error reporting, and remediation guidance in the Microsoft Purview portal. These enhancements help administrators activate protection more efficiently while preserving existing Intune approval controls.

What and why

We are expanding report publishing capabilities in Microsoft Viva Insights to include leaders, such as chief officers, managers, and their delegates. As part of this update, in Viva Feature Access Management, the Analyst report publish setting will be renamed to Report publish. This setting, which is on by default, will continue to be managed by Global Admins and Insights Admins, and will govern publishing for both analysts and leaders. This update enables leaders to directly publish and distribute curated Power BI reports available in Viva Insights without requiring an analyst to publish on their behalf.

What and why

We're introducing activity logs in Microsoft 365 Backup to help administrators monitor backup policy and restore activities directly within the product. Activity logs provide greater visibility into configuration changes, restore progress, failures, and operational status without requiring administrators to leave the Microsoft 365 Backup experience.

What and why

To help organizations create and manage Brand Kits more efficiently, Microsoft is introducing the ability for Brand Managers and Brand Kit owners to duplicate an existing Brand Kit and use it as the starting point for a new one. This capability makes it easier to reuse an existing brand setup when creating Brand Kits for different brands, regions, or template variations, reducing the need to recreate settings from scratch.

What and why

To help organizations keep Brand Kit access current as collaboration needs change, Microsoft is introducing improved sharing controls for Brand Kits. After sharing a Brand Kit, owners can change a user's access level between view and edit or remove access when it is no longer needed.

We've released updates to the following update channel for Microsoft 365 Apps:

• Current Channel

• Set a task-level calendar on the Customizable task details pane.
• Manage task-level calendars.
• Schedule API support.

Updated October 6, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Outlook for Mac will support Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention \(DLP\) policies for calendar events. Organizations can detect and help prevent the sharing of sensitive information in meeting subjects, descriptions, and invite content through policy tips, user remediation, and policy enforcement. This provides consistent compliance protection across email and calendar experiences on Mac devices.

Updated October 6, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Outlook for iOS and Android will support Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention \(DLP\) policies for calendar events. Organizations can detect and help prevent the sharing of sensitive information in meeting subjects, descriptions, and invite content through policy tips, user remediation, and policy enforcement. This provides consistent compliance protection across email and calendar experiences on mobile devices.

Updated October 6, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Outlook for Mac will support Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention \(DLP\) wait\-on\-send policies. Organizations can require a DLP evaluation before an email is sent and configure how long users must wait for policy evaluation to complete. This helps ensure sensitive information is inspected against organizational policies before messages leave the organization while providing administrators with flexible control over the user experience.

Updated October 6, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Outlook for iOS and Android will support Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention \(DLP\) wait\-on\-send policies. Organizations can require a DLP evaluation before an email is sent and configure how long users must wait for policy evaluation to complete. This helps ensure sensitive information is inspected against organizational policies before messages leave the organization while providing administrators with flexible control over the user experience.

Updated October 6, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We're introducing support in Outlook for Mac that can automatically apply or recommend Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels based on the sensitivity labels assigned to attached files.

This enhancement helps organizations apply more consistent information protection by aligning email sensitivity labels with the classification of attached content. By reducing the need for manual labeling, organizations can help lower the risk of misclassified communications and support compliance and data protection objectives.

Updated September 21, 2026: We have clarified the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We are updating how users access document summarization in Microsoft Word. Beginning in September 2026, the current Top of Doc summarization experience will transition to other Copilot in Word surfaces.

This change creates a more unified Copilot experience in Word while preserving users’ ability to quickly understand document content. The document summarization capability is not being removed and will continue to be available through Copilot in Word.

Updated October 6, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We're introducing targeted audience surveys in the Copilot dashboard. This feature enables authorized users to launch Microsoft Viva Pulse surveys for predefined Copilot user populations without creating or maintaining recipient lists.

Survey audiences are dynamically based on Copilot dashboard data and can be scoped using existing dashboard filters. This helps organizations gather feedback from Copilot users while reducing administrative effort associated with audience management.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 568072.

Updated October 6, 2026: We have decided not to move forward with this change at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience.

What and why

We are improving transparency in Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) for managed apps in Microsoft Edge for Business.

The protection that blocks browser developer tools (debug tools) is always enforced by default for managed app scenarios. With this update, administrators will now see this protection explicitly displayed within applicable DLP rules in addition to it being applied behind the scenes.

This change improves visibility and helps admins better understand how managed app protections are configured without changing existing enforcement behavior. It makes protection settings easier to review and validate.

Updated October 6, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Teams is introducing additional protection for QR codes shared by external users in Teams messages. To help reduce the risk of phishing and fraud, images containing QR codes from external senders will be obscured by default. Users can choose to reveal the image before viewing or scanning the QR code.

This security enhancement promotes safer interactions with content received from external users while maintaining flexibility for trusted communications.

Updated October 6, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We are introducing a new Call Monitor experience in Microsoft Teams for Web that helps users stay connected to meetings while working in other browser tabs. When users move away from an active meeting tab, Teams can display key meeting controls in a separate Picture-in-Picture (PiP) window, making it easier to manage calls and meetings without returning to the meeting tab.

This enhancement improves multitasking during meetings and helps users remain engaged while working elsewhere in their browser.

What and why

We're introducing breakout room support for Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android. This update allows Teams Rooms on Android devices to be assigned to breakout rooms and moved between breakout rooms and the main meeting room by meeting organizers.

This feature improves coordination during breakout sessions and brings Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android closer to feature parity with Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows. This enhancement is based on customer feedback and helps organizations deliver a more consistent meeting experience across Teams Rooms devices.

What and why

Microsoft is updating how private tasks are stored in Microsoft Planner. Beginning in November 2026, private tasks created in Planner and Planner-powered experiences will be stored in a user's own private Planner plan instead of the Microsoft To Do task store.

This enables richer Planner capabilities, such as labels and task history, while maintaining the same private experience. Private tasks remain visible only to the task owner and cannot be shared or assigned to others. This change aligns private task management with the Planner platform while preserving enterprise compliance and security protections.

What and why

Microsoft is introducing a redesigned My Tasks experience in Planner to help users more easily identify, prioritize, and manage their work. The updated experience provides clearer navigation, improved task organization, and streamlined task creation workflows, enabling users to create and manage tasks more efficiently without leaving their current context. This supports improved personal productivity by helping users focus on the work that requires their attention and reducing friction in everyday task management.

What and why

Android Agent Mode brings Copilot Agent Mode to Word on Android, enabling mobile users to work with Copilot in a more agentic, task-oriented experience from their Android devices. Users can ask Copilot to help draft, reason over, and refine Word content while staying productive on mobile.

What and why

To enhance security in Outlook on the web and new Outlook for Windows, we are updating the default list of blocked file types in OwaMailboxPolicy. As part of this update, the .msix and .msixbundle file types will be added to the BlockedFileTypes list in the default OWA Mailbox policy and any custom policies created in your tenant. Most organizations are not expected to be affected by this update because these file types are infrequently used. This update is part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen security and help protect organizations from potentially unsafe file attachments.

What and why

As previously announced in MC1448379 (August 5, 2026), the public preview of the MemberOf rule operator in Microsoft Entra ID is ending. Organizations using MemberOf in dynamic membership groups, dynamic administrative units (AUs), or entitlement management auto-assignment policies must replace these configurations by November 3, 2026.

Microsoft continues to improve the scale and reliability of dynamic membership processing. During the preview, Microsoft observed that use of MemberOf can affect dynamic membership processing across a tenant, even when only a single MemberOf rule is present. Because of this limitation, the preview functionality is being retired and is not recommended for production use.

Updated October 5, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We are improving the OneDrive sync experience on Windows desktop to provide clearer, more actionable guidance when file and folder paths exceed the supported 520-character limit. The updated experience will show exactly how many characters a path exceeds the limit and will provide a guided flow to rename or move affected items so they can sync successfully.

This improvement addresses a common OneDrive sync issue by reducing user confusion, minimizing workflow disruption, and helping users resolve errors faster.

This update is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 557563.

Updated October 5, 2026: We are updating this post as a notification that this is now available. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

New Outlook for Windows will be available for U.S. Government clouds (GCC High and DoD sovereign environments). This milestone helps organizations move forward with adoption planning while maintaining administrative control.

Updated October 5, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We're introducing a modernized Gallery view experience for Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android. This update aligns the experience more closely with Teams Rooms on Windows by improving participant visibility, creating more consistent layouts, and providing additional meeting display controls for users and administrators.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 567468.

Updated October 5, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We are bringing desktop-style emoji shortcuts to Microsoft Teams on iOS and Android. Users can insert emojis directly in the compose box by typing a keyword between colons (for example, :smile: → 😊).

This update improves consistency across platforms and enhances user productivity by making emoji input faster and more intuitive on mobile devices.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 565370.

Updated October 5, 2026: We have decided not to move forward with this change at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Introduction

We are expanding the Data Security Posture Agent in Microsoft Purview with a new credential scanning capability. This update helps your organization discover exposed credentials and related data security risks across scoped locations. The agent analyzes selected data locations to detect sensitive credential types—including Microsoft Entra user credentials, private keys, and API tokens—and provides risk scores, AI-generated insights, confidence ratings, and credential categories so you can review, confirm, and take action from a single task board view.

Updated October 5, 2026: Gov rollout of this feature is paused at this time. We will communicate via Message center when we are ready to proceed. We apologize for any inconvenience.

What and why

Exchange Web Services (EWS) deprecation begins October 1, 2026. Cross-tenant collaboration features — Free/Busy, MailTips, and Calendar Sharing — currently rely on EWS.

Cross-tenant Free/Busy, MailTips will be available by September 2026 and Calendar Sharing will be available by mid-October 2026 via Microsoft 365 Cross-Tenant Access Policy, which replaces EWS-based cross-tenant collaboration.

What and why

We are introducing Smart Table of Contents (Smart TOC) in the Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint PDF viewer on the web for users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. When a PDF does not already contain a table of contents, users can ask Copilot to generate a hierarchical, clickable structure that makes it easier to navigate long documents and move between sections. This feature is available only on the web in the initial release and is generated only when a user explicitly requests it.

HTML (Needs a final link inserted before shipping):

We are introducing bulk generation of prompt column values for existing Dataverse records. Now, you can have AI-generated values across existing data without requiring record updates to trigger execution. This feature will reach general availability on November 16, 2026.<br><br><b>How does this affect me?</b><br>When selected, this capability will run asynchronously as a background job and will consume Copilot or AIB credits. Users can monitor and manage the job and view its credit usage in System Jobs.<br><br>Two environment settings in will control this feature:<ul><li><b>Allow bulk processing of existing records</b> will be off by default. It must be enabled to run a bulk job.<li><b>Require review before processing imported prompt columns</b> will be on by default. When enabled, an imported job will be paused for review in System Jobs and can be manually started after review. Turn this setting off if jobs should start automatically after import.</ul><b>What action do I need to take?</b><br>To use this, go to Power Platform admin center to enable <b>Allow bulk processing of existing records</b> and ensure sufficient <a href="https://aka.ms/feature/21883/1" target="_blank">Copilot</a> or <a href="https://aka.ms/feature/21883/2" target="_blank">AIB</a> credit capacity is available in your environment. Review the <b>Require review before processing imported prompt columns</b> setting to determine whether imported jobs should require review before starting, and make sure to start them promptly after import, if you choose to keep the setting enabled.<br><br> For more information about this capability, please visit <a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/power-apps/maker/data-platform/prompt-column" target="_blank">Prompt columns</a>. For information about licensing and credits, please visit <a href="https://aka.ms/feature/21883/1" target="_blank">licensing and copilot credits</a> or <a href="https://aka.ms/feature/21883/2" target="_blank">licensing and AIB credits</a>.

What and why

Microsoft Purview is introducing a unified Classification Management experience that brings classifier management into one consistent experience, helping admins discover and manage their organization's classifiers.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 570844

Updated October 9, 2026: We have decided not to move forward with this change at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience.

What and why

We are extending existing Microsoft Entra Administrative Units (AUs) support in Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) to DLP policies that apply to Microsoft Copilot and Copilot Chat. This enhancement allows organizations that use Administrative Units to delegate management of supported Copilot DLP policies while maintaining regional, departmental, or regulatory boundaries.

This update builds on existing Microsoft Purview role-based access control (RBAC) and Administrative Unit capabilities and does not introduce a new administrative model.

What and why

We are introducing Excel canvas, a new Copilot capability for Microsoft Excel. Excel canvas transforms workbook data into a polished report containing visualizations, metrics, and insights. Reports automatically refresh as the underlying workbook data changes, reflecting the latest information. Users can further refine and customize reports by interacting with Copilot using natural language.

• Deny Recording Download
• Deny Transcription Download

Updated October 2, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

We’re introducing the Agent Dashboard, a new dashboard available as part of Copilot Analytics in Microsoft Viva. This dashboard provides visibility into key agent adoption trends and associated Copilot credit usage. It supports insights into agents used within Microsoft 365 Copilot, which may be:

• Built using Microsoft Copilot Studio, SharePoint, or the Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit
• Built by employees, your organization, Microsoft, or Microsoft partners

This release also enhances the Adoption tab of the Copilot Dashboard, allowing users to view agent insights directly and access the Agent Dashboard for deeper analysis.

Updated October 2, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

As part of the ongoing transition of Teams device management from the Microsoft Teams admin center (TAC) to the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal (PMP), we are retiring device health monitoring capabilities in TAC — specifically the Device state rule (Teams admin center > Notifications & alerts > Rules) and the device health alerts it generates.

Going forward, device health monitoring for all Teams devices (MTR-A, Phones, Panels etc.) is delivered through the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal, which provides device health signals, monitoring, and incident management in a single unified portal. This is a continuation of the change previously communicated in MC1227622, where Android device management capabilities including inventory, updates, health monitoring, and settings transitioned from TAC to PMP.

Updated October 2, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

We are enhancing how Microsoft Defender for Office 365 identifies and manages promotional email. Promotional messages will be tagged as “promotions” (previously “Bulk” in preview) and can be moved automatically to a new Promotions folder. The system learns from user actions, such as moving messages into or out of the Promotions folder and applies those preferences to future messages. These improvements reduce inbox clutter and help users stay focused while still receiving promotional content they want.

Updated October 5, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We are updating the classic ribbon customization experience in New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the Web. Users can now customize the classic ribbon by right-clicking the ribbon on the Home or View tab and selecting the Customize button. Users can then choose which commands and groups appear on the Home and View tabs and arrange them in their preferred order.

What and why

As previously communicated in MC1466860 and MC1447678, Microsoft is continuing the retirement of Exchange Web Services (EWS) in Exchange Online.

Beginning October 10, 2026, setting EWSEnabled=True will no longer be sufficient to allow EWS access for affected Worldwide tenants. Organizations that require EWS must configure EWSAllowedAppIDs to specify which applications are permitted to access EWS.

This change is part of the final phase of EWS retirement and is intended to help organizations identify EWS dependencies, reduce service disruption, and support migration planning.

What and why

Call history in the Teams Calls app is being upgraded to make it easier to find and act on past call activity. Missed calls and associated voicemails will be consolidated into a single call history entry, reducing clutter and simplifying follow-up.

Call history will also expand from 100 records to up to 3,000 records or 6 months of history, whichever limit is reached first, giving users more context when they need it.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 570843.

What and why

We are introducing a self-service onboarding experience for new applications submitted to the Microsoft Entra App Gallery. This experience helps independent software vendors (ISVs) validate supported single sign-on (SSO) and user provisioning integrations before submission, identify and resolve common configuration issues earlier in the process, and track submission status through a guided workflow in the Microsoft Entra admin center. By enabling publishers to validate integrations and manage submissions directly, this experience streamlines the publishing process.

• Tab-based navigation: Organize related analyses into separate tabs within a single workspace, maintaining context while exploring different perspectives or process segments.
• Flexible layouts: Arrange tiles in customizable grid layouts, allowing you to position process maps, charts, tables, and metrics exactly where you need them for optimal visibility and comparison.
• Powerful tiles: Choose from a comprehensive library of visualization and analysis components—process map, performance metrics, attribute breakdowns, case lists, and statistical views.
• Unified filtering: Apply filters once and have them cascade across all tiles in your workspace, ensuring consistency and enabling rapid scenario comparison without manual reconfiguration.
• Object-centric support: Extends full functionality to OCPM models, enabling multi-dimensional analysis of interconnected objects, relationships, and cross-object metrics within the same intuitive interface.

Updated October 1, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

We’re introducing a simpler way to view conversations in Viva Engage communities, organized by recent posts rather than recent activity. This new view is designed to make it easier for users to follow discussions and will be available as an option, alongside the current system, for those who prefer sorting by recent activity and filtering to new conversations only.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 513275.

Updated October 1, 2026: Phase 1, which enables Entra B2B for new external sharing, is now fully rolled out for Production environments. To ensure a smooth transition, Phase 2, the retirement of SharePoint Online OTP, has been rescheduled to begin in mid-October 2026 and is expected to complete by end of November 2026 for Production environments.

Both Phase 1 and Phase 2 roll outs exclude GCC, GCCH & DoD. New dates for these environments will be communicated via Message center when we are ready to proceed. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

We are retiring SharePoint One‑Time Passcode (SPO OTP) authentication in OneDrive and SharePoint starting mid-October 2026. Beginning in May 2026, new external sharing invitations and authentication will start using Microsoft Entra B2B instead of SPO OTP. This transition simplifies external collaboration, aligns authentication with Microsoft identity standards, and enables consistent guest lifecycle management, governance, and Conditional Access coverage across Microsoft 365.

Updated October 1, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

We are introducing a new priority cleanup workflow in Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management that allows administrators to permanently delete (hard delete) specific OneDrive and SharePoint content types, even when retention policies or holds are in place. This capability helps reduce data exposure risk from rapidly growing Copilot-related content while maintaining compliance through required eDiscovery admin review and approval.

This change is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 558343.

Updated October 6, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Teams is introducing a redesigned call history experience for Teams Phone users who have multi-line calling enabled. Call activity, including call history, voicemails, and recordings, will be organized by phone line in dedicated tabs within the Calls app.

This change simplifies navigation for users who manage multiple phone lines.

What and why

Microsoft Teams Panels will introduce a new administrator setting that allows administrators to choose whether organizer names are shown in Calendar View on Teams Panels.

Admins can toggle the Show organizer name setting ON or OFF in the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal or on the panel device. When organizer names are hidden, the organizer name is not shown in Calendar View on the panel device.

This feature is available with Teams Rooms Pro and Teams Shared Spaces licenses.

Updated October 9, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is introducing new email submissions data in Advanced Hunting in Microsoft Defender. The new submissions tables provide security operations teams with greater visibility into email submission activity and results, enabling analysts to query submission activity alongside other Defender data and build hunting and detection workflows tailored to their organization.

What and why

As part of our ongoing efforts to simplify the Copilot experience for customers, we are beginning to roll out updates to Copilot in Microsoft Edge in the coming weeks. As part of this update, we will adopt an updated icon across all Copilot entry points within Edge and the Copilot sidepane will adopt a simplified UX. Also, included is upgraded functionality and features, like Copilot Voice and Vision. Security, compliance, privacy, and enterprise controls remain unchanged.

What and why

Microsoft introduced security enhancements to Exchange Online PowerShell authentication in ExchangeOnlineManagement module version 3.10.1. These enhancements strengthen the authentication flow and provide protection against emerging threats. Customers using a version earlier than 3.10.1 should upgrade to version 3.10.1 or later. Customers already using version 3.10.1 or later do not need to take additional action beyond keeping the module up to date.

What and why

We have temporarily removed the Brand pane from Microsoft PowerPoint while we make additional improvements to the experience.

The Brand pane was introduced to provide users with a dedicated place in PowerPoint to discover and use assets from available Brand Kits, including brand colors, logos, images, icons, and fonts. Based on customer feedback, we are refining the experience before making it broadly available. This work will help ensure the feature better meets customer expectations when it returns in a future release.

What and why

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is retiring File policies on January 6, 2027. As part of this retirement, Microsoft is beginning to phase out File policy management capabilities.

Starting October 9, 2026, disabled File policies can no longer be re-enabled in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps. Once a File policy is disabled after this date, it will remain disabled. Existing enabled File policies will continue to be supported and enforced until January 6, 2027.

Microsoft recommends migrating File policies that you want to retain to Microsoft Purview. Equivalent capabilities for SharePoint and OneDrive are available in Microsoft Purview, with support for additional non-Microsoft SaaS applications continuing to expand.

What and why

To give users more choice and flexibility when working with AI in Microsoft Copilot, we're expanding the set of AI models available in Microsoft Copilot.

Starting today, GPT-6.1 Sol and Claude Sonnet 5.5 begin rolling out with usage-based billing in Cowork and Microsoft Copilot Studio.

GPT-6.1 Sol and Claude Sonnet 5.5 will also begin rolling out in phases across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Chat in the coming week as part of the Microsoft 365 Copilot user subscription license (USL). Limits apply to these models, but they are designed to support broad day-to-day AI usage across organizations and are implemented in such a way that the vast majority of users are not expected to reach them. Users approaching a limit will receive in-product notifications and can continue their work by switching to Auto mode or selecting another available model.

We've released updates to the following update channel for Microsoft 365 Apps:

• Current Channel

Updated September 30, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We are introducing multimodal capture in Copilot Notebooks on Windows. This feature enables users to capture audio, images, and notes in a single experience and use Microsoft 365 Copilot to generate structured insights such as summaries, decisions, and action items. This helps users turn meetings, conversations, and offline work into actionable outputs within Copilot Notebooks.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 566322.

Updated September 30, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

Microsoft is introducing a new Copilot chat pane in OneNote Mobile (Android) for users licensed with Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium). This update adds a new Summary feature that allows users to generate concise summaries of longer OneNote pages, as well as ask questions about their notes, directly within the OneNote mobile app. This helps users review and interact with note content more efficiently while on the go.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 422323.

Updated September 30, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

Microsoft is introducing a new Copilot chat pane in OneNote Mobile (iPhone) for users licensed with Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium). This update adds a new Summary feature that allows users to generate concise summaries of longer OneNote pages, as well as ask questions about their notes, directly within the OneNote mobile app. This helps users review and interact with note content more efficiently while on the go.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 422324.

Updated September 30, 2026: We have updated the content timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

Viva Engage will stop sending email notifications to users who do not have a valid mailbox or routable email destination. Previously, email notifications could still be attempted for these users, resulting in repeated delivery retries, increased load on email systems, and, in some cases, delays to important business communications.

This change reduces unnecessary email traffic, improves delivery efficiency, and helps ensure important communications are delivered reliably and on time.

Users with supported mailbox configurations, including cloud mailboxes, on-premises mailboxes, shared mailboxes, and other routable email destinations, will continue to receive Viva Engage email notifications as expected.

What and why

Microsoft will retire the SharePoint Page Agent (Frontier) for SharePoint Online. This early access experience enabled users to turn content from Microsoft 365 Copilot conversations into draft SharePoint pages and news posts.

As Microsoft continues to invest in AI-powered content creation experiences, page and news authoring capabilities are now available directly within SharePoint through Copilot in SharePoint. Users can create and refine content directly within the SharePoint authoring experience.

Updated September 29, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Purview is expanding Data Loss Prevention (DLP) and Information Protection auto-labeling support for non-Microsoft applications. Administrators will be able to create and manage DLP and auto-labeling policies directly in Microsoft Purview for supported non-Microsoft applications.

These capabilities use Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps connectors to connect supported non-Microsoft applications to Microsoft Purview.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 568075.

What and why

Microsoft Teams will introduce a new capability that allows users to temporarily pause notifications for a selected period of time. This feature gives users greater control over interruptions, helps reduce notification overload, and enables focused work, meetings, and other activities without requiring changes to existing notification settings.

Updated September 29, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management is introducing a policy recommendation panel to help administrators identify gaps in insider risk coverage and strengthen protections. While policies provide protection against insider risks, organizations may not always have visibility into missing or high-value configurations. This enhancement provides guidance on which policies are missing or offer the most incremental value, using analytics to generate actionable recommendations that improve coverage across scenarios such as data leakage, data theft, risky AI usage, IP theft, and security violations.

Updated September 29, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Teams is introducing personal message reminders for chat and channel messages to help users track follow-ups and stay organized. Users can turn messages into actionable reminders, improving productivity and ensuring important conversations are not missed.

Updated September 29, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Continuing our efforts to streamline the user experience in the Copilot app as shared in MC1325422, we are introducing updates to the Copilot experiences in Microsoft Teams that deliver a similar, chat-centered experience. These updates simplify navigation, improve the chat experience, and provide new ways for users to organize work—helping them stay focused, maintain context, and move work forward efficiently. The refreshed design will be available in both the full-page Copilot experience in Teams and the Copilot side pane experience throughout Teams. The full-screen Copilot experience will closely mirror the recent updates in the Copilot app, while the side pane experience will receive a refreshed design optimized for contextual Copilot interactions within Teams.

Updated September 29, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Continuing our efforts to streamline the user experience in the Copilot app as shared in MC1325422, we are introducing updates to the Copilot experiences in Microsoft Outlook that deliver a similar, chat-centered experience. These updates simplify navigation, improve the chat experience, and provide new ways for users to organize work—helping them stay focused, maintain context, and move work forward efficiently. The refreshed design will be available in both the full-page Copilot experience in Outlook and the Copilot side pane experience throughout Outlook. The full-screen Copilot experience will closely mirror the recent updates in the Copilot app, while the side pane experience will receive a refreshed design optimized for contextual Copilot interactions within Outlook.

Updated September 29, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

To support deeper analysis of Copilot agent adoption and usage across your organization, Microsoft will introduce a new export capability in the Agent Dashboard. This feature will allow eligible users to download de‑identified Copilot agent usage data for analysis, helping organizations track adoption trends, optimize licensing, and support AI transformation strategies, while maintaining existing privacy and access controls. User identifiers are removed from the output.

This feature will require at least 50 Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses and will apply to the Viva Insights web app.

This message is related to Roadmap ID 560538.

Updated September 29, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

To strengthen protection against abuse and ensure fair use of Exchange Online resources, we are updating how the Tenant External Recipient Rate Limit (TERRL) quota is calculated for certain tenants.

These changes improve how quotas account for tenant age (how long the tenant has existed since creation), trial subscriptions, and educational organizations using free Education (EDU) licenses.

What and why

We are introducing detection source selection for alert tuning rules in Microsoft Defender XDR. This update enables alert tuning rules to be scoped to specific detection sources, providing more granular control over how alert tuning rules are applied.

As part of this update, alert tuning rules will apply to the detection sources selected for each rule. Existing rules that are not updated will apply to all detection sources under their selected service sources, including custom detections.

What and why

We are retiring Data Risk Graph in Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management (IRM).

Data Risk Graph provides a visual investigation experience that helps investigators review connections among impacted data, users, and alert-related activities. As part of ongoing investments in Insider Risk Management investigation experiences, we are retiring this capability and directing customers to alternative investigation tools that provide detailed activity timelines and investigative context.

After retirement, investigators can continue reviewing potentially risky activity by using Activity explorer, Content explorer, and User activity experiences within Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management.

What and why

Organizations often use third-party applications such as ServiceNow, Workday, Jira, and others, but the corresponding Microsoft Teams apps and agents may not be enabled for users. As a result, users may switch between Teams and other applications even when an integrated Teams experience is available.

With this feature, admins can discover Teams apps and agents that correspond to applications already being used in their organization. Recommendations are prioritized using usage signals, helping admins identify opportunities to make those Teams experiences available to users already using the application, specific users and groups, or the entire organization. This helps bring existing business applications into the flow of work in Teams, reducing context switching and helping organizations realize more value from their software investments.

What and why

Beginning November 30, 2026, Microsoft will start retiring the Microsoft Purview Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) classic and DSPM for AI classic experiences. Retirement will be completed by December 31, 2026.

As part of our continued investment in Microsoft Purview Data Security Posture Management, we have unified DSPM capabilities into a single experience that helps organizations discover, protect, and investigate data risks across traditional data sources and AI applications and agents.

What and why

Microsoft Purview is updating how legacy Microsoft Teams retention policies are applied. Some existing retention policies that are scoped to Teams currently also apply to Microsoft 365 Copilot interactions. Beginning with this rollout, these legacy policies will be treated as Teams-only policies and will no longer implicitly apply to Copilot workloads.

What and why

As part of Microsoft's Secure Future Initiative, we are strengthening the security of the Microsoft Entra ID sign-in experience by introducing additional Content Security Policy (CSP) protections. This change helps protect users from threats such as cross-site scripting (XSS) by allowing only trusted Microsoft-hosted scripts to run during authentication and blocking unauthorized or externally injected code.

This post is a reminder of our previous announcement (MC1191924), which communicated this upcoming security change and the actions organizations may need to take before rollout.

Updated October 6, 2026: We have updated the timeline and content. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft will roll out third-party agent observability in Microsoft Agent 365 to tenants. This lets you monitor the agents you sync from Amazon Bedrock, Google Vertex AI, and Anthropic Claude through Connected platforms in the same place as your Microsoft agents.

Administrators can see runs, sessions, tool calls, and exceptions on each agent’s Activity tab. The result: a more consistent way to understand agent usage and investigate issues across supported platforms without treating every environment as a separate monitoring exercise.

What and why

The SharePoint mobile app for iOS and Android is redesigned around the personalized SharePoint Discover experience, bringing your most relevant files, sites, people, and news together in one place, with improved site browsing, in-app file previews, refreshed news and search, dark mode, and better performance.

What and why

Microsoft Viva Engage is updating newly created Engage communities so Microsoft 365 group settings for community member calendar and email subscriptions are enabled by default.

This change helps community members receive community emails and calendar invitations by default for newly created communities, supporting awareness and participation in new Engage communities.

Updated September 28, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We're introducing a new coverage report for Microsoft Purview Information Protection auto-labeling policies. After you enable an auto-labeling policy, this report helps you understand how policy enforcement is progressing compared to the results of your most recent simulation.

The report provides a centralized view of files that were successfully labeled, files that are still being processed, and files that require attention. This helps administrators validate policy effectiveness, identify issues more quickly, and better understand auto-labeling outcomes.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 568935.

Updated September 28, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows will introduce native Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) camera controls directly from the in-room console for compatible cameras. This enhancement enables room users to manually pan, tilt, and zoom supported cameras during meetings without requiring a separate remote control or vendor-specific application.

This feature works with cameras that support pan, tilt, and zoom, whether the camera moves a physical lens or adjusts the image digitally. Controls are available when Teams Rooms can confirm the camera isn't independently framing the room. This is an additive feature and does not change or remove existing camera functionality.

What and why

SharePoint is adding support for HTML pages. Users will be able to create HTML pages with Copilot in SharePoint or upload HTML from another source. After an HTML page is stored in the Site Pages library, users can render it as a page in SharePoint, make additional edits, publish it, and share it with their audience.

This gives organizations another way to present content alongside existing ASPX pages and helps users create polished web content more efficiently in SharePoint.

Updated October 6, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

The Link Preview feature has been retired in new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web because the browser service required to retrieve preview content from the web was deprecated. Without this, Outlook can no longer access the information needed to generate preview cards. Links will continue to function as standard clickable hyperlinks.

Updated October 6, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We’re improving the file-sharing experience in Microsoft Teams external (federated) chats by making the Attach file (paperclip) and drag-and-drop experiences available by default. This change only impacts tenants who have not adjusted the policy that controls file attachment in an external Teams chat. To opt out of this change, disable the capability using the Teams PowerShell setting provided in the “Action required and recommendations” section below. This can be done before the rollout and your policy setting will be respected. This update does not change your OneDrive or SharePoint external-sharing settings or override existing access restrictions.

What and why

A variety of symbols can be added to an email message that you are composing. On the Insert tab, select Symbols.

Updated September 28, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We are updating how Microsoft Teams Events capabilities are organized by license type. Teams Events capabilities will be grouped into foundational event features and advanced event features. This update clarifies which licenses map to each category, attendee limits, and the relationship between Teams Enterprise and Teams Premium licensing.

Foundational event features are available with eligible Teams licenses and support creating and running Teams events.

Advanced event features are included with Teams Enterprise licenses and provide additional controls for event production, management, engagement, customization, and analytics.

Updated October 6, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

If you don’t want to check spelling manually for every message—or you’re worried you might forget!—you can set Outlook to check spelling for you every time before sending emails.

What and why

Planner plans created from Teams meetings can remain unused long after the meeting ends. To reduce clutter and improve lifecycle management, meeting-created Planner plans with no task activity for 180 consecutive days will automatically expire and be deleted. Only the Planner plan and Planner-specific data are removed. Tasks in Loop and meeting notes remain intact and accessible.

What and why

Video recap in Microsoft Teams uses AI to create a narrated highlight video from a recorded and transcribed meeting. It combines key meeting content with short video clips, helping users catch up without watching the full recording. With this update, Video recap is expanding support to 23 languages across 31 locale variants

The first set of supported languages includes: English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese,Spanish. Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, and Ukrainian. Regional variants are supported for English, Chinese, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.

What and why

We are introducing Microsoft Defender XDR Unified role-based access control (Unified RBAC) support for App Governance. As part of this rollout, App Governance permissions associated with select Microsoft Entra roles will change.

This update helps align App Governance access with Defender XDR role management and provides more consistent permission handling for organizations using Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps.

What and why

Microsoft is introducing support for Microsoft Agent 365 agents that implement the Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol, allowing them to be used as connected agents in declarative agents built with Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit.

This enhancement expands the types of external agent services that declarative agents can connect to. In addition to existing support for OpenAPI and Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, declarative agents can now connect to Agent2Agent-enabled agents, enabling natural language interactions and support for more complex workflows.

This feature gives developers greater flexibility when building declarative agents while providing administrators centralized management and governance through the Microsoft 365 admin center.

Updated September 25, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

Microsoft Edge for Business will soon support summarization and contextual grounding with Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. This enhancement enables users to ask Copilot questions about multiple open browser tabs, Microsoft 365 documents (such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint), and YouTube videos directly from the Edge side pane.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 496364, 499423, and 499424.

Updated September 25, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We are introducing attendee proximity join for Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows and Android, enabling users to quickly and effortlessly connect to a nearby room system when joining Microsoft Teams events, including town halls, webinars, and structured meetings. This enhancement simplifies the meeting join experience and helps users connect to the appropriate room device with fewer steps.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 568781.

Updated September 25, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We are introducing enhanced IntelliFrame capabilities for Teams Rooms on Windows using an expanded AI data channel on certified intelligent cameras. This update enables faster active speaker framing, improved in-room participant recognition and labeling, and more responsive meeting views.

By processing AI metadata directly on the device and sending it through a dedicated data channel rather than relying only on cloud processing, this feature reduces dependency on network conditions and improves performance in bandwidth-constrained environments. This helps deliver a more consistent and intelligent meeting experience for both in-room and remote participants.

What and why

Based on customer feedback, Microsoft Purview network data security policies can be created and managed without configuring pay-as-you-go, regardless of the integration partners. These collection and DLP policies help discover and protect sensitive data shared with unmanaged cloud apps and websites (including AI) through browsers, applications, add-ins, APIs, and other channels.

Microsoft Entra Global Secure Access Internet Access is included with the appropriate per-user, per-month licensing and works without pay-as-you-go. Integrations with non-Microsoft SASE and secure browser partners still require pay-as-you-go. Customers can create and configure policies for these non-Microsoft integrations, but the integrations will not function until pay-as-you-go is configured.

If your organization does not use Citrix Mobile VPN (mVPN) integration support in Microsoft Edge for Android, you can safely disregard this message.

What and why

Microsoft is retiring Citrix Mobile VPN (mVPN) integration support in Microsoft Edge for Android, beginning with Edge version 153. Citrix mVPN integration in Edge for Android depends on legacy third-party components that present ongoing compatibility and maintenance challenges as Android platform requirements continue to evolve.

To help ensure a secure, reliable, and supportable experience for Microsoft Edge users, Microsoft will retire Citrix mVPN integration support in Edge for Android.

What and why

Microsoft is improving how site metadata size is reported in SharePoint. The calculation will include document library field data, giving admins a more complete view of a site’s metadata usage.

Nothing about your content changes. No content is added, moved, or removed, and the site metadata size limit remains 1 TB per site.

Because the calculation is more complete, reported metadata size may be higher for some sites. For most sites, the difference will be small and nothing else will change. Some sites may show a size at or above the 1 TB limit once the updated calculation is applied.

What and why

Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management is introducing retention support for Microsoft 365 Copilot memory. Copilot memory includes saved memories, details inferred from chat history, and custom instructions that help provide personalized and context-aware Copilot experiences.

With this update, organizations will be able to retain inactive versions of Copilot memory items for compliance, governance, and investigation purposes. When memory items are updated or deleted, historical versions can be preserved according to your organization's retention configuration, helping compliance teams understand how memory content changes over time while supporting enterprise-ready compliance requirements.

What and why

We have introduced an enhancement to Copilot in SharePoint page authoring that allows page authors to directly select specific page canvas elements before submitting a prompt to Copilot. This improvement helps authors provide more precise context for Copilot, making it easier to target edits to specific sections or web parts and improving the page editing experience.

What and why

We're introducing an additive user interface update to the organization panel in the Microsoft 365 profile card that can display a person's dotted-line manager relationship, in addition to their direct manager, when that data is available. This update helps employees better understand organizational structures in companies where reporting relationships span projects, business units, regions, or functions.

What and why

Windows Autopatch is expanding to provide a streamlined experience for managing Windows quality updates, supported .NET Framework updates, and quick machine recovery updates. These capabilities give you more control over update approvals and rollout timing, along with device-level reporting to monitor approved releases, deployments, and remediation status.

What and why

Microsoft Project Online will retire on September 30, 2026.

If users are still using Project Online, they will see an in-app banner announcing the retirement.

If your organization will not be fully migrated by September 30, 2026, we highly recommend you contact a Microsoft partner immediately to make a migration plan and let your Microsoft account team know your plans.

At Microsoft, we are committed to empowering every organization with a unified, AI-powered and collaborative work management experience that brings together tasks, plans, and projects in one seamless platform. As part of this commitment, we announced the retirement of Project Online last September. The decision reflects our focus on delivering solutions that are modern, scalable, and future-ready—enabling organizations to benefit from the latest innovations in AI, automation, and collaboration. Moving to our next-generation platforms brings enhanced productivity, deeper integration with Microsoft 365, and new capabilities designed for the way people work today and tomorrow.

What and why

Breakout rooms are now officially supported in Microsoft Teams webinars with up to 1,000 participants across up to 100 breakout rooms, enabling organizers to divide larger webinar audiences into smaller groups for focused discussions and collaborative activities.

What and why

Cloud Update is expanding rollback options for devices on Monthly Enterprise Channel. Administrators will be able to roll back devices to a release from two versions prior, with the latest available security updates for that release, and keep devices in the rolled-back state across subsequent releases until they are ready to resume updates. This provides additional time to investigate and resolve compatibility issues while maintaining security coverage and centralized control through the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center.

What and why

We are introducing a new Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) capability that allows administrators to configure the destination URL for the Learn about access restrictions link displayed in Microsoft 365 Copilot data access messages. This enhancement enables organizations to direct users to internal compliance guidance, data governance resources, or support content that is specific to their organization, while maintaining a consistent and localized user experience. This supports enterprise-ready AI by helping organizations provide policy-specific guidance when DLP policies restrict Copilot access to content.

Today, when a Microsoft Purview DLP policy prevents Microsoft 365 Copilot from grounding on, processing, or returning content, users receive a message explaining that the content was restricted by an organizational policy, together with a Learn about access restrictions link to Microsoft's public DLP documentation. With this update, organizations can direct that link to a compliance URL of their own, such as an internal data-handling policy page, data governance portal, or help desk request form, so users are connected to guidance that is specific to their organization.

What and why

To help organizations identify and respond to security threats in Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 will enable Teams user reporting by default. Users can report suspicious messages, calls, and meetings, helping organizations improve detection of phishing, spam, impersonation, malicious content, and other threats.

This capability is available for organizations licensed for Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 or Plan 2, Microsoft 365 E5, or Office 365 E5.

Updated September 24, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We're introducing IntelliFrame people labels in Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows to improve meeting clarity and inclusivity for remote participants. When enabled, this feature identifies in-room participants by name and displays a contact card, helping remote attendees easily recognize speakers and follow conversations.

This enhancement supports better hybrid meeting experiences by connecting in-room and remote participants more effectively, improving collaboration and productivity.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 566700.

Updated September 24, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Coming soon for Microsoft Purview: We are announcing the public preview of the integration of Adaptive protection with Data Lifecycle Management (DLM) to help you find the right balance to protect against data sabotage while enabling productivity. This new integration leverages DLM features to provide an additional control for Adaptive protection that automatically preserves items deleted by a user with an elevated risk level, so items can be restored if needed.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 392839.

Updated September 24, 2026: We have decided not to move forward with this change at this time and will communicate via Message center when we choose to proceed. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Extend your sensitivity labels to specific or all subscriptions within Azure Storage, Azure SQL, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Data Explorer, Azure Database for MySQL, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, Azure Databricks Unity Catalog, Azure SQL Managed Instance, Azure Synapse Analytics, Snowflake, Dataverse, and SQL Server via auto-labeling policy. Clearly define labeling conditions for data sources beyond M365 without fear of it interfering with existing M365 files configurations.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 429876.

Updated September 24, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

To support more effective in-person collaboration, Microsoft Teams is expanding AI-powered meeting notes with the Facilitator agent to Teams Rooms on Android. This enhancement allows teams meeting in a physical room to capture real-time notes, decisions, and action items—without requiring a scheduled or hybrid meeting. The experience is designed to ensure notes are securely stored in your tenant while no data remains on the room device after the meeting ends.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 56700.

What and why

Microsoft is retiring the CIQ-based "@" entity insertion experience on the document canvas in Word for the web. This retirement aligns Word for the web with the experience available in other Microsoft 365 applications, including Word desktop, Excel, and PowerPoint, where this entry point is no longer available.

As part of this change, users will no longer be able to invoke the CIQ menu from the document canvas by typing "@". This retirement does not affect @mentions in comments.

What and why

We've added a new ApproverUpn column to the EmailPostDeliveryEvents table in Microsoft Defender XDR Advanced Hunting. This enhancement allows security teams to identify who approved eligible remediation actions directly from Advanced Hunting results.

By making approver information available in hunting queries, analysts can investigate remediation activity more efficiently without needing to navigate to Action Center. This improvement supports faster security investigations and operational efficiency.

What and why

Microsoft Teams is adding a meeting policy that lets administrators control whether profane words are masked in live transcription and saved meeting transcripts. This gives organizations a policy-controlled option for workflows in which words that are currently masked need to remain visible in the transcript.

Filtering remains on by default. If an administrator turns filtering off for the policy assigned to a meeting organizer, words that would otherwise be masked can appear in both the live and saved transcript for that organizer's scheduled meetings. This change does not add an organizer-level control and does not change each participant's live-caption profanity preference.

Updated October 8, 2026: After additional consideration we have decided not to proceed with this change. You can safely disregard this message. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

What and why

To provide a more consistent and streamlined Microsoft 365 Copilot experience in Microsoft Teams, we are simplifying how users access Copilot in Teams.

Today, users can access Copilot either from the Teams chat list or from the Copilot app in the Teams app bar. Beginning in October 2026, we will remove the Copilot entry point from the Teams chat list and direct users to access Copilot through the Copilot app. The Copilot app provides access to the full set of Copilot capabilities, while the chat list entry point provides a more limited experience.

What and why

The Viva Learning usage report and The Viva Insights personal insights active-user trend chart will be retired from the Microsoft 365 admin center. For Viva Learning, admins can continue to access usage metrics in the Viva Learning app directly.

We've released updates to the following update channel for Microsoft 365 Apps:

• Current Channel

Updated September 23, 2026: We have updated this post as a reminder. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We are retiring support for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE) on Amazon Linux 2 (AL2) running on ARM64 architecture, effective October 31, 2026.

Schedule

• Retirement effective: October 31, 2026
• After this date, support and updates will no longer be available.

Impact on your organization

Who is affected

• Organizations using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on Amazon Linux 2 (ARM64)
• Organizations using AL2 on AMD64/x86_64 are not affected

Platforms/Services

• Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
• Amazon Linux 2 (ARM64)

What will happen

• Defender versions released after this build will not install on AL2 (ARM64) due to platform incompatibility.
• Version 101.25122.0004 is the last supported version for this platform.
• After October 31, 2026:

Updated September 23, 2026: We have updated this post as a reminder. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We’ve made updates to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on Linux network connectivity requirements.

As part of this update, Defender for Endpoint on Linux now uses new service URLs to deliver internal configuration updates and new capabilities.

Updated September 23, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

As Microsoft Teams has added meeting capabilities over time, the meeting controls and share panel have grown crowded, contributing to mis-clicks between high‑impact actions like Share, Leave, and Raise hand, and to accidental shares of unintended content. Drawing on extensive customer feedback and telemetry, we’re introducing two coordinated updates: redesigned meeting and sharing controls. Together, they make core actions easier to find, reduce accidental clicks, and give users more confidence when sharing content.

This update supports personal and team productivity by reducing friction in everyday meetings and improving confidence when presenting or sharing content.

Updated September 23, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We’re expanding Facilitator support in Microsoft Teams channel meetings. Users will be able to add Facilitator to channel meetings to take notes, manage the agenda, answer questions, and manage tasks.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 568936.

Updated September 23, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We're introducing enhancements to the Viva Engage left navigation experience that give users more control over how they organize and use the navigation pane. Based on customer feedback, these improvements help users work more efficiently by allowing them to customize navigation, manage larger numbers of favorite communities, and optimize screen space while maintaining the same navigation structure and destinations.

Updated September 23, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Copilot Notebook, a new Copilot-powered workspace in OneNote, helps users organize, reason over, and take action on their content. This feature brings advanced Copilot capabilities directly into OneNote on Mac, enabling users to generate insights, structure ideas, and work more effectively within their notes.

A Microsoft 365 Copilot license is required to access this feature.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 565863.

What and why

In MC1294528, we announced an increase to the item sync limit for OneDrive on Windows. We are now increasing the same item sync limit for OneDrive on macOS: from 300,000 items to 1 million items per sync instance, per device. This increase is designed to help organizations with large OneDrive and SharePoint libraries sync more content reliably across devices.

The capability will be available first in Public Preview for devices enrolled in the Insiders ring, and later in General Availability. Devices that do not meet the minimum hardware and configuration requirements will continue to sync at the existing supported limit of 300,000 items without disruption.

What and why

We have simplified the setup experience for Agent 365 by introducing a Microsoft-managed Agent 365 CLI enterprise application for eligible tenants. This change removes the need for administrators to create and maintain a tenant-owned client application when setting up Agent 365 CLI. The update streamlines deployment and lifecycle management while continuing to respect existing security controls such as Conditional Access policies and Security Defaults.

Updated October 6, 2026: We are no longer releasing to gov clouds at this time. We will communicate via a separate Message center post at a later date once we are ready to proceed with gov cloud release. If you are in a gov cloud, you can safely disregard this message. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We are introducing a pay-as-you-go, consumption-based billing option for additional OneDrive storage. This capability gives administrators more flexibility to manage storage growth by allowing selected OneDrive accounts to exceed their licensed storage quotas when needed, while helping organizations control which users can consume additional storage beyond their licensed storage quotas. Pay-as-you-go storage is currently in public preview for commercial tenants.

Updated September 29, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We're improving the Agent Registry experience in the Microsoft 365 admin center by consolidating duplicate entries for the same agent into a single record. Previously, the same agent could appear multiple times when published across different scopes or when multiple published versions existed.

This update simplifies agent governance, provides a clearer inventory of deployed agents, and makes it easier for admins to manage agent lifecycle and version history from a single location. All versions of an agent will be accessible from the agent details flyout while governance actions continue to apply across the entire agent.

What and why

To help organizations adopt Microsoft Cowork securely, Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is expanding support to Microsoft Cowork. This enhancement enables organizations to apply DLP protections consistently across both Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Cowork, helping prevent the exposure of sensitive information and supporting enterprise-ready AI experiences.

The following DLP capabilities will be supported for Microsoft Cowork:

• Grounding DLP based on sensitivity labels: Prevents Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Cowork from processing knowledge sources, such as documents and emails, that are protected by specified sensitivity labels. For example, administrators can prevent processing of content labeled Highly Confidential.
• Prompt DLP based on Sensitive Information Types (SITs): Blocks prompts containing specified sensitive information types. For example, prompts containing credit card numbers can be blocked. At release, support includes built-in Sensitive Information Types and custom Sensitive Information Types.
• Web search DLP based on Sensitive Information Types (SITs): Allows prompts to be processed while preventing prompts containing specified sensitive information from being sent to Bing Search for web results.

What and why

Microsoft Purview is introducing a new auto-labeling policy that applies a SharePoint document library's default sensitivity label to existing files stored in that library. Previously, default library sensitivity labels were applied only to new or modified files. With this update, organizations can extend labeling to historical content, including files that existed before the default library sensitivity label was configured for the site, without requiring users to open or edit files and without creating content inspection rules.

This capability helps improve labeling coverage, reduce the number of unlabeled files, and support information protection objectives across existing SharePoint content.

What and why

As announced in 2023, Exchange Web Services (EWS) in Exchange Online is being retired. Phased disablement will begin on October 1, 2026.

Starting October 15, 2026, Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps app governance threat detections that rely on EWS activity signals will also be sunset.

For full details on the EWS retirement, see the Learn documentation: Deprecation of Exchange Web Services in Exchange Online | Microsoft Learn

Impact on your organization

Organizations that do not use EWS: No action is required. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps already provides threat protection for Microsoft Graph activity, and app governance detections that do not depend on EWS activity signals will continue to operate.

Updated September 22, 2026: We have updated the timeline. thank you for your patience.

What and why

We're improving the live captions experience in Microsoft Teams to give users more flexibility when viewing captions and to simplify caption configuration during meetings. This update introduces a new right-side panel layout for live captions and consolidates caption settings into a single menu.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 567462.

Updated September 22, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Teams is introducing a new meeting option for meetings with presenters and webinars that allows organizers to specify who has control of production tools during an event. This helps organizers assign production responsibilities to designated individuals, improving event management and reducing the risk of unintended changes during live events.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 567305.

Updated September 22, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft is enhancing Microsoft Teams call delegation with new controls that provide greater privacy, transparency, and control during active calls. Delegators will be able to lock active calls to prevent delegate participation and optionally enable warning tones that notify participants whenever a delegate joins or resumes a call. These enhancements help users manage sensitive conversations more effectively while improving awareness during delegated call handling.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 567306.

Updated September 22, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We’re improving search behavior when users use the SharePoint app inside Microsoft Teams. When users search from Teams while they’re in the SharePoint app (also known as Viva Connections), search results and suggestions will be scoped to SharePoint content, helping users find relevant information faster without leaving Teams.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 562015.

Updated September 22, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Assign open shifts is a new Microsoft Teams Shifts capability that helps managers build schedules more efficiently. Managers can enter shifts that need coverage as open shifts, then use Assign open shifts to automatically assign those shifts within a schedule group based on employee availability, approved time off, historical scheduling patterns, and configured scheduling rules. Managers can review and adjust assignments before publishing the schedule.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 562535.

Updated September 22, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Users are currently blocked from sending messages in Microsoft Teams while a file upload is in progress, which can disrupt real-time collaboration. With this update, file uploads will occur asynchronously in the background, allowing users to continue sending messages without interruption.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 560813.

Updated September 22, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

We're introducing an update to how front-of-room (FoR) displays behave in Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android during webinars and structured meetings. This change ensures that when a Teams Room joins as a presenter, the in-room display defaults to the attendee view—creating a clearer and more professional experience for in-room participants, especially in hybrid scenarios where presenters and attendees are co-located.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 559602.

Updated September 22, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

Microsoft Teams town halls and live events will soon support Secure Reliable Transport (SRT), a secure and resilient video streaming protocol designed to deliver high‑quality, low‑latency video over the public internet. SRT will be available alongside Real‑Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), the existing inbound streaming protocol commonly used with external encoders. Adding SRT provides event organizers with improved reliability and flexibility, including support for backup streams with automatic failover, to help ensure smoother delivery for high‑visibility broadcast events without increasing setup complexity.

Updated September 22, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

AI‑powered meeting assistant bots—such as transcription and summarization services—are increasingly used to enhance productivity in online meetings. While these tools can be valuable, some bots may access meetings without the knowledge or consent of the meeting organizer or the hosting tenant, which can create data security, privacy, and compliance risks.

To help organizations protect meeting content and increase visibility into automated participants, Microsoft Teams is introducing a new capability that detects external meeting assistant bots as they attempt to join meetings. This update gives organizers greater awareness and control and provides administrators with clear controls to manage how detected bots are handled in meetings hosted across the organization.

Updated September 22, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

We’re adding new building‑level insights to the recommended actions page in the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal. This update helps IT admins identify buildings with high Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) utilization that still have bring-your-own-device (BYOD) rooms in them, creating an inconsistent user experience from room to room. These insights support more consistent meeting experiences across buildings and help organizations optimize room‑technology investments. Available with a Teams Rooms Pro or Shared Space license.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 553591.

• Expose Transaction Category field: This adds a Transaction Category field to Retainer and Milestone entities in Microsoft Dataverse.
• Data synchronization: Sync selected categories from Dataverse to finance and operations apps via Data Integrator and align with project categories in finance and operations apps for consistency.

Updated September 22, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

To improve reliability for large-scale live events, Microsoft Teams town halls will soon support a backup Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) stream. RTMP is a standard live‑streaming protocol used by event organizers to send live video and audio to a streaming service, such as Microsoft Teams. This enhancement helps ensure uninterrupted broadcasts by automatically failing over to a secondary RTMP stream if the primary stream experiences an interruption. This change increases resiliency for high-visibility events without adding complexity for organizers.

This message applies to Teams for Windows desktop, Teams for Mac desktop, and Teams for the web. It is associated with Roadmap ID 554932.

Updated September 22, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

We’re releasing an improvement to Microsoft Teams that syncs your recently used emojis and reactions across devices. With this update, users will see the same set of “recently used” emojis when using Teams on Android, iOS, Mac, Windows desktop, and Teams for the web, creating a more consistent and seamless experience when communicating across chats and channels. This enhancement aligns with customer feedback requesting a unified emoji experience across platforms.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 554927.

Updated September 22, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Coming soon for Microsoft Teams: A new setting that allows users to view incoming calls in a small window in Teams to prevent disruptions. Users will be able to take a call in the small window and continue to see what they were working on before the call.

This message applies to Teams on Windows desktop, Teams on Mac desktop, Teams for the web, and Teams for iOS/Android.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 482747.

Updated September 22, 2026: We are updating this post as a reminder. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

File policies in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps are being retired on January 6th 2027. As part of this retirement, new file policy creation in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps will stop starting October 1st 2026. After this date, customers will no longer be able to create new file policies in Defender for Cloud Apps. Existing file policies will continue to be supported and enforced until January 6th 2027.

Equivalent file policy capabilities for SharePoint, OneDrive, and other SaaS apps previously supported by Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps are now available in Microsoft Purview. No cost options are available for customers without the required Purview licenses. This will enable a unified experience in Purview for securing enterprise data, where there will be continued investment in discovering, classifying, and protecting sensitive data across the organization. Refer to Create and deploy a data loss prevention policy | Microsoft Learn for guidance on creation of new file policy in Purview

What and why

Microsoft is updating how Viva Insights customized Power BI reports are managed when major out-of-the-box report updates are released. Customized reports will remain associated with the report version from which they were originally created and will not be automatically migrated to newer report versions.

This approach preserves report integrity and prevents customizations from breaking or behaving unexpectedly when significant report updates are introduced. Users retain access to their existing customized reports while maintaining control over when to adopt newer report versions and capabilities.

What and why

We are updating the SharePoint FAQ web part authoring experience. The FAQ web part will provide a standard, non-AI experience for manually creating, editing, and managing FAQ content. AI-assisted FAQ creation and import capabilities will move to the Copilot in SharePoint authoring experience, where authors can use natural language prompts and selected grounding sources to generate FAQ content that is saved to the compatible FAQ web part. Existing FAQ web parts and their content will continue to render; no content migration is necessary.

What and why

We are enhancing the Teams message entity flyout in Microsoft Defender for Office 365 to help security teams investigate and remediate malicious Teams messages more efficiently. Administrators will be able to submit messages to Microsoft and block external senders or associated domains from a single workflow, reducing the need to navigate between investigation experiences.

• Configure recurring optimization schedules: Create optimization plans that automatically run on a defined schedule, eliminating the need to manually start each optimization run.
• Customize optimization goals: Add and weigh optimization objectives to better reflect organizational priorities and desired scheduling outcomes.
• Automatically apply optimized schedules: The Scheduling Operations Agent evaluates resource availability, existing schedules, and unscheduled requirements, then optimizes and applies schedules based on configured constraints and goals.

• Time-off requests: Evaluated against configurable constraints such as available leave balance, maximum consecutive days, allowed time‑off windows, shift coverage thresholds (over‑ or understaffed percentages), first‑come, first‑served rules, and seniority or tenure.
• Shift bidding: Governed by constraints including shift capacity, skill or proficiency matching, bid order or first‑come, first‑served logic, bidding windows, seniority, and schedule conflict checks such as overlaps or locked schedules.
• Shift swapping: Validated using constraints that assess coverage impact before and after the swap, detect schedule conflicts, and enforce swap eligibility rules such as allowed swap types and limits per period.

• Select multiple blocks of bookings and bookable resources on the schedule board.
• Move all the selected blocks by the required number of days.
• Reassign multiple bookings to another bookable resource.
• Move and reassign operations directly on the schedule board.

Updated September 21, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

Microsoft Teams is introducing two new system chat sections called Muted chats and Meeting chats. These sections allow users to organize their chat and channels list by grouping muted conversations and meeting chats into dedicated sections that users can turn on or off. The new Meeting chats section will replace the Meeting chats filter, that was previously available at the top of the chat and channel list.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 559605.

Updated September 21, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft is retiring the Surveys agent and transitioning customers to a unified, Copilot-powered experience within Microsoft Forms. This change streamlines form creation, data collection, and analysis into a single, integrated experience—improving productivity and providing more advanced AI-driven capabilities without requiring additional licensing. Users can continue their workflows seamlessly while benefiting from enhanced Copilot features built directly into Forms.

Updated September 21, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

We are introducing recipient groups for eSignature in Microsoft 365. Recipient groups allow a single recipient slot to be assigned to multiple people, where the first person to sign fulfills the signing requirement. This update helps make signature workflows more reliable by reducing delays when a specific signer is unavailable, without changing existing tenant policies.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 560822.

What and why

Copilot Notebooks now lets users add Power BI reports as references, bringing report data directly into their notebooks alongside files. Copilot uses this information to help generate more relevant summaries, presentations, and briefs grounded in the organization's data.

What and why

We are adding support to the Microsoft Copilot app, in Windows and Mac, to allow websites that Copilot shares in chat to open inside of the desktop app side by side with the Copilot chat conversation. This is available now but not available by default; administrators can opt-in selected Windows and Mac devices to test this.

We've released updates to the following update channel for Microsoft 365 Apps:

• Current Channel

What and why

The Microsoft 365 companion apps—Calendar, People, and Files — are taskbar-integrated apps designed to streamline everyday workflows, helping users stay focused, reduce context switching, and complete tasks faster.

We are retiring the companion apps, and they will no longer function or be supported after 16. December 2026. We advise admins remove the apps from devices in their tenant by this date. Detailed admin guidance is in Microsoft 365 companion app retirement.

What and why

Capacity view is a new view in Planner that presents a live staffing matrix built from existing Planner task data. It shows a timeline of who is working on what, so team leads can see how work is distributed across the team and spot overallocation or open capacity at a glance, without exporting data or building a separate report. This keeps resource decisions in the same tool where the work is already tracked.

What and why

We are updating archive file classification behavior for Microsoft Purview Endpoint Data Loss Prevention (DLP) on Windows endpoints to align with classification behavior across Microsoft cloud workloads. This change improves consistency in classification results, reduces event-reporting noise, and enhances performance when processing archive files.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 570965.

What and why

We're introducing a new MessageContents table in Advanced Hunting for Microsoft Teams messages. This new table helps security operations teams investigate threats in Teams by providing access to Teams message snippets and associated message metadata during threat investigations.

This capability enhances security investigations by allowing authorized analysts to correlate Teams message activity with other security signals available in Advanced Hunting, helping organizations detect, investigate, and respond to threats more effectively.

What and why

To improve security and reduce reliance on vulnerable authentication methods, Microsoft is continuing the retirement of SMS first-factor sign-in in Microsoft Entra ID. Microsoft recommends phishing-resistant authentication methods, such as passkeys, as the preferred sign-in experience because they help reduce the risk of phishing, fraud, and account compromise associated with phone-based authentication.

Microsoft previously retired SMS first-factor sign-in for Microsoft Entra ID Free tenants and stopped enabling SMS sign-in for newly created tenants. This communication provides an update on the next phase of the retirement effort and actions organizations should take to prepare. Microsoft has announced previous retirement actions in Message Center posts MC1426371, MC1448374, and MC1449181.

Updated September 18, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

Microsoft Purview network data security now integrates with Island, extending protection to Island’s browser-based workflows at the point of user interaction. With this integration, new and existing Island customers can configure Microsoft Purview collection and data loss prevention policies to detect and protect data shared with unmanaged cloud apps through the Island Enterprise Browser, the Island Extension, and browser add ins via HTTP and HTTPS, using the same classifiers, sensitive information types, and sensitivity labels used in other Purview policies. Island provides visibility and control at the presentation layer, including typed and pasted input, file transfers, and extension activity, so data can be inspected before it ever leaves the browser.

Updated September 18, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Purview Endpoint Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is improving how file extension conditions are configured to help ensure policies are accurate, reliable, and efficient. By limiting file extension selection to supported, scannable file types, this update reduces misconfiguration risk and improves enforcement consistency across endpoints while maintaining existing protection coverage.

This change aligns Endpoint DLP configuration with supported enforcement capabilities and helps admins create policies that behave as expected.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 562993.

Updated September 18, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

As part of the final phase of Exchange Web Services (EWS) retirement, Microsoft is updating how the EWSAllowedAppIDs setting is applied in Exchange Online. This change is designed to help organizations identify and manage applications that still require EWS access while reducing the risk of unexpected service disruption.

Organizations that continue to use EWS should review and maintain their own EWSAllowedAppIDs list. If a tenant administrator has already configured this list, Microsoft will not overwrite or modify it.

Beginning on October 1, 2026, Microsoft will start enabling this updated behavior by cloud as part of the EWS retirement rollout.

• Extends NTE validation beyond time entries to include expense, material, and fixed-price components.
• Enhances the Invoice Confirmation Service to block confirmation when Total Billed + Unbilled Committed > NTE Amount.
• Fixes bugs where NTE status fails to update on approval records due to custom plugin conflicts, ensuring deterministic results.

Updated September 17, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.

Introduction

We’re introducing a new co-branding capability that will allow organizations to display a branded footer at the bottom of the Chat screen in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app. This update will enable admins to add their organization’s logo to their users’ Microsoft 365 Copilot app, helping users confirm they are using their trusted, work-managed Copilot experience.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 555852.

Updated September 17, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Administrators can now choose a severity threshold and receive alerts when a new Edge update includes security fixes that meet or exceed that threshold, including zero-day fixes. This helps organizations quickly identify updates that may require attention, while avoiding unnecessary notifications for routine releases.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 558435

Updated September 17, 2026: We have updated the timeline. This post has also been updated to remind customers that this feature is default-on for Copilot Dashboard users with full company-level data access. The export output remains de-identified, with each user represented by a hashed ID. Please review and take any actions as appropriate for your organization. Thank you for your patience.

This MC post is associated with Roadmap ID 500872.

Introduction

To support deeper analysis of Copilot adoption, Microsoft is introducing a new export capability in the Copilot Dashboard. This feature allows dashboard users with company-level access to download de-identified Copilot usage metrics, aggregated by user and week, from the past six months. Organizations can use this data to track adoption trends, optimize licensing, and support AI transformation strategies.

What and why

Brand managers will be able to upload custom presentation skills as Markdown (.md) files to Brand Kit and share them across their organization for use with Copilot in PowerPoint. This capability helps organizations provide reusable, organization-approved instructions that guide presentation creation, supporting more consistent and efficient content development.

This change advances personal and team productivity by embedding reusable presentation guidance into the tools employees use to create presentations.

What and why

Brand managers will be able to upload custom presentation skills as Markdown (.md) files to Brand Kit and share them across their organization for use with Copilot in PowerPoint. This capability helps organizations provide reusable, organization-approved instructions that guide presentation creation, supporting more consistent and efficient content development.

This change advances personal and team productivity by embedding reusable presentation guidance into the tools employees use to create presentations.

What and why

Brand managers will be able to upload custom presentation skills as Markdown (.md) files to Brand Kit and share them across their organization for use with Copilot in PowerPoint. This capability helps organizations provide reusable, organization-approved instructions that guide presentation creation, supporting more consistent and efficient content development.

This change advances personal and team productivity by embedding reusable presentation guidance into the tools employees use to create presentations.

Updated October 13, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

To improve transparency and troubleshooting for Microsoft Purview role-based access control (RBAC), we are enhancing audit logging for permission checks performed in the Microsoft Purview portal. These new audit records will provide administrators with clearer visibility into role and scoped-role authorization decisions, helping them investigate access issues and better understand how access evaluations are performed.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 569363.

Updated September 18, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

We are introducing a more consistent way for users to access and manage important resources in Microsoft Teams chats and channels. Users will be able to pin frequently used resources directly below the chat or channel header, pin multiple messages alongside other resources, and organize them into folders. On Microsoft Teams mobile, users will be able to access shared resources and folders by tapping the chat or channel header. This change will help users stay organized and provide them with a centralized location to quickly find, access, and manage important resources.

As part of this update, the In this chat and In this channel panes will be removed. Existing resources within these panes will be accessible through the new resource management experience.

What and why

Internet Explorer (IE) mode in Microsoft Edge remains supported through at least the end of 2029, as first announced in 2021. Microsoft is sharing this reminder so admins can plan migrations for legacy websites and applications that still depend on IE mode. Application modernization projects can take years to complete depending on the number and complexity of dependencies, so early planning reduces the risk of disruption later.

What and why

Microsoft is retiring support for loading Power Query data into the Python runtime in Excel for the web. After this change, users will no longer be able to use Power Query as a data source for Python in Excel when working in Excel for the web. This retirement aligns investments in Python in Excel with supported experiences and does not affect Excel for Windows desktop.

What and why

Microsoft is updating several Microsoft 365 usage reports to improve reporting accuracy and streamline analytics experiences. Microsoft Browser and Visio usage reports will receive metric calculation improvements. These changes help administrators access more accurate and workload-specific analytics.

What and why

We're introducing two new Brand Kit template settings in Microsoft 365 that help organizations create more consistent, on-brand presentations with Copilot in PowerPoint.

Strict brand adherence (Strict Mode) allows Brand Managers to control whether Copilot can create new layouts or must use only approved template and slide master layouts. When enabled, Copilot follows the template exactly and does not add or remove placeholders or create new layouts.

Allow note instructions (Notes Steering) enables Brand Managers to add instructions directly in template speaker notes to guide how Copilot generates presentations. For example, organizations can instruct Copilot to always include a specific slide, preserve branded content, maintain slide order, control text density, or tailor content for a specific audience

Updated October 12, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management now allows admins to archive SharePoint files based on retention policies. This helps organizations reduce storage costs by moving inactive content to Microsoft 365 Archive while maintaining compliance and discoverability. Archived content is excluded from Copilot indexing, which can improve the relevance of Copilot responses by focusing results on current, active data.

Updated September 28, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management is increasing the maximum auto-expanding archive capacity for eligible Exchange Online archive mailboxes from 1.5 TB to 3 TB. This enhancement helps organizations retain and manage larger volumes of archived email content without requiring manual archive expansion processes or support requests. Eligible mailboxes with auto-expanding archiving enabled will continue to grow automatically as needed.

Updated September 29, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.

What and why

As part of our overall security initiatives, we’ve created a separate internal application configuration for Outlook attachments, therefore, all standard security and authentication flows will be handled separately. Moreover, Conditional Access policies are now enforced for Outlook attachment operations. Users who don’t meet company policies won’t be able to download, preview, or upload classic attachments (this includes inline images). Policies assigned to Exchange and Office cloud applications will be inherited by the attachment application by default. Continuous Access Evaluation is not included in the initial rollout but will follow up soon.