Microsoft Roadmap, messagecenter and blogs updates from 22-04-2026

Updated April 21, 2026: We have updated the content. This feature will now be included as part of another update referenced in MC796790. Administrators will gain the ability to manage Microsoft 365 certified SaaS applications through org-wide settings for third-party apps. No changes will be applied to tenant-wide settings unless initiated by an administrator. Thank you for your patience.

This feature will empower administrators to manage the availability of trusted Microsoft Teams apps based on rules, for enhanced security. Admins will be able to manage Microsoft 365 certified apps in the Teams admin center through a new control in Org-wide settings. You can further customize the availability of these apps based on permissions accessed and publisher names. The system automatically checks the Microsoft 365 certified apps that meet all the conditions you specify and makes those apps available.  

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 485712.

[When this will happen:]

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

[How this will affect your organization:]

Before this rollout, you cannot manage at bulk the availability of Microsoft 365 certified apps. They are only controlled by third-party app tenant settings.

After this rollout, you can manage Microsoft 365 certified apps availability from org-wide settings in the Teams admin center at Manage apps > Actions > Org-wide app settings > Third-party apps. 

[What you need to do to prepare:]

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified dates with no admin action required before or after the rollout. Review your current configuration to assess the impact on your organization. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation. This new control will be disabled by default.

Learn more: Manage org-wide app settings in Manage your apps in the Microsoft Teams admin center – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn (will be updated before rollout)

Updated April 21, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We’re introducing a new capability that enables users to open Outlook emails directly within any full‑app Microsoft 365 Copilot experience, including Copilot chat. This enhancement helps reduce context switching by allowing users to view referenced emails alongside their Copilot interaction.

[When this will happen:]

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

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• All users who access Microsoft 365 Copilot full‑app experiences, including Copilot chat.

What will happen:

• Users will be able to open Outlook emails directly from references or sources shown in Copilot chat.
• Emails will open side‑by‑side within the Copilot experience.
• The feature is enabled by default.
• Existing Microsoft 365 permissions and data access models remain unchanged.
• No changes are made to Outlook, Exchange Online, or Copilot admin controls.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No administrator action is required.
• Update internal documentation if needed.

[Compliance considerations:]

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

Updated April 21, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

Adaptive scopes for SharePoint DLP policies in Microsoft Purview enable you to target SharePoint sites based on site attributes instead of manually maintaining static site lists. As sites are created or updated, adaptive scopes automatically adjust membership, ensuring that DLP policies remain aligned to your environment without ongoing manual updates.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 549288.

[When this will happen]

• Public Preview: We began rollout in early February 2026 and expect to complete by late‑February 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rollout in early June 2026 (previously mid-April) and expect to complete by end of June 2026 (previously late April).

[How this will affect your organization]

Who is affected: Admins who manage Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies for SharePoint in Microsoft Purview.

What will happen:

With adaptive scopes for SharePoint, your organization will –

• Apply DLP policies more efficiently and at scale.
• Automatically target the correct SharePoint sites based on attributes such as URL, name, or metadata.
• Ensure new or updated sites are protected without manual list maintenance.
• Reduce administrative overhead by removing the need to maintain static site lists.
• Maintain consistent DLP policy coverage as your SharePoint environment grows and changes.

Additional notes:

• There is no impact to user workflows.
• The feature is not enabled by default; admins must create and assign adaptive scopes.

[What you can do to prepare]

To prepare for this update, you can:

• Verify licensing and permissions.
• Ensure your tenant has Microsoft 365 E5 or E5 Compliance licensing and that you hold the required Purview roles.
• Learn more: Configure adaptive scopes – Adaptive Scopes | Microsoft Purview | Microsoft Learn
• Navigate to Adaptive scopes.
• Go to Microsoft Purview compliance portal → Settings → Roles & scopes → Adaptive scopes (screenshot 1):

  

• Create an adaptive scope.
• Select + Create scope.
• Provide a name and description.
• Choose SharePoint sites as the scope type (screenshot 2):

  

• Define the scope criteria.
• Use the query builder to set rules based on SharePoint site attributes such as:
  • Site URL
  • Site name
  • Custom metadata
• Review and create the scope.
• Confirm your criteria and create the scope. The system evaluates and updates scope membership automatically.
• Verify scope membership.
• Review included sites using the Adaptive scopes details pane (screenshot 3):

  

• Apply the scope to a DLP policy.
• When creating or editing a SharePoint DLP policy, select your adaptive scope (screenshots 4 and 5):

  

  .

  

• Allow time for periodic evaluation.
• Changes to adaptive scopes may take time to reflect across applied policies.

[Compliance considerations]

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

Updated April 21, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We are introducing a new SharePoint experience that includes a redesigned SharePoint app bar, a refreshed SharePoint start page for finding sites, content, and news, and support for AI-assisted creation, management, and discovery features. The new experience applies to all SharePoint users. Some capabilities in this experience use AI. Access to those capabilities requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 547732.

Before the new experience rolls out broadly, it will be available as a public preview. During the preview period, administrators can enable the experience for their tenant to evaluate the changes and prepare users. When enabled during preview, the experience applies to all users in the tenant. Users may opt out of the new experience during the preview period.

When the public preview ends, Targeted Release rollout will begin, followed by General Availability (GA). Starting with Targeted Release, the new SharePoint experience will automatically apply to all tenants and users. Any tenant-level preview settings or individual user opt-outs from the preview period will be overridden, and no controls will remain. We recommend customers try the experience ahead of TR to be better prepared.

[When this will happen]

• Public Preview: Rolling out in early March 2026; expected completion by late April 2026.
• Targeted Release: Rolling out in early May 2026 (previously late April); expected completion by mid-May 2026 (previously June).
• General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD): Rolling out in mid-June 2026 (previously early May); expected completion by mid-July 2026 (previously end of July).

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• All SharePoint users
• Users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license will have access to AI capabilities included in this experience.
  

What will happen

When the new experience is enabled—either during preview or as part of the Targeted Release and General Availability (GA) rollout—users will see an updated SharePoint app bar that introduces entry points for discovering content, publishing communications, and building SharePoint solutions.

The updated app bar includes:

Discover

A refreshed start experience to find relevant sites, content, and news.

Publish 

A unified publishing hub that brings together pages, news, and campaign-style communications powered by Amplify.

Build 

A centralized place where makers can create and manage SharePoint sites, lists, libraries, and AI-powered agents from a single surface.

The app bar will also include:

• OneDrive – Provides quick access to files.
• Home – Appears when a Home site with global navigation is configured in the tenant.

Additional updates include:

• Updated page, news, library, and list experiences with improved content visibility
• Neutral theming applied across SharePoint product surfaces (site-level branding remains unchanged)

[What you can do to prepare]

If you plan to enable the preview experience:

• Enable the setting in the SharePoint admin center: Settings → SharePoint → New SharePoint Experience
• Review documentation: Enable the new SharePoint experience (preview) | SharePoint in Microsoft 365 | SharePoint | Microsoft Learn
• Review changes to the SharePoint navigation experience, including the new app bar: SharePoint App Bar
• Communicate expected UI changes to helpdesk teams and users before enabling the preview.
• Update internal documentation that references SharePoint navigation or app bar elements.

[Compliance considerations]

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

Updated April 21, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

This feature is rolling out to new Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web, and Outlook for iOS and Android. It is not yet available in classic Outlook for Windows. We’ll share an update when support is added.

We are expanding Microsoft Copilot capabilities in Outlook to include shared and delegate mailboxes. This update allows users who already have access to Microsoft 365 Copilot to use Copilot features, including Copilot Chat, directly while working in shared or delegated mailboxes. This change is designed to improve productivity for teams that collaborate using shared inboxes such as executive assistants, support desks, HR, and finance teams.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 554936.

[When this will happen:]

• Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out early April 2026 and expect to complete by early May 2026.
• General Availability: We will begin rolling out early May 2026 and expect to complete by early June 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Users who have access to shared or delegated mailboxes in Outlook
• Organizations where users are licensed for Microsoft 365 Copilot

What will happen:

• Users can access Copilot Chat in Outlook directly while working in a shared or delegated mailbox, rather than only from their primary mailbox.
• Copilot features such as Summarize and Draft will work in shared and delegated mailboxes.
• Support includes full-access shared mailboxes as well as shared folder permissions.
• Users no longer need to include mailbox-specific phrases (for example, “in <mailbox>@domain.com”) when prompting Copilot. Prompts can be written as if the mailbox were their own, and responses are grounded in the active shared mailbox.
• Folder-level permissions are supported for accessing Copilot Chat in shared and delegated mailboxes.
• Copilot conversation history is saved to the user’s primary account, ensuring there is no sharing of conversation history between users who access the same shared mailbox.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No action is required to enable this feature.

• Review shared and delegated mailbox permission models, including folder-level permissions, to ensure they align with your organization’s expectations.
• Inform users that Copilot conversation history remains associated with their primary account, even when Copilot is used from a shared mailbox.
• Update internal documentation or training materials to reflect that Copilot can now be used directly within shared and delegated mailboxes in Outlook for eligible users.

[Compliance considerations:]

Updated April 21, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We are adding AI citations analytics to SharePoint to help site owners understand how their SharePoint documents, news posts, and pages are referenced by Microsoft Copilot and other AI agents. These insights will help organizations track content value, identify high‑impact information, and understand how AI‑powered workflows use SharePoint content. Users must have the appropriate Microsoft Copilot licenses to use the AI features that may generate citations.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 480725.

[When this will happen]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin start of July 2026 (previously mid‑April) and will complete by end of July 2026 (previously mid-May).

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected:

• SharePoint Online site owners, content authors, and admins.
• Users who have Microsoft Copilot licenses for the experiences that may generate citations.

What will happen:

The following updates will appear in SharePoint:

• SharePoint Popular content in Site Usage will display documents, news posts, and pages ranked by how often they are cited by Copilot or AI agents.
• SharePoint page analytics will include a new Total citations card showing the number of times a page or news post is referenced in Copilot or agent responses.
• SharePoint file statistics will include a new AI citations metric displayed alongside existing metrics such as views and viewers.
• A new AI citations analytics page will appear under Site Usage. It will provide:
  • The number of users who consume site content through Copilot and AI agents.
  • The total number of citations for the site.
  • The most frequently cited documents, news posts, and pages.

Supported agents include Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, Loop, Planner, SharePoint Knowledge Agent, and SharePoint custom agents.

This feature will be on by default and will not require admin action to enable.

Screenshot 1 – AI citations aggregated across site content in the Site analytics view: 

Screenshot 2 – AI citations shown for an individual SharePoint page or news post in Page analytics:

[What you can do to prepare]

No admin action is required before the rollout.

You may want to:

• Inform site owners and content authors about the new analytics.
• Review your SharePoint usage and analytics processes to understand how the new AI citation metrics may support governance, content lifecycle planning, and content strategy.
• Update internal documentation or training materials.
• Provide guidance to users on Copilot licensing requirements if your organization centrally manages those licenses.

[Compliance considerations]

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

Updated April 20, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We’re expanding Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) for Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat to help organizations prevent sensitive data from being sent to external web search. This enhancement introduces real‑time DLP evaluation for prompts containing sensitive information types (SITs), ensuring Copilot and Microsoft 365‑published agents avoid using sensitive content for external web queries. When blocked, Copilot will still respond based on internal Microsoft Graph grounding if licensed.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 548671.

[When this will happen]

• Public Preview: Rollout begins in late March 2026 and completes in late April 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins in late May 2026 (previously late June) and completes in late June 2026 (previously late July).

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• Organizations using Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Chat, and Copilot Studio agents published to Microsoft 365 Copilot
• Admins who manage DLP policies in the Microsoft Purview portal

What will happen

New DLP control for Copilot web search

• DLP policy creation will include a new option to restrict Copilot from performing external web searches when a prompt contains selected SITs.
• When triggered, Copilot:
  • Will not send content to external web search.
  • Will continue responding using internal Microsoft Graph data sources, if your licensing allows.

New investigation and monitoring experiences

• Alerts triggered by this policy will appear in DLP Alerts (if alerts are enabled).
• Activity Explorer under DLP and DSPM for AI will include Copilot‑related actions for monitoring and analysis.

Policy management updates

• The DLP policy page may display new recommendations related to this feature.
• Available in the Microsoft Purview portal and editable by:
  • Admin roles listed in Permissions – Create and deploy data loss prevention policies, and
  • Data Security AI Admins.

Default state

• The feature becomes available automatically.
• Organizations must opt in by creating or updating a DLP policy.

Screenshot 1 – Choose M365 Copilot and Copilot Chat as the policy location:

Screenshot 2 – New DLP protection to restrict Copilot from performing web searches:

[What you can do to prepare]

No action is required for enablement. To begin using the feature, admins can:

• Create or update a DLP policy for Microsoft 365 Copilot in the Purview portal.
• Review current DLP configurations to understand potential impact.
• Ensure the admin account includes the required roles described in Microsoft Learn.
• Notify IT, security teams, or helpdesk staff about the new capability.
• Update any internal documentation related to AI governance, DLP, or Copilot usage.

Learn more:

• Learn about data loss prevention | Microsoft Purview | Microsoft Learn
• Learn about using Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention to protect interactions with Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat | Microsoft Purview | Microsoft Learn
• Permissions – Create and deploy data loss prevention policies | Microsoft Purview | Microsoft Learn

[Compliance considerations]

Updated April 21, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

Scheduling, setting up, and managing an event is not a simple task. Which is why we allow co-organizer to be added to the event so they can work alongside or on behalf of the organizer. So far co-organizers were able to set up event theming, manage registration, meeting options, view reports and more but were not able to edit event details like title, date/time, description, event group; nor publish or cancel event. Now they can! Co-organizer can edit event details, publish, and cancel the event like the organizer can. So once the co-organizer is added they will have full parity of experience as organizer and control/manage/edit event. 

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 168524

[When this will happen:]

Targeted release: We will begin rolling out mid-January 2025 (previously early January) and expect to complete by mid-January 2025 (previously mid-December).

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC): We will begin rolling out mid-June 2026 (previously early March) and expect to complete by end of July 2026 (previously late March). 

The co-organizer experience update will go live with the GA of the Teams Events app (MC1227087). Both existing flow and new flows in the Teams Events app will have the capabilities for co-organizer parity with organizer. 

[How this will affect your organization:]

When co-organizer opens the event scheduling page, they should have the ability to edit the details page, publish, and cancel the event. 

[What you need to do to prepare:]

Nothing required to prepare.

Updated April 21, 2026: We have updated the timeline and content below. Thank you for your patience.  

What it is

Microsoft is rolling out a new feature to streamline how app and agent availability is managed across Teams, Outlook, and Microsoft 365 Copilot. Until now, IT admins configured availability settings separately in both the Microsoft 365 Admin Center (MAC) and the Teams Admin Center (TAC), which led to mismatches. With this update, you’ll be able to unify availability policies for apps and agents across both portals, making app management more consistent and efficient.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 393931, 485712 and 503105.

When this will happen:

We will begin rolling out this feature late September 2025 and expect to complete by August 2026 (previously end of June).

1. Phase 1 – Default Tenant Unification of App/Agent Availability

We will begin rolling out this feature at the end of September 2025. This initial phase targets tenants that have never modified their organization-wide defaults, app availability, or block/unblock in either the Microsoft 365 admin center or the Teams admin center. At the end of this phase, agent and app manageability will be unified across both Microsoft 365 admin center and Teams admin center ensuring agent and Microsoft 365 apps availability policies are in alignment for all future administrative changes. This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 393931.

2.Phase 2 – Modified Tenants Unification of App/Agent Availability

This phase targets tenants that have previously modified their organization-wide defaults, app availability, or block/unblock settings in either admin center. These tenants will be transitioned to a unified management experience across both Microsoft 365 and Teams admin centers.

• For tenants with no agent or app availability differences across both admin centers, guidance will be provided to help maintain unified availability policy for all future changes. We will begin rolling out this feature in early November 2025.
  
  • This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 485712 & 503105.

Updated April 21, 2026: We have updated the timeline and content. Thank you for your patience.

[Introduction]
A new organization-level Cloud Policy setting (OCPS) is available, allowing admins to block creation of tenant-owned Loop workspaces. When this setting is on, the “New workspace” ability in the Loop app will be unavailable. The only valid option for creating workspaces will be through standard channels in Teams, as these are connected to and managed by existing Microsoft 365 Groups. For more information about creating workspaces in Teams standard channels, visit Loop Workspaces in Teams Channels – Microsoft Support.

Admins will be able to ensure that new Loop workspaces are connected to and managed by an existing Microsoft 365 Group, similar to SharePoint Team sites.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 422725

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out late April 2026 (previously early April) and expect to complete by early May 2026 (previously late April). 

[How this will affect your organization:]

Once Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 422725 is available, end-users will have the ability to choose existing Microsoft 365 Groups for managing new Loop workspaces. This means that new Loop workspaces can optionally be connected to and managed by an existing Microsoft 365 Group, similar to how SharePoint Team sites are managed.

Additionally, Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 422725 covers the capability to ensure that new Loop workspaces are connected to and managed by an existing Microsoft 365 Group, similar to SharePoint Team sites (it will not be an option for users to skip selecting an existing Microsoft 365 group if this policy is configured).

While this setting may align with existing governance processes, it’s important for admins to note that scenarios like automatic aggregation of Teams meeting content into a Loop workspace, or the creation of small, short-term project workspaces, will be more challenging for end-users unless they can skillfully select an existing M365 group during creation. Please consider this tradeoff in your adoption strategy.

If your organization has governance tools for SharePoint Communication sites that work effectively in a reactive manner (i.e., governance is applied after the site is created), Microsoft recommends extending this process to include Loop workspaces rather than using this policy.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

There is nothing you need to do to prepare. This capability will roll to your tenant automatically.