Microsoft Roadmap, messagecenter en blogs updates van 31-10-2024

Updated Oct 30, 2024: We have updated the content.

We’re contacting you because your tenant uses legacy Exchange Online tokens that are deprecated and Outlook add-ins that still use them will break when tokens are turned off.

• Legacy Exchange Online user identity tokens and callback tokens are deprecated and will soon be turned off for all Exchange Online tenants. This is part of Microsoft’s Secure Future Initiative to protect orgs in the current threat landscape. If add-ins use legacy tokens to make calls to Exchange, developers need to migrate from Exchange tokens to using Nested App Authentication (NAA) and Entra ID tokens ASAP.
• Code changes to add-ins using legacy Exchange Online tokens are required to ensure they continue to work. We recommend you update affected add-ins to use NAA, which provides simple authentication and top tier identity protection through APIs designed specifically for add-ins in Office hosts.

NOTE: This change only applies to Exchange Online; add-ins used in on-premises environments are not impacted by this change.

[Recommended actions:]

• Administrators: Identify which add-ins need to be updated and contact the ISVs or developers of those applications to get updates.
• Developers: Check the add-in code to see if the related API calls are used and then make appropriate updates.
• Register: The updated add-ins require an application registration in Microsoft Azure. Developers need to create an application registration for each add-in. Admins need to consent to the application registration for each add-in’s required permissions.
• Don’t wait: Add-ins are often part of mission critical functions, and the updates will take time to implement. It’s best to implement updates well before legacy Exchange Online tokens are turned off.

[When will Microsoft turn off legacy Exchange Online tokens?]

Microsoft begins turning off legacy Exchange online tokens in February 2025. From now until February 2025, existing and new tenants will not be affected. We’ll provide tooling for administrators to reenable Exchange tokens for tenants and add-ins if those add-ins aren’t yet migrated to NAA. 

[When is NAA generally available for my channel?] 

The general availability (GA) date for NAA depends on which channel you are using. 

[How do I check which Outlook add-ins are impacted?]

From October 30th through mid-November 2024, we’ll roll out new tooling via PowerShell for Microsoft 365 administrators to turn legacy Exchange tokens on or off in your tenant. If you find you need to reenable legacy Exchange tokens, you can use the PowerShell cmdlets to do so. The tooling will also report if any add-ins are using legacy tokens over the last 28 days. Once the tooling is available will update the Outlook legacy token deprecation FAQ with additional documentation details.

Add-ins may use the legacy Exchange tokens to get resources from Exchange through the EWS or Outlook REST APIs. Sometimes an add-in requires Exchange resources for some use cases and not others, making it difficult to figure out whether the add-in requires an update. We recommend reaching out to add-in developers and owners to ask them if their add-in code references the following APIs:

• makeEwsRequestAsync
• getUserIdentityTokenAsync
• getCallbackTokenAsync

We’ll provide tooling via PowerShell for Microsoft 365 admins in October 2024 to turn legacy Exchange tokens on or off in your tenant. This will allow you to test if any add-ins are using Exchange tokens. We’ll provide more info when the tooling is ready in the Outlook legacy token deprecation FAQ.

If you rely on an independent software vendor (ISV) for your add-in, we recommend you contact them as soon as possible to confirm they have a plan and a timeline for moving off legacy Exchange tokens. ISV developers should reach out directly to their Microsoft contacts with questions to ensure they’re ready for the end of Exchange legacy tokens. If you rely on a developer within your organization, we recommend you ask them to review the Updates on deprecating legacy Exchange Online tokens for Outlook add-ins blog and ask any questions to the Outlook extensibility PM team on the OfficeDev/office-js GitHub issues site.

[How do I keep up with the latest guidance?]

We’ll share additional guidance on the Office Add-ins community call, the M365 developer blog, and the Outlook legacy token deprecation FAQ.

Ask questions about NAA and legacy Exchange Online token deprecation on the OfficeDev/office-js GitHub issues site. Please put “NAA” in the title.

Additional resources:

• NAA public preview blog
• Microsoft 365 developer blog: Updates on deprecating legacy Exchange Online tokens for Outlook add-ins
• NAA docs to get started
• NAA FAQ
• NAA Outlook sample
• NAA WXP sample

Microsoft has been on a mission to enable first party and third-party partners to build domain-specific experiences on Microsoft 365 apps sidecar copilot, for transformative user value. As part of that effort, we are excited to announce the availability of Declarative agents (DAs) in Word and PowerPoint Web platforms.

Declarative agent allows users to extend or tailor the capabilities of Copilot for Microsoft 365 to better suit individual or organizational needs by providing specific instructions and knowledge. Declarative agents run on the same foundational models, AI services, and orchestration that power Copilot for Microsoft 365.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): rollout will begin in late October 2024 and is planned to be completed by late November 2024.

[How this will affect your organization:]

Users in your organization will now be able to install declarative agents on Word and PowerPoint web platforms. They can then use Declarative Agents through:

1. Installing a Declarative Agent:

• Users can install a Declarative Agents in either of the following ways –
  • Sideloading a Declarative Agent (video overview)
  • In the App Store on Teams, users can go to “Manage your Apps” on bottom left corner and choose “Upload an App”. Then users can upload the DA zip file on the “Upload a custom app” pop-out
• Add from Teams Store
  • In Teams App Store, simply click on “Add” to install any of the Declarative Agents
  • Administrators can manage the agents published to their organization using Integrated Apps in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center in the same way they can manage other Integrated Apps. For more information, see: Manage Copilot agents in Integrated Apps – Microsoft 365 admin

2. Using a Declarative Agent:

• Users can now open any new Word/PowerPoint document on Web and go to Home->Copilot and then the Hamburger Menu to view installed Declarative Agents. Next, users can select the Declarative Copilot from the switcher menu and wait for the Chat pane to load the same. Now the user is all set to start interacting with the Declarative Agent
• Enter the prompt or just click on any starter prompts to get started.
• You can now @mention Declarative Agents directly from the regular App chat Copilot. Simply type “@” & a list of installed Declarative Agents will appear, allowing you to start a conversation instantly

[What you need to do to prepare:]

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date with no admin action required before the rollout. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation.

Note: The Copilot “Extensions” name has changed to Agents, and this change will be part of the GA scope. As such, “Declarative Copilots” are now “Declarative Agents” moving forward.

• Enhanced email draft quality: AI-generated email drafts are now better aligned with the meeting action items and notes with improved tone for effective customer communications.
• Key details from the meeting, such as participants’ email addresses, will be automatically added to the To and Cc fields, streamlining the steps for sellers to just hit the Send button.
• Improved email draft management experience: The email draft opens up in the seller’s default email client which makes it more convenient for them to make edits and send.

We will be retiring the Utility.SendEmail API from SharePoint. The SP.Utilities.Utility.SendEmail could be used to send emails from custom applications or processes within SharePoint Online, including Power Automate, and custom workflows.

From custom code the API can be referenced via REST as (“/_api/SP.Utilities.Utility.SendEmail”) while for CSOM, it would be “Utility.SendEmail” with more information on the original implementation at Utility.SendEmail method for CSOM.

[When this will happen:]

October 31, 2025

[How this will affect your organization:]

Any components, custom code, or Power Automate connections that utilize the SP.Utilities.Utility.SendEmail API, should be updated before the end of life date. The API will stop providing services on the retirement date and will no longer send any email requests from that date.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

Migrate any custom code, power automate, processes or policies running within SharePoint Online that have been configured to send email using the SP.Utilities.Utility.SendEmail API.

The following are recommended or alternative approaches:

1. Use Microsoft Graph to send email using the user: SendMail API (Part of the Outlook mail workload) Automate creating, sending, and processing messages
2. Customizations through Power Automate may also utilize the Outlook connector and utilize “Send an email” within the Actions. Overview of using Outlook and Power Automate 

Learn more:

1. Retirement of the SharePoint SendEmail API
2. Automate creating, sending, and processing messages
3. Overview of using Outlook and Power Automate