Identifying who knows what in a large organization is a common challenge for IT and HR leaders. Microsoft is addressing this by expanding AI-powered skill inferencing to Microsoft 365 Enterprise E3 and E5 licenses. This should be rolling out in late January 2026 according to the Microsoft 365 roadmap.
What is People Skills? People Skills is a data layer that identifies expertise based on signals from the Microsoft Graph, such as email topics and document content. It maps these signals to a built-in library of over 16,000 skills.
Why this update matters Previously, this was limited to users with premium Copilot or Viva licenses. By including E3 and E5 users, the ‘skills landscape’ of your organization becomes much more complete. This is particularly useful when using Copilot to find experts or when leaders need to analyze the skills available for new projects.
Control and Privacy It is important to note that this feature is not a ‘free-for-all’.
- Admin Control: This is off by default for E3 and E5 users. Admins must enable it in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
- User Consent: A skill inferred by the system is only visible to the user at first. It only becomes public on their profile card once they confirm it.
- Prerequisites: Your tenant must have at least one active Copilot license to access these controls.
Managing the rollout As an MVP, I recommend reviewing your internal data privacy policies before enabling this. While the user has the final say, it is best to be transparent about how these skills are identified. You can also use PowerShell to manage which groups have access to these features if you need a staged approach.