Microsoft Roadmap, messagecenter and blogs updates from 17-01-2026

Updated January 16, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

 We’re adding new peripheral health reporting capabilities to the Pro Management portal, enabling admins to proactively monitor device issues in bring your own device (BYOD) rooms and desks.

These reports help identify when peripherals are faulty, missing, moved, or undetectable by a PC—allowing admins to take action before users report problems. Reports for rooms require a Teams Shared Devices license. Desk reporting is currently in public preview.

This change is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID: 493319

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide and GCC): Rollout will begin in early April 2026 (previously late February) and is expected to complete by mid-April 2026 (previously early March).

[How this affects your organization:]

Admins can now use peripheral status data to detect hardware issues in BYOD rooms and desks before they impact users. This proactive monitoring can reduce support tickets and improve meeting space reliability.

• Reports for rooms require a Teams Shared Devices license.
• Reports for desks are available in public preview and do not yet require a license.

[What you can do to prepare:]

To ensure accurate peripheral status reporting:

• Use multiple peripherals in each room or desk setup. The system compares expected device pairings (e.g., if Peripheral A and B are usually connected together, but A is missing, it will be flagged).
• Simplify connectivity for users by using a single cable solution to connect all peripherals.
• Ensure rooms and desks are bookable and have associated peripherals—this enables the Teams desktop client to send the necessary telemetry. Peripheral association can be done manually or automatically.

[Compliance considerations:]

• Does the change alter how existing customer data is processed, stored, or accessed? Maybe (device telemetry is used for reporting)

Updated January 15, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

 What and Why

We’re introducing a new capability that allows users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license to scope and control Copilot Chat responses by selecting specific content sources. This enhancement is designed to improve the relevance and accuracy of Copilot responses by limiting them to user-selected sources, aligning with customer feedback for more transparent and customizable AI interactions.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 496596

Rollout Schedule

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin end of February 2026 (previously January).

Impact on Your Organization

• Who is affected:
  • Users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
• What will happen:
  • Users will see a new option to select content sources when using Copilot Chat.
  • Copilot responses will be scoped only to the selected sources, improving control and precision.
  • This feature will follow a standard rollout and is enabled by default.
  • There is no impact to admin settings or policies.
  • No changes to existing Copilot behavior unless users actively select sources.

Action Required/Recommendations

• No admin action is required.
• This feature does not impact admin controls or require configuration.
• We recommend:
  • Informing helpdesk staff of this new user-facing capability.
  • Updating internal documentation if you provide guidance on Copilot usage.

Compliance Considerations

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

Updated January 15, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

Introduction

Microsoft Edge for Business will soon support Rewrite, a new feature powered by Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. This capability helps users draft and rephrase editable text directly within Edge, enhancing productivity and writing quality. Users can access Rewrite by highlighting editable text and right-clicking to open the context menu.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 420335.

When this will happen

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin in mid-March 2026 (previously late January).

How this affects your organization

• Rewrite will be enabled by default for Edge for Business users. 
• Users can access Rewrite by highlighting editable text and right-clicking to open the context menu.

• If Microsoft 365 Copilot is restricted from accessing page content due to Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies, Rewrite will not function on that content.
• Admins can manage this feature using the InlineComposeEnabled policy setting.

What you can do to prepare

No admin action is required before rollout.

We recommend:

• Reviewing your current DLP configurations to understand how they may impact Rewrite functionality.
• Notifying users about this new capability.
• Updating internal documentation to reflect this change.

Learn more about how DLP affects Copilot access to page content: Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat in Edge and Access to Page Content | Microsoft Edge | Microsoft Learn

Compliance considerations

Updated January 15, 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.

[When this will happen:]

• Public Preview (Worldwide): Begins rolling out in early February 2026 (previously January), expected to complete by mid-February 2026 (previously end of January).
• General Availability (Worldwide): Begins rolling out in March 2026 (previously early February 2026), expected to complete by end of March 2026 (previously late February 2026).

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Leaders, delegates, adoption specialists, and administrators using Microsoft Viva Insights
• Tenants with at least 50 Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses assigned

What will happen:

• A new Agent Dashboard will be available in Viva Insights under Copilot Analytics
• Users will find:
  • Key adoption metrics with historical trends (up to 6 months):
    • Number of active agents
    • Number of active agent users
    • Number of agent responses
    • Copilot credits used
    • Number of users using Copilot credits
    • Percentage of Copilot users using agents
    Screenshot 1: Key adoption metrics with historical trends, including active agents, active users, agent responses, and Copilot credit usage.

    

  • Monthly and weekly user retention trends, with comparison across groups
  Screenshot 2: Monthly and weekly user retention trends, with comparison across groups.

  

  • Top agents based on the following, with the ability to dive deeper into specific agents:
    • Active user count
    • Agent responses
    • Copilot credits consumed
    Screenshot 3: Agent highlights along with a table of top agents, each with active usage metrics and the ability to dive deeper.

    

    Screenshot 4: Individual agent deep dive page with key adoption metrics and trends over time.

    

• Minimum group size threshold must be met for agent activity insights.
• Learn more: Configure manager settings
• The Adoption tab of the Copilot Dashboard will also include:
  • Contextual insights on how Copilot users are leveraging agents and credits
  • Direct entry points to the Agent Dashboard
  Screenshot 5: Entry points to the Agent Dashboard from the Copilot Dashboard Adoption tab, including agent usage and Copilot credit usage insights.

  

  [What you can do to prepare:]

  • Review and assess the impact for your organization
  • Manage access to the Agent Dashboard using VFAM controls at user, group, and tenant levels (nested under Viva Insights Web app VFAM controls)
  • Consider reviewing with your works council
  • Update training and documentation as needed
  • Additional details will be available on MS Learn once this functionality is released, in a separate Agent Dashboard section: Copilot Analytics introduction

  [Compliance considerations:]

  No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

Updated January 15, 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.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in mid-March 2026 (previously late January).

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected: Users signed in to Microsoft Edge for Business with their Entra ID and who have access to Microsoft 365 Copilot.

What will happen:

• Users will be able to ask Copilot questions about open browser tabs, Microsoft 365 documents, and YouTube videos.
• The feature will be off by default.
• If Copilot is restricted from accessing page content via Data Loss Prevention (DLP) or the EdgeEntraCopilotPageContext policy, it will be suppressed to maintain DLP integrity.
• Existing DLP and policy configurations will be respected.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date; no admin action is required before rollout.
• Ensure users who need this capability have access to Microsoft 365 Copilot.
• Ensure your tenant is configured to support Microsoft 365 Copilot and that eligible users meet all licensing prerequisites, including Entra ID sign-in and applicable Microsoft 365 service plans.
• Review your current DLP and Edge policy configurations to determine potential impact.
• Notify users about this upcoming capability.
• Update internal documentation if needed.

Learn more:

• Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat in Edge and Access to Page Content | Microsoft Edge | Microsoft Learn
  
• Microsoft Edge – Policies | Microsoft Edge | Microsoft Learn
  

[Compliance considerations:]

Updated January 15, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

The Interpreter agent is now available in Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows for devices with a Teams Rooms Pro license. This feature enables real-time interpretation in up to nine languages, allowing participants to speak and listen in their preferred language. It also offers an option to simulate a participant’s personal voice for a more inclusive experience. No additional Copilot license is required.

Screenshot 1: Console

Screenshot 2: Front of room display

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 516571.

[When this will happen:]

• General Availability (Worldwide): Rolling out late January 2026 (previously early January), expected completion by late February 2026 (previously late January).

[How this will affect your organization:]

Who is affected: Organizations using Teams Rooms on Windows with Teams Rooms Pro licensing.

What will happen:

• Users can turn on Interpreter during a meeting:
  • Go to More > Turn on Interpreter, then select the language and voice option.
• Supported languages: Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish.
• Voice representation options: Simulated my voice (default) or Automated voice.
• Privacy: Voice samples or biometric data are never stored; original audio is analyzed in real time and not retained.
• Interpretation is simultaneous and may introduce a short delay; accuracy and latency improvements are ongoing.
• Tenant settings:
  • Interpreter is enabled by default. Admins can control whether the organization can use Interpreter and set the default voice option.
  • No device-level setting in the Pro Management Portal (PMP).
• Licensing: 20 hours of interpretation included per room account per month with a Teams Rooms Pro license. Access beyond included hours is subject to available capacity.

Learn more: Manage Interpreter agent for your organization – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn 

[What you need to do to prepare:]

• Ensure room accounts have a Teams Rooms Pro license.
• Review tenant settings:
  • Confirm Interpreter is enabled (default).
  • Set the preferred default voice option in your tenant.
• Communicate this change to helpdesk and support teams.
• Update internal documentation to reflect the new functionality.

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified; review as appropriate for your organization.

Updated January 16, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction:]

We’re introducing the ability to add public web links as references in Microsoft Copilot Notebooks. This enhancement allows users to ground Copilot responses on specific public web pages, expanding the types of content that can be used to inform and contextualize their work.

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

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 516040.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout began in mid-February 2026 (previously mid-November 2025) and is expected to complete by end of February 2026 (previously mid-January).

[How this will affect your organization:]

Who is affected: All users of Microsoft Copilot Notebooks with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

What will happen:

• Users will be able to add public web links as references in their Copilot Notebooks.
• This expands current capabilities, which already support referencing Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and other file types.
• Users can now ground Copilot on public web content without needing to convert it to a file format (such as PDF).
• The feature will be enabled by default.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No specific preparation is required. However, we recommend:

• Informing users about the upcoming capability to enhance their productivity.
• Updating internal documentation if you provide guidance on using Copilot Notebooks.

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

In October 2025, we announced (MC1098167) the removal of Gradual Rollouts for Feature Updates in Windows Autopatch. Based on customer feedback and operational learnings, we are reinstating Gradual Rollouts to provide organizations with more flexibility and reduce deployment overhead when managing Windows Feature Update deployments.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): This change will take effect February 2, 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Admins using Windows Autopatch to manage Windows Feature Updates through Microsoft Intune.

What will happen:

• Starting February 2, 2026, Gradual Rollouts for Feature Updates will again be available and supported in Windows Autopatch.
• You will be able to create or modify Gradual Rollout settings in the Intune admin center or through the Microsoft Graph API.
• Any existing gradual rollout policies will continue functioning through their originally configured end dates.
• You can continue to use Autopatch Groups if phased deployments are a better fit for your organization. Autopatch Groups support ring‑based deployments using Entra ID groups, multi‑phase Feature Update rollouts with custom schedules and deadlines, and policy‑level control for organizations that need more customization.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• Review your existing Feature Update policies beginning February 2, 2026.
• Communicate this change to your helpdesk or device management teams as appropriate using the Microsoft Intune admin center.
• If you have questions or need assistance, you can submit a service request directly from the Intune admin center.
• Review updated documentation on Microsoft Learn and Microsoft Graph.

Updated guidance and configuration details will be available in the following Microsoft Learn articles:

• Configure schedules to gradually roll out Windows updates in Intune
• gradualRolloutSettings resource type (Microsoft Graph beta)

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

To support organizations that will run additional employee listening programs, such as surveys for AI transformation or change management, we will introduce a dedicated Survey designer role. This role will grant selected users the ability to create and run Viva Glint surveys with only the permissions required for that work. It will not provide access to platform settings or sensitive data. This will allow organizations to expand survey creation in a secure and flexible way.

[When this will happen]

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in mid‑February 2026 and expect to complete by mid‑February 2026.

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected:

• Viva Glint customers in Microsoft Viva
• Admins assigning roles and users who create surveys

What will happen:

• A new Survey designer role will be available in Viva Glint.
• Users assigned this role will be able to create and run Viva Glint surveys, collect employee feedback, and manage survey lifecycle tasks.
• Survey designers won’t have access to broader Viva Glint configuration settings or sensitive admin data.
• The role will be available by default but must be explicitly assigned by an admin.

[What you can do to prepare]

• Review which users may benefit from expanded survey creation capabilities.
• Assign the Survey designer role as needed in Viva Glint role management.
• Update internal documentation as relevant.
• Communicate this role availability to stakeholders who run employee listening programs.

[Compliance considerations]

No compliance considerations identified. Review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

We’re introducing new capabilities in Microsoft Teams that allow creators and event organizers to design and manage immersive event templates. This enhancement enables users to create custom immersive environments, save them as reusable templates in collections, and share them with co-owners and members—all within the Teams Meet app. These features aim to streamline event preparation and improve collaboration for immersive experiences.

This message applies to Teams for Windows desktop and Teams for Mac desktop. Immersive collections can also be created in Teams for the web. It is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 542794.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability: Rollout will begin in mid-February 2026 and is expected to complete by early May 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

• Who is affected: All users who create or manage immersive events in Microsoft Teams.
• What will happen:
  • Users can create immersive collections and save templates for future use.
  • Templates can be shared by adding co-owners and members to collections.
  • This functionality will be available directly in the Teams Meet app.
  • No admin configuration is required; the feature will be ON by default.

Screenshot 1: Select the Microsoft Teams Meet app then select Events to open the immersive collections page where you can create and manage immersive collections.

Screenshot 2: Select the More options (…) next to the Immersive experience template on the immersive event schedule form, and then select Save as template to save an immersive event as a template to an immersive collection. Or select Manage templates to open the immersive collections page in the Meet app.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required at this time.
• If you’d like to learn more about immersive events in Teams, review this resource: Plan for immersive events – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn
• Before rollout, we will update this post with new documentation.

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified; review as appropriate for your organization.

Introduction

We are announcing the retirement of Q&A, Power BI’s legacy natural language tool. Starting December 2026, Q&A experiences will be retired. Moving forward, users can leverage Power BI Copilot, which offers a more advanced and integrated solution for querying data using generative AI. This change reduces feature overlap, accelerates innovation, and provides a consistent experience across Power BI.

When this will happen:

Q&A experiences and Q&A Setup will be fully retired by the end of December 2026.

How this affects your organization:

Who is affected: All organizations using Q&A experiences in Power BI reports, dashboards, mobile, or embedded analytics.

What will happen:

• Creation of new Q&A visuals or experiences will no longer be permitted after December 2026.
• Existing Q&A visuals in reports, dashboards, mobile, and embedded scenarios will stop working and will be removed.
• Q&A Setup tools (synonyms, linguistic relationships, teach Q&A, etc.) will be retired.
• Users should transition to Power BI Copilot for natural language queries and insights.

What you can do to prepare:

• Review reports and dashboards for Q&A visuals and plan to replace them with Copilot experiences. Learn more: Microsoft Power BI Updates Blog: Deprecating Power BI Q&A.
• Familiarize yourself with Power BI Copilot and Prep Data for AI as alternatives to Q&A and Q&A Setup.
• Update internal documentation and helpdesk guidance to reflect this change.

Compliance considerations:

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

We’re introducing Viva Engage communities in Microsoft Teams to make it easier for employees to connect, share, and learn across your organization. This new experience brings discoverable, asynchronous conversations and leadership engagement into Teams—helping employees explore ideas and perspectives beyond project-based collaboration.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 513274.

[When this will happen]

• General Availability (Worldwide): March 2026 to April 2026

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected: All Microsoft Teams users with access to Viva Engage.

What will happen:

• This feature is available to all Microsoft Teams customers with a standard Microsoft 365 and Teams license and access to Viva Engage. No additional Teams license is required.
• Communities will appear in Teams navigation:
  • Unified view: New section in the Chat app.
  • Split view: New section in the Chats and Channels app.
• Existing Viva Engage community memberships will sync into Teams.
• Favorited communities in Engage will appear in Teams favorites.
• Notifications for announcements and mentions will surface in Teams Activity feed and deep link to the new experience.
• Rich engagement features include:
  • Posting discussions, questions, praise, polls, and announcements (admins only).
  • Reactions, delegated posting (requires setup in Viva Engage), and scoped search.
  • Event participation: ask questions, upvote, view live or replay.
• Admins can manage community settings, membership, and roles directly in Teams.
• Default setting: ON for all tenants.

[What you can do to prepare]

• No immediate action required unless you want to disable this feature.
• To turn off communities in Teams:
  • Go to Teams admin center > Viva Engage settings > Toggle OFF.
• Ensure prerequisites:
  • Viva Engage IPs and URLs are not blocked.
  • Sign-ins for Viva Engage are enabled in Microsoft Entra ID.
  • Users have Microsoft 365 and Teams licenses.
• Consider sharing best practices and customization options with users.
• Coordinate with Viva Engage admins for internal change communications.

Learn more:  

• Getting started with Viva Engage Communities in Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Support
• Manage Viva Engage experiences in Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams | Micosoft Learn

[Compliance considerations]

No compliance considerations identified. Review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

We’re introducing a new admin settings export in Viva Engage, helping organizations meet regulatory requirements by making key admin configuration data easily accessible and portable. Additionally, the network data export file has also been updated to include visibility into users placed in view-only mode in Engage and corporate communicators assigned the advanced moderation permission.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out late January 2026 and expect to complete by mid-February 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

Global Admins, Engage Admins, and Verified Admins.

What’s new:

• Admins can now export a snapshot of Viva Engage admin settings directly from the Engage Admin Center.
• The export provides a point-in-time, human-readable (.csv) file capturing current configuration of all in-scope admin settings.
• The network data export file now includes visibility into users placed in view-only mode and corporate communicators assigned the advanced moderation permission.

How it works:

• Where to find it: Engage Admin Center → Governance & Compliance → Data Management
• Export format: CSV containing setting names and their current configured values

What’s included

• Tenant- and network-level admin configuration settings based on tenant licensing for Engage Admins, Verified Admins, Network Admins, and Corporate Communicators.

What’s not included

• Community-level or Microsoft 365 Group–specific settings
• Engage settings managed in the Teams Admin Center or Microsoft 365 Admin Center

Who can access the export

• Global Administrator
• Engage Administrator
• Verified Administrator

[What you can do to prepare:]

• Engage admins, Global admins, and Verified admins can pull an export of admin settings when the feature becomes available.
• No additional preparation is required.

Learn more: Export and manage Viva Engage data (will be updated before rollout)

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

• Dataverse Choice fields: The Choice field is a common data type in Dataverse which is similar to a picklist or enumeration. Dataverse choice fields can generally be identified by the ‘code’ suffix Dataverse adds to the display name of the column, such as gendercode. Instead of having to enter a numeric code for fields, Choice fields are now shown as a list of choice names and their code, such as: GenderCode * Male (1) * Female (2).
• Numeric and String fields: Numeric and string fields are analyzed and if there are < 200 distinct values, the distinct values will be displayed in a dropdown combo box allowing you to select from the existing distinct values or to enter a different value. For performance, we will sample the first 10,000 rows from a data lake for distinct values.

• Read the full hardening guidance: How to manage Kerberos KDC usage of RC4 for service account ticket issuance changes related to CVE-2026-20833.
• Learn about RC4 usage in Windows and its risks: Detect and remediate RC4 usage in Kerberos.
• Learn more about the related vulnerability: CVE-2026-20833.

[Introduction]

We are updating the Enforcement plane terminology in Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) and Collection Policies. The Enforcement plane identifies the application or environment where a DLP policy is evaluated and enforced, indicating where user actions are inspected and where policy outcomes—such as blocking, replacing, or auditing—are applied. Because policy enforcement happens on the application where activity occurs, we are renaming the Enforcement plane from Entra to Application. This update aligns terminology with how policies function and clarifies that enforcement applies across both AI and non‑AI applications.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins mid-January 2026 and is expected to complete by mid-February 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Admins who manage Microsoft Purview DLP or Collection Policies
• Organizations using Purview audit logs or DLP cmdlets

What will happen:

• The Enforcement plane value will change from Entra to Application across product experiences.
• New audit logs will show the updated Application value; existing logs will retain the prior Entra value.



• There are no functional changes to DLP policy behavior.
• There is no user impact.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required for user experience or policy behavior.
• If you use cmdlets, update scripts to reference Application instead of Entra.
• Update internal documentation or training materials that reference the previous terminology.

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

People Skills is expanding AI-powered skill inferencing to include users with Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3 and Microsoft 365 Enterprise E5 licenses. Previously, AI-powered skill inferencing was available only to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Viva licensed users.

With this update, admins will be able to turn on AI-powered skill inferencing for Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3 and E5 licensed users directly in the Microsoft 365 admin center. AI-powered skill inferencing uses AI to automatically identify and update skills on users’ Microsoft 365 profiles based on their work activity from the Microsoft Graph. Learn more: People Skills AI inferencing engine.

As a reminder, People Skills is an intelligent data layer that infers skills from user activity mapped to a customizable built-in skills taxonomy. It enhances Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Viva experiences by providing contextualized information about people across the organization. Learn more about People Skills.

Expanding AI-powered skill inferencing to Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3/E5 licensed users increases skills coverage across the organization, resulting in richer workforce analytics for leaders and more robust results in people-based queries across Microsoft 365 Copilot and related agents.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 548643.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin at the end of January 2026 and is expected to complete by mid-February 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Admins managing People Skills in Microsoft 365.
• Tenants that have at least one Microsoft 365 Copilot license will have access to this control 

What will happen:

• Admins will have the option to enable AI-powered skill inferencing for Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3/E5 licensed users.
• This capability is available directly in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
• No changes will occur until an admin turns on this capability.
• People Skills must be set up before AI-powered inferencing can begin.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No action is required at this time. This message is for awareness only.

To prepare for enabling AI-powered skill inferencing for Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3/E5 licensed users after rollout, you can:

• Confirm your tenant has Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3 or E5 licensed users.
• Confirm your tenant has at least one Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
• Set up People Skills in the Microsoft 365 admin center before enabling inferencing.
• Review the guide: Manage your skills library in People Skills.
• Learn how to set up People Skills.

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

Teams meeting Notes, powered by Loop, are now available for instant calls and meetings, like those started from Meet now and calls started from chat. Meeting notes are Loop components in Teams meetings and chats that allow users to collaboratively build agendas, capture notes, and create action items. Once added, they stay in sync and can be shared and edited in the Loop app in your web browser.

This message applies to Teams for Windows desktop, Teams for Mac desktop, and Teams for the web and is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 541831.

[When this will happen:]

• Targeted Release: We will begin rollout early February 2026 and expect to complete late February 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rollout late February 2026 and expect to complete late March 2026.
• General Availability (GCC): We will begin rollout late April 2026 and expect to complete late May 2026.
• General Availability (GCC High): We will begin rollout mid May 2026 and expect to complete mid June 2026.
• General Availability (DoD): We will begin rollout early June 2026 and expect to complete early July 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• All users who participate in instant meetings in Microsoft Teams.
• Admins managing Teams, SharePoint sharing defaults, or Loop settings.

What will happen:

• Users can add meeting notes using the Notes button in meeting controls.
• Notes appear in a right-side pane with an option to open in the browser.



• Notes are Loop components and stay in sync across Teams and the Loop app.
• Users can co-create agendas, take notes, and assign tasks.
• Tasks sync with Planner and To Do and send email notifications.
• After the meeting, notes are accessible in the Recap tab → Notes.



• Note: The new meeting notes file will generate a Company Shareable Link (CSL) unless your organization has set People Specific Link (PSL) as the default. If PSL is the default, only users included on the original meeting invite will be able to access the notes. Users who were forwarded the meeting or nudged into it will need to request access to the notes.
• This feature is enabled by default.
• Known limitation: Meeting notes are not available for Teams calls.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No admin action is required.

• Review your organization’s SharePoint sharing defaults.
• Notify users or helpdesk staff about this change.
• Update internal documentation as needed.
• Manage this feature via PowerShell if necessary:
  Set-SPOTenant -IsCollabMeetingNotesFluidEnabled (boolean)

Learn more: Settings management for Loop functionality in Teams

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

[Introduction]

Today, admins must manually review trust and compliance information for Teams apps and agents to determine whether they meet their organization’s security, privacy, and compliance requirements. To make this process more scalable and consistent, Teams will introduce a centralized evaluation experience. Admins will define their organization’s trust requirements once, and the system will generate a score and detailed evaluation report for each app and agent based on those requirements. This will help organizations make faster, more consistent approval decisions.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 532720.

[When this will happen]

General Availability (Worldwide and GCC): We will begin rollout in mid-February 2026 and expect to complete by the end of February 2026.

[How this will affect your organization]

Who is affected: Admins who manage apps and agents in the Teams admin center.

What will happen:

• A new evaluation score settings tab will appear in Teams admin center > Teams apps.
• Admins will be able to configure approval requirements—such as GDPR compliance, SOC 2 certification, and data residency—one time for their organization.
• The system will automatically calculate an evaluation score for each app and agent based on how many requirements are met.
• A new evaluation score column will appear in Teams admin center > Teams apps > Manage apps, with options to sort and filter by score.
• A detailed evaluation report will be available on the App details page, providing requirement-by-requirement detail.
• This feature will not change app enablement or blocking behavior and will not modify any underlying metadata.
• The feature will be enabled by default and will not require admin action to activate.

[What you can do to prepare]

No action is required. This feature will be available automatically in the Teams admin center.

Admins may choose to review their approval workflows once the feature becomes available.

[Compliance considerations]

No compliance considerations identified. Review as appropriate for your organization.