Microsoft Roadmap, messagecenter and blogs updates from 14-02-2026

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

[Introduction]

We’re introducing new Word, Excel, and PowerPoint agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot to help users create documents, workbooks, and presentations more efficiently in Copilot Chat within the Frontier program. These agents assist with creating documents, workbooks, and presentations by using web and enterprise grounding. Each agent supports multi-turn chat, enabling user to refine content through an interactive back-and-forth conversation.

This rollout is for Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed users. The Copilot Chat user rollout has not yet started.

[When this will happen:]

• General Availability: We will begin rolling out on February 9, 2026 (previously January 29) and expect to complete by end of February 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

If your organization has enabled Anthropic usage in your tenant, users will be able to access Word, Excel, and PowerPoint agents via the navigation pane in the M365 Copilot app or within the Tools menu in Copilot chat. Additionally, users can invoke these agents by typing “@” followed by the agent name (for example, @PowerPoint).

Who is affected:

• Copilot Chat users and Microsoft 365 Copilot users in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app

What will happen:

• Users will have access to the following Copilot agents:
• Word agent: Assists with research, formatting, layout, and content refinement for documents such as strategic plans, policy documents, and technical papers.
• Excel agent: Supports data analysis, formula generation, trend identification, and summarization of insights.
• PowerPoint agent: Helps generate presentations from outlines or documents, suggests layouts, and refines visual storytelling.
• Each agent supports multi-turn chat for iterative content development.
• Users can perform high-level iterations on the generated files via chat directly in the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint agents. For more extensive or granular editing, users can open their documents in the respective applications.



• The feature will be ON by default for tenants with Copilot access and for tenants who have Anthropic usage enabled. If Anthropic usage is disabled by the admin, the agents will not appear in the user experience. Learn more: Connect to Anthropic’s AI models | Microsoft Learn.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required at this time.
• Communicate availability to helpdesk or content teams.
• If desired, review internal documentation or training materials to reflect the new capabilities.

Learn more: Get started with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot (Frontier)

[Compliance considerations:]

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

Updated February 13, 2026: Feature rollout is now 100% WW. Limitations: Current feature works for English queries only at this time. Users do not need to change their language settings. Localization support targeted for Q2.

[Introduction]

We’re introducing a new capability in Microsoft 365 Copilot: scheduling meetings directly from Copilot chat. This enhancement reduces context switching by allowing users to find available times, book rooms, draft agendas, and send invites—all within the chat experience. This feature supports improved collaboration and productivity across your organization.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout is beginning now and completed by late January 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected: All users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and access to Copilot chat.

[What will happen:]

• Users can schedule meetings directly from Copilot chat without leaving the conversation.



• Simply ask Copilot to schedule a meeting with colleagues, and it will find available times, book rooms, draft agendas, and send invites—all within the chat experience.
• The feature will be ON by default once enabled; no admin configuration is required.
• Existing admin policies for calendar and meeting settings remain respected.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required from admins; the feature will be supported by default.
• Optional: Communicate this change to your helpdesk and end users to reduce support inquiries.
• Review internal documentation if you detail scheduling workflows.

Compliance considerations:

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

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

[Introduction]

In early 2026, a major update of Planner will begin rolling out. This update will introduce several new capabilities. In addition, several features will be retired from Microsoft Planner. These changes will begin rolling out between mid-January 2026 and mid-February 2026.

[When this will happen:]

Refer to the sections below for details on timing.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected: All users of Microsoft Planner in your organization, including those using Planner components in Loop, integrations with Viva Goals, and premium Planner plans.

What will happen:

In early 2026, we will begin rolling out a new major update of the Planner app in Teams desktop and web as well as Planner on the web. This update will come with several new enhancements, and we will also be retiring several features at this time. See each section below for more detail on the timing.

New features in the upcoming Planner update:

• These changes will be available with the new update, which we expect to begin rolling in mid-February 2026.
• Tasks chats in basic plans will allow team members to collaborate directly on tasks using rich text formatting and @mentions, making it easier to discuss work and notify teammates about what needs attention.
• Goals in basic plans for users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license or a Planner premium license. Goals will allow teams to set clear, well-defined objectives to help prioritize work. By connecting tasks to shared goals, teams achieve greater alignment, gain clarity on priorities, and track progress and outcomes—driving the plan forward together.

New features coming in subsequent Planner updates:

• Project manager agent will be available in all plans for M365 Copilot licensed users, including basic plans. The Project Manager agent can help teams get work done faster by executing on tasks and can help drive alignment by writing comprehensive status reports based on plan updates.
• Custom templates will allow you to create reusable, pre-designed plan layouts tailored to your organization’s needs, ensuring consistency and saving time. They provide the ability to standardize content while allowing easy customization for specific scenarios.

Features in Planner that will be retired:

• We expect this rollout to begin between mid-January 2026 and mid-February 2026.
• The following changes will take effect as this build rolls out to your organization:
• A new Task chat experience will replace the prior comments experience for basic plan tasks:
  • As noted above, the previous task comments experience will be replaced by a new task chat feature that supports messages about the task that can include @mentions and rich text formatting, in response to a longstanding top customer request. Due to customer feedback on our notifications experience, the new chat feature only sends an email/Teams notification to a colleague that’s been @mentioned in the message.
  • The task chat experience will be available on Planner in Teams web/desktop and the Planner web experience, and the old experience for viewing comments will no longer be directly visible on a task. Instead, the task details pane will show a link to open a page in Outlook where task comments can be seen.
  • Users can continue to use and see the previous task comments experience in the iOS Planner app, Android Planner app, and Planner in Teams mobile. New task chat messages will not be visible in the mobile experience at this time.
  • There are no changes to email notifications for the existing task comments experience, meaning that an email notification will be sent to all group members associated with the plan when a task comment is added.
  • There is no change to the premium plan conversations feature at this time.
• The whiteboard tab for premium plans will be retired.
  • This feature automatically created a whiteboard for premium plans in Planner and allowed users to create tasks in Planner from that whiteboard’s sticky notes.
  • The whiteboard tab will be unavailable on the premium plan after retirement of this feature.
  • Users will be unable to create tasks from a whiteboard as a result.
  • Any existing whiteboard content will remain available via the Whiteboard app.
  • There is no replacement for this feature at this time.

Features in Planner that will be temporarily unavailable:

• We expect this rollout to begin between mid-January 2026 and mid-February 2026.
• Convert a basic plan to a premium plan will be temporarily unavailable.
• The ability to convert an existing basic plan to a premium plan will be unavailable.
• We plan to make similar functionality available again in the future.
• In the meantime, users will need to create a new premium plan and manually copy the tasks into the new plan.

Features that will be retired as we pursue a long‑term plan to bring equivalent capabilities:

• Planner component in Loop pages.
  • This control, which could previously be inserted by typing /planner in a Loop workspace or pasting the link to a Plan, was one of the available options. This control will be retired between mid-January 2026 and mid-February 2026.
  • Loop pages support various options for capturing task information. We recommend the Task List Control in Loop to capture tasks.
  • After the retirement of this control, which is expected to begin in January 2026 and will roll out independent of the Planner update rollout, it will no longer be possible to add a new component of this type in a Loop workspace.
  • Workspaces where these components were already present will display the Planner plan URL where the component was previously located.
  • Tasks previously entered in these components will remain available in Planner.

While the Planner component in Loop is being retired currently, we recognize the user need around a component like this for their planning needs. We have a longer-term goal to bring a similar Planner component across our M365 suite, including Loop. Considering these discussions are still in an early stage, we do not have an ETA to share currently.

 Features outside of Planner that will be retired without replacement:

• Planner integration in Viva Goals.
  • Viva Goals will be retired on December 31, 2025, as previously announced. Refer to Viva Goals retirement for more information.
  • When Viva Goals is retired, the entry point in Viva Goals for use with Planner will no longer be available.
• iCalendar feed integration retirement.
  • This feature will be retired between mid-January 2026 and mid-February 2026.
  • This feature allowed users to subscribe to their Planner tasks as an iCalendar feed that could be viewed in iCalendar-compatible applications like Outlook.
  • After this feature is retired, users will not be able to create new iCalendar feeds for their tasks or plans, and they will stop seeing their tasks in the iCalendar feeds they previous created.
  • There is no replacement for this feature at this time.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• These changes will happen automatically by the specified dates.
• No admin action is required.
• Notify users about this change.
  • Update relevant documentation as appropriate.
  • Share the recommended alternate options where appropriate, as described above.

[Compliance considerations:]

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

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

Office for the web in Microsoft 365 now supports applying sensitivity labels with user-defined permissions. This enhancement provides organizations with greater flexibility and control over document access in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for the web.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 468888.

General Availability

• Worldwide and GCC: We will begin rolling out in mid-March 2026 (previously mid-February) and expect to complete by early April (previously early March).
• GCCH and DoD: We will begin rolling out in mid-March (previously mid-February) and expect to complete by early May (previously early April).

• Who is affected: All users of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for the web in Microsoft 365.
• What will happen:
  • Users can apply sensitivity labels with user-defined permissions in Office for the web.
  • The experience aligns with the modernized permissions dialog in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Windows.
  • No changes to existing admin policies; feature respects current configurations.

No action is required. The user interface for applying custom permissions is consistent with the modernized dialog in Office desktop apps.

Learn more: 

• Apply sensitivity labels to your files | Microsoft Support
• Let users assign permissions – Restrict access to content by using sensitivity labels to apply encryption | Microsoft Purview | Microsoft Learn
• Sensitivity label capabilities in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint – Minimum versions for sensitivity labels in Office apps | Microsoft Purview | Microsoft Learn

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

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

[Introduction]

We’re expanding the ability for users to report suspicious Microsoft Teams messages to customers with Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1. Previously available only to Plan 2, this update helps security teams identify and investigate potential phishing, malware, and spam across internal and external Teams chats, channels, and meeting chats. This enhancement strengthens protection by incorporating user-reported signals into existing Defender detections.

Users will be able to report messages in two ways:

• Report as security risk — for messages suspected to contain phishing, malware, or other malicious content.
• Report as not a security risk — for messages that were incorrectly identified as threats (false positives).

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 531760.

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins in late February 2026 (previously mid-March) and is expected to complete by end of February 2026 (previously late March).

Who is affected:

• Microsoft 365 tenants using Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1
• Users across Microsoft Teams
• Security admins reviewing reported messages

What will happen:

• Users will see options to report messages as security risks or not security risks. 
• Reports will appear on the User reported page in the Defender portal and/or your configured mailbox.
• This feature is opt-in and respects your existing User reported settings.
• Teams admin center toggles for reporting will be automatically enabled when User reported settings are turned on.

• Enable and configure User reported settings in the Defender portal.
• Review message reported destination preferences for reported messages.
• Communicate reporting guidance to users.
• Review supporting documentation.
• Update internal documentation as needed.

Learn more: 

• How your submissions to Defender for Office 365 are processed behind-the-scenes | Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Blog
• Turn off or turn on user reporting of Teams messages in the Defender portal | Microsoft Learn
• User reported message settings in Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Defender for Office 365 | Microsoft Learn

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

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

[Introduction]

We are updating the Microsoft Teams app bar to create a cleaner and more focused experience. App names will be hidden by default, showing only app icons. This helps reduce visual noise and improves overall navigation clarity. Users can choose to show app names again in Settings.

Accessibility reviews have been conducted to verify compliance and ensure screen readers are working properly.

[When this will happen]

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in mid-March 2026 (previously late February) and expect to complete by early April 2026 (previously early March).

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected: All Microsoft Teams users in commercial (non-government) tenants.

What will happen:

• App names in the Teams app bar will be hidden by default.
• Users will see app icons only, providing a simplified vertical navigation experience.
• Users who prefer to show app names may update this setting individually:
  • Settings > Appearance > Show app names in the app bar
• No admin configuration changes are required.
• There is no impact to existing policies, permissions, or app availability.

Screenshot 1 – Before:

Screenshot 2 – After:

[What you can do to prepare]

• No action is required.
• If helpful, you may notify users or help desk staff about this visual update and how to re-enable app names.
• If your organization maintains internal documentation or screenshots of the Teams interface, consider updating them after rollout.

[Compliance considerations]

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

[Introduction]

To maintain a high-quality and reliable experience for live Captions & Subtitles in the Microsoft 365 PowerPoint app, Microsoft is upgrading the backend service that supports this capability. As part of this improvement, older Office client versions will no longer be supported. Updating to the minimum required PowerPoint version ensures continued accessibility, performance, and reliability.

[When this will happen:]

Upgrade by the end of September 2026

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Organizations using Microsoft 365 PowerPoint app (Win32 or Mac)
• Users running PowerPoint versions earlier than:
  • Windows (Win32): 16.0.19426.20218
  • macOS: 16.103.1207.4

[What will happen:]

• Users on unsupported versions will lose access to Captions & Subtitles after the listed dates.
• There is no change for users on supported versions.
• No changes to default settings or admin configuration are required.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• Review PowerPoint client versions across your organization (Windows and Mac).
• Update Office clients to:
  • Windows (Win32): 16.0.19426.20218 or later
  • macOS: 16.103.1207.4 or later
• Plan upgrades ahead of September 2026, especially for environments on managed or restricted update cadences.
• Notify helpdesk and accessibility stakeholders.

[Compliance considerations:]

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

• A new form that shows both incoming and outgoing intercompany timesheets.
• An indicator to alert when any prices are set to zero.
• An indicator to alert when the posted pricing is different than the configuration of date effective pricing.
• The ability for project managers to create corrections without being configured as a delegate.
• Increased traceability into the source of the transaction on the intercompany vendor invoice line.