Microsoft Roadmap, messagecenter and blogs updates from 20-03-2026

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

[Introduction]

We’re improving the panel which shows your Activity in other accounts and orgs in Microsoft Teams to streamline how users triage and respond to cross‑tenant activity. This update reduces the need to switch tenants, helping users stay in context and collaborate more efficiently across organizations.

This message applies to Teams for Windows desktop and Teams for Mac desktop.

[When this will happen:]

• Targeted Release: Begins rolling out November 16, 2025; expected to complete by November 20, 2025.
• General Availability (Worldwide): Begins rolling out mid-March 2026 (previously late January); expected to complete by late March 2026 (previously late February).
• General Availability (GCC, GCC High): Begins rolling out early April 2026 (previously mid-March); expected to complete by mid-April 2026 (previously late March).
• General Availability (DoD): Begins rolling out early April 2026 (previously late March); expected to complete by mid-April 2026 (previously mid-March).

[How this affects your organization:]

• Who is affected: All Microsoft Teams users with multi‑tenant, multi‑account configurations.
• What will happen:
  • Users gain an improved centralized panel for viewing cross‑organization and cross-account activity notifications, eliminating the need to manually switch organizations or accounts to check notification and activity details. This improves responsiveness and reduces context switching.
  • The entry point for the panel that shows Activity in other accounts and orgs will move from the top-right corner to the bottom-left sidebar in Teams. The entry point icon will appear only when you have more than one account or tenant available to you. 

  

  • The entry point icon will display a count of total missed cross‑org and cross‑account activity notifications.
  • Selecting the icon will open a panel which will show missed activity notifications across all orgs and accounts, grouped by each tenant. If there is no missed activity in a tenant, it will not appear in the panel.
  • Selecting an activity inside the panel opens it in a child window, preserving the context in the main window.
  • Users can pin up to 3 tenants to the sidebar to stay updated. Pinned tenants remain in the sidebar even if there is no missed activity.
  • Selecting a pinned tenant shows a panel with missed activity notifications from that tenant only. Notifications from pinned tenants do not appear in the main panel for activity in other accounts and orgs.

  

  • The feature is enabled by default for tenants where multi‑tenant or multi-accounts are supported and available.
  • No admin configuration is required, the updated panel respects existing tenant and account policies.

Before rollout, we will update this post with new documentation.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• Communicate this change to users, including the new location of the Activity in other accounts and orgs panel and the ability to pin tenants to the sidebar.
• Monitor adoption and gather feedback for future iterations.
• No admin action is required for rollout.

Known issue: Cross-cloud notifications do not appear in the Activity in other accounts and orgs panel at this time. This capability is actively being worked on and is expected to be available by the end of November 2025.

[Compliance considerations:]

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

Updated March 19, 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 feature will only be available in tenants that have enabled coauthoring on files encrypted with sensitivity labels: Enable co-authoring for files encrypted with sensitivity labels

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 468888.

General Availability

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

• 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 March 19, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

Microsoft 365 Copilot is introducing infinite scroll for chat history, enabling users to seamlessly access older conversations by automatically loading additional chat sessions as they scroll. This update provides an improved and more fluid experience when navigating past conversations.

This feature is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 557348. 

[When this will happen]

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out this feature in early April 2026 (previously mid-March) and expect to complete rollout by end of April 2026 (previously end of March).

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• All users of Microsoft 365 Copilot

What will happen

• Users will be able to view their full chat history directly in the navigation pane:

  

• Additional conversations will load automatically as users scroll.
• This feature will be enabled by default for all tenants.
• No admin controls or policy changes are introduced with this release.
• There is no impact to existing workflows or admin configurations.

[What you can do to prepare]

No action is required.

Admins may choose to inform helpdesk or support teams about the updated navigation experience.

[Compliance considerations]

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

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

[Introduction]

We’re introducing Microsoft Entra passkeys on Windows to enable phishing-resistant sign-in to Entra-protected resources. This update allows users to create device‑bound passkeys stored in the Windows Hello container and authenticate using Windows Hello methods (face, fingerprint, or PIN). It also expands passwordless authentication to Windows devices that aren’t Entra‑joined or registered, helping organizations strengthen security and reduce reliance on passwords.

[When this will happen]

• Public preview: 
  
  • Worldwide: Late March 2026 to late April 2026
  • GCC: Late April 2026 to late May 2026
  • GCC High: Late April 2026 to late May 2026
  • DoD: Late April 2026 to late May 2026

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• Organizations using Microsoft Entra ID whose users sign in from Windows devices, including corporate‑managed, personal, and shared PCs.

What will happen

• There is no impact to your organization unless you opt in.
• Microsoft Entra passkeys on Windows will be available as a phishing‑resistant, passwordless sign‑in option for Entra‑protected cloud resources.
• Users will authenticate with Windows Hello (face, fingerprint, or PIN).
• Users can use passkeys on Windows devices that are not Entra‑joined or registered, enabling use on personal, shared, and unmanaged PCs.
• Users can sign-in to multiple Entra accounts on the same Windows device, with each account registering its own passkey.
• Passkeys on Windows are device‑bound and do not sync across devices; each device requires separate registration per Entra account.
• Windows Hello for Business remains recommended for managed, Entra‑joined or registered devices; passkeys supplement unmanaged device scenarios and do not support device sign‑in.
• Existing Conditional Access and authentication strength policies continue to apply with no required configuration changes unless you choose to enable passkeys.
• Users can’t register a passkey on Windows if a Windows Hello for Business credential already exists for the same account and container. This block may not apply once the user exceeds 50 total credentials across passkeys (FIDO2), Windows Hello for Business, and Mac Platform Credentials.  

[What you can do to prepare]

If you want to enable Entra passkeys on Windows during public preview:

• Enable the Passkeys (FIDO2) authentication method in Authentication Methods policies.
• Create a passkey profile and configure:
  • Attestation enforcement: Disabled
  • Key restrictions: Enabled
  • Allowed AAGUIDs (required during preview):
    • Windows Hello Hardware Authenticator: 08987058-cadc-4b81-b6e1-30de50dcbe96
    • Windows Hello VBS Hardware Authenticator: 9ddd1817-af5a-4672-a2b9-3e3dd95000a9
    • Windows Hello Software Authenticator: 6028b017-b1d4-4c02-b4b3-afcdafc96bb2
    • Note: During Public Preview, you must explicitly add these Windows Hello AAGUIDs to the allowed list.
• Assign the passkey profile to appropriate groups.
• Validate Conditional Access and authentication strengths policies to ensure they support passkey authentication.
• Communicate with pilot users about supported scenarios and enrollment steps.
• Update internal documentation if your organization tracks approved authentication methods.

If you do not plan to participate in the public preview, no action is required.

Learn more: How to enable passkey (FIDO2) profiles in Microsoft Entra ID (preview) | Authentication | Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn

[Compliance considerations]

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

Updated March 19, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We’re retiring the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel option from the Office Customization Tool in the Microsoft 365 apps admin center and in the Microsoft Office 365 Client Management experience in Configuration Manager. This retirement supports our ongoing efforts to simplify update channel management for Microsoft 365 Apps and ensure customers benefit from the most secure, up-to-date experience. We will continue to invest in the Monthly Enterprise Channel and Current Channel, which offer more frequent security and feature updates.

[When this will happen]

We will begin retiring this option on April 6, 2026, and expect to complete the retirement by April 11, 2026.

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• Organizations that use the Office Customization Tool in the Microsoft 365 apps admin center to create deployment configurations for Microsoft 365 Apps.
• Organizations that use the Microsoft Office 365 Client Management experience in Configuration Manager.

What will happen

• The Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel will be removed from the list of available update channel options when creating new deployment configurations.
• Deployment configurations you have already created that use Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel will continue to retain that value when viewed or edited; however, it will not be available as a selectable option for new configurations.
• Only Current Channel and Monthly Enterprise Channel will be available for new configuration creation.
• There is no impact to devices currently configured for Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel.

[What you can do to prepare]

No admin action is required for this retirement. You may choose to:

• Notify relevant admins or deployment teams of this upcoming change.
• Update internal documentation if it references the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel as a selectable option.
• Review your existing configurations in the Office Customization Tool if you plan to transition to a different update channel going forward.
• If desired, use this Microsoft Learn resource to plan channel migration: Change the Microsoft 365 Apps update channel for devices in your organization | Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn.

[Compliance considerations]

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

[Introduction]

We are introducing designer tools in Copilot, a new set of user experience (UX)-based controls that give users greater control over how images and other visual artifacts are created. Designer tools help users refine prompts, adjust visual outputs, and iterate more effectively—reducing trial and error and improving the quality of generated visuals.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout began in mid-February 2026 and is expected to complete by early April 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

All users with access to Copilot image creation experiences across Microsoft 365 workloads.

What will happen:

• Users will see new designer-style controls when creating images or visual artifacts in Copilot.



• Users can refine prompts and adjust visual characteristics using guided UX elements.
• The feature is enabled by default for eligible users.
• Existing security, privacy, and Copilot policies continue to apply.
• No changes are required to existing admin configurations.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No action is required to prepare for this change.

• Optionally update internal Copilot training or documentation.
• Inform helpdesk teams about the new image creation controls.

[Compliance considerations:]

This change introduces new UX-based interactions with generative AI for image creation.

[Introduction]

We are updating the Frontier Admin Control to simplify how administrators manage access to experimental Frontier features across Microsoft 365. With this change, Frontier enrollment is unified across apps, platforms, and agents. This update provide simpler enrollment and broader consistency across apps.

[When this will happen:]

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

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Microsoft 365 administrators managing Frontier access
• Users licensed for Microsoft 365 Copilot
• Organizations using or planning to use Frontier features

What will happen:

• Frontier access is managed through a single enrollment control across all apps, platforms, and agents.
• Only users enabled in the Frontier Admin Control can see and install Frontier features.
• Agents published after rollout will require Frontier enrollment; earlier agents remain available to Copilot-licensed users.
• Frontier features in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are now available to all users in the Beta Channel and users assigned in the Frontier Admin Control who are on Current Channel (Preview) or Current Channel.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required.
• Optionally, review and update Frontier enrollment.
• Update internal documentation or notify support teams as needed.

Learn more: Frontier program – Microsoft Adoption

[Compliance considerations:]

[Introduction]

We’re updating Microsoft Teams for macOS to make account management easier for users. This update adds new entry points for account‑related actions in the Teams app menu and the macOS Dock icon menu. These changes improve discoverability without changing existing account behavior, policies, or admin controls.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 558340.

[When this will happen]

• Targeted Release: Rolling out in late April 2026; expected to complete in late April 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): Rolling out in late April 2026; expected to complete in late May 2026.

[How this will affect your organization]

Who is affected

• Users running Microsoft Teams on macOS.

What will happen

• Users will see new access points for account management in:
  • The Teams app menu on macOS
  • The macOS Dock icon context menu
• Existing tenant configurations, account policies, and administrative controls remain unchanged.
• The feature is enabled by default for all macOS users.
• No changes to user permissions or sign‑in behavior.

[What you can do to prepare]

No action is required. This update will roll out automatically.

If helpful for internal readiness:

• Notify helpdesk staff about the new menu entry points for macOS users.
• Update internal documentation or user guidance if you maintain macOS‑specific Teams instructions.

[Compliance considerations]

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

[Introduction]

The Planner Agent is now available in Microsoft 365 Copilot through Frontier. This capability brings Planner’s intelligent work management directly into Copilot chat, enabling users to create, update, and manage personal tasks and shared basic plans without switching context. Integrated across Microsoft 365, it helps users stay organized with insights into priorities, deadlines, and at‑risk work, and provides interactive task cards to maintain progress.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 516576.

[When this will happen]

• Frontier availability: Available now
• Public Preview: Rollout will begin in mid-March 2026 and is expected to complete by late April 2026.

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

This capability is available to Microsoft 365 tenants whose IT admins:

• Enroll the tenant in the Frontier program (automatically enrolled), and
• Users must also have an active Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

What will happen

Users will be able to:

• Access the Planner (Frontier) Agent across Microsoft 365 Copilot experiences
• Create, view, and update personal tasks and basic shared plans directly in Copilot chat
• Use interactive task cards to draft updates, manage task hierarchies, and track progress
• Receive intelligent insights such as high‑priority work, upcoming deadlines, and at‑risk tasks
• Find and add the agent from the All agents section in the Copilot agent store
• Use natural prompts such as: “Show me my recent high‑priority tasks and what’s due this week.”

  

Default state:

• Frontier features are opt‑in and require explicit admin enrollment and assignment.
• Capabilities may change as these features are experimental and built for feedback.

[What you can do to prepare]

• Confirm users have active Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses.
• Review and configure agent settings as needed.
• Communicate that Frontier features are experimental and may change.
• Update internal documentation if you track preview experiences.

Learn more: 

• Frontier Program – Microsoft
• Manage Copilot agents in the Microsoft 365 admin center | Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn

[Compliance considerations]

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

[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.

[When this will happen]

• Targeted Release: We expect to complete rollout by mid‑April 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in late April 2026 and expect to complete in May 2026.
• General Availability (GCC and GCCH): We will begin rolling out in mid-April 2026 and expect to complete by late April 2026.
• General Availability (DoD): We will begin rolling out in early May 2026 and expect to complete by mid-May 2026.

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• All Microsoft Teams users across supported clients.

What will happen

• Recently used emojis and reactions will sync across devices.
• Users will see the same “recently used” list regardless of which Teams client they use.
• The feature will be enabled by default; no configuration is required for rollout.
• Existing Teams admin settings and messaging policies will continue to apply.
• There is no impact to message flow, data storage, compliance boundaries, or customer data pathways.

[What you can do to prepare]

No action is required. This update will roll out automatically.

Admins may optionally:

• Inform helpdesk or support teams about this user experience update.
• Update internal documentation if you reference emoji behavior or Teams UI details.
• Review your Messaging settings and Messaging policies if you manage custom emoji usage.

Learn more about emoji and reaction usage in Microsoft Teams: Send an emoji, GIF, or sticker in Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Support

[Compliance considerations]

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

This feature does not introduce new data storage, processing changes, AI/ML capabilities, communication pathways, admin reporting changes, or modifications to Purview‑governed workflows. 

Updated March 19, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience. 

Industry trends and feedback from our customers and partners make it clear that today’s businesses demand an intelligent, integrated forms experience that spans devices which InfoPath does not provide. As announced earlier, InfoPath Client 2013 will reach the end of its extended support period on July 14, 2026 (link), and to keep an aligned experience across Microsoft products, InfoPath Forms Service will be retired from SharePoint Online. We’re sending this message to bring it to your early attention to minimize the potential impact on your organization. 

[Key Points:]

• Major: Retirement
• Timeline: After May 18, 2026: Publishing new InfoPath forms or publishing updates to existing forms will be blocked and from July 14, 2026, Microsoft will remove InfoPath Forms Services for existing tenants.
• Action: Review and assess impact

[How this will affect your organization:]

• After May 18, 2026, publishing new InfoPath forms or publishing updates to existing forms will be blocked. Existing published forms will remain available and usable till July 14, 2026
• After July 14, 2026, users will no longer be able to use InfoPath forms in SharePoint Online. 

[What you need to do to prepare:]

To understand how InfoPath is used in your organization, you can run the Microsoft 365 Assessment tool to scan the tenant for InfoPath usage. Using the Power BI InfoPath Report generated by the scanner tool, you can:

• Identify all InfoPath Forms usage in the tenant, per site collection and site.
• Evaluate the recency and volume of usage of InfoPath Forms.
• Understand lists, libraries and content types that use InfoPath.

We recommend communicating to the impacted site owners/teams inside your organization now, so they are aware of the coming change.

For scenarios where InfoPath or InfoPath Forms services are currently being used, we recommend migrating to Power Apps, Power Automate or Forms. Please ensure that you allow adequate time for migration of any use of InfoPath/InfoPath Forms Services in your organization ahead of this date, as there is no migration tool provided. Additional instructions on how to migrate can be found in this blog. 

Please plan appropriately as there will not be an option to extend InfoPath Form Services beyond the InfoPath retirement date of July 14, 2026.

Updated March 19, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Coming soon: Users will be able to automatically see their automapped calendars when toggling from classic Microsoft Outlook to new Outlook for Windows. This message applies to classic Outlook for Windows desktop and new Outlook for Windows desktop.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 415168.

[When this will happen:]

Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out in late April 2026 (previously mid-March) and expect to complete by end of May 2026 (previously end of March).

General Availability: We will begin rolling out end of May 2026 (previously mid-April) and expect to complete by end of June 2026 (previously end of April).  

[How this will affect your organization:]

Before this rollout, users were not able to see their automapped calendars when toggling from classic Outlook to new Outlook.

To access an automapped calendars, users can go to Microsoft Outlook > Calendar icon on left of screen > My Calendars > Automapped calendar.

This feature is on by default.

[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.

Learn more

• The section called Use the shared calendar from the shared mailbox in Open and use a shared mailbox in Outlook – Microsoft Support
• Definition of automapping: Remove automapping for a shared mailbox – Outlook | Microsoft Learn

#newoutlookforwindows