Microsoft Roadmap, messagecenter and blogs updates from 17-05-2026

[Introduction]

Copilot in SharePoint (formerly AI in SharePoint) will begin rolling out as an opt-out preview in mid-June 2026. This update brings AI-powered capabilities across SharePoint sites, pages, libraries, lists, and chat, enabling users to create, edit, and maintain content using natural language. These capabilities were previously available through an opt-in preview and will begin rolling out as an opt-out preview, appearing automatically for users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license unless the tenant or site is opted out.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 501451.

[When this will happen]

The Copilot in SharePoint opt-out preview will begin rollout in mid-June 2026. 

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• SharePoint Online users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license 
• Admins managing SharePoint Online

What will happen

• Users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license will see a floating Copilot button in the lower‑right corner of SharePoint pages, document libraries, and lists.
• Selecting the Copilot button opens a chat experience where users can prompt using natural language. Copilot in SharePoint works within the user’s existing SharePoint permissions and only accesses content that the user is authorized to view or edit.
• The existing site agent experience will be upgraded to Copilot in SharePoint for Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed users.
• The SharePoint Agents feature pay‑as‑you‑go billing is applicable only to SharePoint custom agents when this happens.

• Turn ideas into execution – Users with owner or edit permissions can build, edit, and maintain content in SharePoint by prompting in natural language, without requiring technical or design expertise.
• Move from asking questions to getting work done – Copilot in SharePoint can execute content tasks for users, from organizing libraries and building sites to creating and updating documents, pages, and HTML-based reports.
• Teach AI how your team works – Users can encode their team’s standards as shared skills and context, so Copilot in SharePoint follows the same playbook across the team.
• Improve content organization for better AI outputs – Keeping SharePoint content structured, current, and governed improves AI experiences across Microsoft 365.

[What you can do to prepare]

No administrator action is required. Copilot in SharePoint will appear automatically for users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Existing Copilot in SharePoint tenant- or site-level opt-out settings will continue to be honored.

Optional steps to prepare:

• If you want early access, you can proactively opt in your tenant or specific sites using preview controls.
• If you do not want Copilot in SharePoint, you can proactively opt out your entire tenant or specific sites.
• Inform site owners and content managers about the new Copilot capabilities and confirm they have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
• Review high-traffic or highly customized sites to understand how the Copilot button and AI entry points may affect existing layouts or custom experiences.

Configuration controls available

• Preview opt-in/opt-out: Admins can use PowerShell cmdlets to opt the entire tenant or specific sites in or out of the preview. Find instructions and troubleshooting guidelines.
• Site-level AI settings: Site owners can choose which agent opens from the agent icon and can hide the Copilot button for site visitors.
• Restricted Content Discovery: If enabled on a site, Copilot in SharePoint and AI actions will not appear on that site, even if the tenant is not opted out.

Note: Copilot in SharePoint is built with model agility at its core. The team continuously evaluates and adopts the latest models. Currently, customer-controlled model selection is not available. At opt-out preview rollout time, Copilot in SharePoint will run on OpenAI’s GPT-5.4 Reasoning model. 

Learn more:

• Learn more about the Copilot in SharePoint capabilities from our blog post, and nominate your organization for the Copilot in SharePoint Insiders Program for additional access to advice and resources by using the link at the bottom of the blog post
• Watch a product overview video (YouTube).
• Learn more about the skills capability from our skills blog post.
• Find documentation on getting started (to be updated prior to rollout).
• Reference documentation on capabilities on the Learn and Support sites.

[Compliance considerations]

[Introduction]

We’re improving how users get started with Copilot in PowerPoint for the web by enabling presentation creation powered by Copilot directly from the PowerPoint web app.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 560537.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins in mid-May 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Users on PowerPoint for the web
• Users who are assigned a Microsoft Copilot license

What will happen:

• Users will find a new option on the PowerPoint web app to create a presentation using Copilot.



• The experience is available immediately when the PowerPoint web app is opened.
• The feature is enabled by default for eligible users.
• Existing Microsoft 365 and Copilot policies are respected; no admin configuration changes are required.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required.
• Consider informing users about this new Copilot capability.

[Compliance considerations:]

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

[Introduction]

We’re improving how users get started with Copilot in PowerPoint for Windows by enabling presentation creation powered by Copilot directly from PowerPoint Home in the File menu. This update reduces friction at the start of the workflow, helping users move from idea to first draft faster without needing to open a new file.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 560536.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins in late May 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Users on PowerPoint for Mac
• Users who are assigned a Microsoft Copilot license

What will happen:

• Users will find a new option on PowerPoint Home (File menu) to create a presentation using Copilot.



• The experience is available immediately when PowerPoint is opened.
• The feature is enabled by default for eligible users.
• Existing Microsoft 365 and Copilot policies are respected; no admin configuration changes are required.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required.
• Consider informing users about this new Copilot capability.

[Compliance considerations:]

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

[Introduction]

We’re improving how users get started with Copilot in PowerPoint for Windows by enabling presentation creation powered by Copilot directly from PowerPoint Home in the File menu. This update reduces friction at the start of the workflow, helping users move from idea to first draft faster without needing to open a new file.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 560694.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins in late May 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Users on PowerPoint for Windows
• Users who are assigned a Microsoft Copilot license

What will happen:

• Users will find a new option on PowerPoint Home (File menu) to create a presentation using Copilot.



• The experience is available immediately when PowerPoint is opened.
• The feature is enabled by default for eligible users.
• Existing Microsoft 365 and Copilot policies are respected; no admin configuration changes are required.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required.
• Consider informing users about this new Copilot capability.

[Compliance considerations:]

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

[Introduction]

We are enhancing the Role groups experience in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal to make it easier for admins to understand and validate permissions. Based on customer feedback, the updated user interface (UI) introduces new views that allow admins to quickly look up role group assignments by roles, members, or their own permissions, reducing time spent troubleshooting access and improving administrative clarity.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 562033.

[When this will happen:]

• Public Preview (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in mid-June 2026 and expect to complete by mid-July 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD): We will begin rolling out in mid-July 2026 and expect to complete by mid-August 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Admins who manage role groups in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.

What will happen:

• Admins will see additional views on the Role groups page in the Microsoft Purview Compliance portal.

Screenshot: Role groups page in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal showing new views for Roles, Members, and My permissions:



• Admins can look up role group assignments by:
  
  • Role
  • Member
  • My permissions (to understand their own assigned roles)
• Existing role group assignments and permissions remain unchanged.
• The enhancement is enabled by default once deployed.
• There is no impact to user workflows.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required.
• Consider informing compliance and security admins about the new lookup views.
• Update internal documentation if it references the Role groups UI.

Learn more: Permissions in the Microsoft Purview portal | Microsoft Learn (will be updated before rollout)

[Compliance considerations:]

• This change enhances admins’ ability to review and validate role group assignments, improving visibility during compliance reviews and audits.

[Introduction]

Department billing for Microsoft 365 Backup allows administrators to configure backups by granular scopes such as departments, geographic locations, or member firms. With this feature, admins can break down backup consumption to multiple Azure subscriptions and delegate administrative control within departments for Microsoft 365 Backup.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 506744.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout completed in mid-May 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Organizations newly onboarding to Microsoft 365 Backup
• Microsoft 365 administrators managing Microsoft 365 Backup and Azure subscriptions

What will happen:

For new Microsoft 365 Backup customers:

• Department billing is available during onboarding.
• Admins can create multiple billing policies.
• Admins can create up to 50 billing policies and associate different Azure subscriptions to backup.
• Backup scopes can be defined based on customer needs such as by department, geography, or organizational unit.
• Department-specific backup administrators can restrict control of their backups using Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).

For existing Microsoft 365 Backup customers:

• Departmental billing is not currently available to existing customers but will be made available later this year.
• There is no change to the current billing or backup experience until the feature is enabled in the tenant.
• Once departmental billing is enabled, admins can configure departmental billing using the same model available to new customers.
• No admin action is required to receive the feature.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required for existing Microsoft 365 Backup customers.
• New customers onboarding to Microsoft 365 Backup can review billing policies, plan Azure subscription mapping, and assign RBAC roles for departmental administration.

Learn more: Manage consumption and invoices for Microsoft 365 Backup | Microsoft Learn 

[Compliance considerations:]

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

[Introduction]

A new Security Detection Report in the Teams admin center provides a unified view of messaging security detections across signals such as impersonation, malicious URLs, and weaponizable file types. This centralized reporting experience improves visibility into threats in Teams and helps admins investigate and respond to suspicious activity more efficiently.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 560702.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin in late June 2026 and is expected to complete by late June 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Admins who manage Microsoft Teams environments and security operations
• Security and helpdesk teams responsible for investigating messaging threats

What will happen:

• A new Security Detection Report will be available in the Teams admin center under Analytics & reports > Protection reports > Security detections report.

Screenshot: Example of a Security Detection Report:



• The report provides centralized visibility into messaging security detections across Teams, including impersonation attempts, malicious links, and unsafe file types.
• Admins can review detection details such as:
• Sender
• Recipient context
• Detection type
• Available user actions
• Admins can export report data for further investigation, including additional metadata such as sender identifier and thread ID.
• The following messaging security protections are enabled by default:
• Impersonation detection does not require configuration.
• Malicious link scanning can be managed through Messaging safety settings in the Teams admin center.
• Unsafe file type scanning can be managed through Messaging safety settings in the Teams admin center.
• Admins can block malicious external users identified in the report through External access settings to prevent further communication attempts.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• Review current Messaging safety settings to confirm malicious link and file scanning configurations.
• Familiarize security and helpdesk teams with the new report and export capabilities.
• Update investigation and response workflows to incorporate Teams detection signals.
• Use Teams admin center navigation path to locate the report:
  • Analytics & reports > Protection reports > Security detections report
• Update internal documentation or runbooks if you document security investigation processes.

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

[Compliance considerations:]

Introduces enhanced admin reporting for monitoring and investigating messaging security detections.

[Introduction]

We’re introducing User Initiated Insights in Copilot for classic Outlook for Windows, enabling users to manually select text within an email and prompt Copilot to provide contextual insights. This enhancement gives users greater control over when and how Copilot assists them, improving productivity, clarity, and decision-making directly within their workflow.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 508524.

[When this will happen:]

• Public Preview (Worldwide): We began rolling out in early May 2026 and expect to complete by late May 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in early June 2026 and expect to complete by late June 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Users with Microsoft 365 Copilot capabilities
• Organizations using classic Outlook for Windows

What will happen:

• Users will be able to highlight text in emails and invoke Copilot to generate insights.

Screenshot: When text is highlighted in an email, an Explain This button appears to provide additional context:



• Functionality is built into the Outlook experience and does not require a separate add-in.
• The feature will be on by default for eligible users.
• Existing Microsoft 365 security, compliance, and data protection policies continue to apply.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• If you do not want users to access this feature, remove or restrict Copilot capabilities.
• Verify users are running the latest version of classic Outlook for Windows.
• Inform helpdesk and support staff about this new Copilot interaction model.
• Communicate to users how to select text and invoke Copilot for contextual insights.

Learn more:

• How do I enable or disable Microsoft Copilot on MS 365 Premium | Microsoft Learn
• Instructions to turn off Copilot | Microsoft Support

[Compliance considerations:]

[Introduction]

Microsoft Teams is introducing support for displaying digital signage on idle Teams panel devices. This capability extends existing digital signage scenarios already available on Teams Rooms front-of-room displays, helping organizations deliver consistent branding and communications across shared spaces.

Admins can configure digital signage at both the tenant-wide and device-specific level through the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal. This feature supports select third-party providers such as Appspace and XOGO, and is available with Teams Rooms Pro or Teams Shared Spaces licenses.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 558852.

[When this will happen:]

• General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin in early June 2026 and is expected to complete by mid-June 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Admins managing Microsoft Teams Rooms and Teams panels
• Organizations using or planning to use digital signage in shared spaces
• Environments with Teams Rooms Pro or Teams Shared Spaces licenses

What will happen:

• Teams panels can support digital signage when idle.

Screenshot 1: Example of digital signage on a Teams panel:



• Admins can configure signage per device or device group. They can also configure default signage settings for the tenant.
• Configuration will be available in Teams Rooms Pro Management portal > Settings > Digital signage.

Screenshot 2: Example settings for configuring a digital signage source for Teams Panels specifically:



• Supported 3rd party providers include Appspace and XOGO.
• Available with Teams Rooms Pro or Teams Shared Spaces licenses.
• Feature is available by default for admins to configure.
• No user impact unless enabled.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No immediate action is required before rollout.

• Review your current digital signage strategy for Teams Rooms and shared spaces.
• Plan content optimized for Teams panels:
  • Recommended resolution: 1280 × 800
• Use separate digital signage sources for Teams panels and front-of-room displays:
  • Teams panels have smaller displays than front-of-room screens.
  • Content designed for larger displays may not render well on panels.
• Configure signage settings when available:
  • Navigate to Teams Rooms Pro Management portal > Settings > Digital signage.
• Consider using separate signage content sources for:
  • Front-of-room displays, and
  • Teams panels (due to smaller screen size).
• To set up a digital signage source specifically for Teams panels, when assigning a signage source to devices, choose the Teams panels only option on the preference setting Show signage on Teams panels.
• Validate compatibility with supported partners (for example, Appspace or XOGO).
• Notify facilities or communications teams responsible for signage.

Learn more: Configure digital signage on Teams Rooms | Microsoft Learn (will be updated before rollout)

[Compliance considerations:]

• Enables safe evaluation without re-execution or side effects.
• Reduces reliance on manual testing, increasing customer confidence, adoption, and governance readiness.
• Establishes the foundation for evaluation across the entire agent lifecycle.

• Actionable error insights: Clear job, record-level errors and intuitive UI helps admins quickly identify issues, reduce reruns, and resolve jobs faster.
• Solution-aware bulk delete: Easily move delete configurations across environments with consistent behavior and reduced risk of misconfiguration.
• High-throughput delete API for Sandbox: Accelerates sandbox deletion by bypassing the SDK pipeline and using the cascade engine directly.

• Improve bulk delete user experience
• Error Handling – Bulk delete
• Solution-aware – Bulk delete
• Sandbox fast delete – Bulk delete