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

Updated April 3, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We’re improving the reliability of Copilot chat by ensuring that conversations are preserved even when users navigate away from a chat. With this update, a session entry is created in the navigation pane as soon as a prompt is submitted. This allows users to return to the conversation later without losing context or progress.

This capability will be available to Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot users.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 500638.

[When this will happen:]

• Worldwide (General Availability): Rolling out from December 12, 2025 (previously December 3), to end of April 2026 (previously March)
• GCC: Rolling out from January 19, 2026 (previously January 3), to end of April 2026 (previously March)
• GCC High: Rolling out from January 19, 2026 (previously January 3), to end of April 2026 (previously March)
• DoD: Rolling out from January 19, 2026 (previously January 3), to end of April 2026 (previously March)

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected: All Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot users in commercial, GCC, GCC High, and DoD environments.

What will happen:

• A session entry will now appear in the navigation pane immediately after a prompt is submitted.
• Users can navigate away from a chat and return later without losing the conversation.
• This update improves continuity and reduces the risk of session loss.
• No changes to admin settings or policies are required.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No admin action is required at this time. You may wish to:

• Inform helpdesk staff of this behavior change.
• Update internal documentation if you describe Copilot chat behavior.

[Compliance considerations:]

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

Updated April 2, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

As part of the final phase of the Viva Engage rebranding, we’re updating the email sender domains used for Viva Engage communications. This change ensures a consistent and secure brand experience across all surfaces and completes the transition from Yammer to Viva Engage.

This update was previously communicated in MC1117814, Microsoft Viva Engage | Email sender domain migration from @yammer.com to @engage.mail.microsoft, in September 2025.

[When this will happen:]

• The email sender domain rollout began in early September 2025 for U.S. and EU tenants that were receiving messages from @yammer.com and @eu.yammer.com, respectively.
• The rollout is complete as of March 31, 2026.
• A fallback/coexistence period will be in place between September 2025 and April 2026, during which some tenants will remain on the old experience while others transition to the new one.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• All Microsoft Viva Engage tenants in U.S., EU, and global regions.
• All users who receive Viva Engage emails, including notifications, announcements, and digests.
• Microsoft 365 administrators who manage:
  • Exchange Online mail flow rules
  • Email security gateways
  • Journaling, archiving, or third-party mail integrations that reference the @yammer.com domain.

What will happen:

The sender domain for Viva Engage emails will change as follows:

• From @yammer.com to @engage.mail.microsoft for U.S. and global regions.
• From @eu.yammer.com to @eu.engage.mail.microsoft for European regions.

These new domains are secured with industry standard authentication protocols (e.g., SPF) to help prevent spoofing and ensure reliable delivery.

To enhance security and reduce cross-tenant spam, sender addresses will now include a tenant-specific prefix. You may see emails from:

• [email protected] (digests, delegates, leader identification, community expert, and other notifications)
• [email protected] (community, storyline, and activity notifications)
• [email protected] (leadership announcements)

These changes apply to all Viva Engage tenants, regardless of license tier (e.g., Viva P1, P2), and affect all Viva Engage emails, including notifications, announcements, and digests.

Third-party integrations (e.g., journaling, archiving, or routing systems) that rely on the @yammer.com domain for classification or authentication may be impacted. Any such configurations should be reviewed and updated to recognize the new domains.

Screenshot: An example of a new Viva Engage email notification sent from the updated @engage.mail.microsoft domain:

[What you can do to prepare:]

Review and update the following configurations:

• Transport rules and email gateways: Update any rules that reference @yammer.com to include the new domains.
• Exchange filtering: Ensure filtering rules remain effective with the new sender domains.
• Outlook rules: Inform users that any rules based on @yammer.com will no longer apply. Users can manually update or remove these rules.

No admin action is required unless your organization has custom configurations based on the old domain.

Learn more: Yammer is evolving to Viva Engage | Viva Engage Blog

[Compliance considerations:]

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

[Introduction]

We’re improving the overall digests email experience in Viva Engage to reduce email noise and surface more relevant content for users to stay informed. We’re enhancing the weekly digest email to include new, subscribed catch-up content and while no longer sending the daily digest on the same day.

[When this will happen:]

• Some users may begin to see these changes starting early April 2026
• General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins in early May 2026 and completes by mid-May 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Users subscribed to both the daily and weekly Viva Engage digest emails

What will happen:

• Users will no longer receive both daily and weekly digests on the same day.
• On the day the weekly digest is sent, the daily digest will be skipped.
• The weekly digest will now include catch-up (subscribed) content, in addition to discovery content.
• This change respects existing user subscription preferences.
• No changes are made to admin policies or tenant configurations.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No admin action is required.
• Consider notifying users or helpdesk staff about this change to set expectations.
• Update any internal documentation that describes Viva Engage digest behavior, if applicable.

[Compliance considerations:]

[Introduction]

We’re introducing custom skills for AI in SharePoint, which let users teach AI in SharePoint how to perform common business tasks in a consistent, repeatable way. With skills, organizations can tailor AI behavior to their own documents, standards, and processes—such as reviewing compliance documents or offer letters—without writing code or using external tools. This update helps reduce manual effort and makes AI results more reliable for everyday SharePoint work.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 559800.

[When this will happen:]

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

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Users of AI in SharePoint
• SharePoint site owners and admins
• Users with edit permissions on SharePoint sites

What will happen:

• Users with edit permissions can create custom skills using natural language within AI in SharePoint.
• Skills allow users to define reusable, multi‑step AI instructions for common business tasks (for example, reviewing compliance documents or offer letters).
• AI in SharePoint can automatically select relevant skills from the current site based on a user’s query, or users can invoke a skill by name.
• Skills are saved as Markdown (.md) files in the site’s Agent Assets library (/Agent Assets/Skills/<skill-name>/SKILLmd) and are governed by existing SharePoint permissions and compliance policies.
• Skills reuse native AI in SharePoint capabilities (content understanding, list manipulation, folder organization, and other supported SharePoint actions).
• Skills cannot connect to external systems or execute custom code.
• The feature is enabled by default and has no separate tenant‑level on/off toggle.
• Existing SharePoint permissions are respected; users cannot perform actions they do not already have permission to do.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No action is required to enable this feature.

Recommended actions for admins:

• Review how SharePoint site permissions are managed, as any user with edit permissions can create skills.
• If needed, customize who can create or use skills by breaking permission inheritance on the Agent Assets library.
• Update internal governance or usage guidance to include skills as part of AI in SharePoint.
• Inform helpdesk or power users that skills are stored as files and governed by existing SharePoint controls.

We will update this post with new documentation soon.

[Compliance considerations:]

[Introduction]

The people card experience in Classic Outlook is simplifying. As part of this update, the people card expanded view in Classic Outlook will be retired. This change streamlines the experience and ensures consistency with other Office applications where only the standard contact card is available.

[When this will happen:]

• We will retire the people card expanded view from Classic Outlook starting June 1, 2026, and ending June 30, 2026. 

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Users who use Classic Outlook and access the people card expanded view.

What will happen:

• The people card expanded view in Classic Outlook will be retired.



• Only the standard contact card view will be available in Classic Outlook.



• Users will continue to find the standard contact card when hovering over a recipient. This experience already exists in other Office applications and in some Outlook configurations today.
• Today, users can access the expanded view in Classic Outlook by right‑clicking an email recipient and selecting Open contact card, or by double‑clicking an email recipient. After retirement, these same actions will display the standard contact card instead.
• The standard contact card does not include the following features that were available in the expanded view:
• Local time
• “Works with” in the organization chart
• Change picture entry point (accessible from Outlook by selecting File, then clicking the Change link under your photo)
• Users who rely on these features can use Outlook on the web or New Outlook, which provide a richer people card experience.
• The expanded view being retired was not customizable. Any customizations made to the standard contact card will remain after this change.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No admin action is required; this change will occur automatically.
• Notify users about the retirement of the people card expanded view in Classic Outlook.
• Update internal documentation or helpdesk guidance, if applicable.
• Encourage users who rely on features such as local time, works with, or changing profile pictures to use Outlook on the web or New Outlook.

Admins and users who want to familiarize themselves with the standard contact card experience can test it in Office apps where this change already exists. For example:

• Open Word and author some text.
• Save the file to OneDrive.
• Right-click text and select New comment.
• Add a comment, @mention yourself or another user, and select the mentioned name.
• Select Contact, Organization, or Membership to view the abbreviated people card.

Learn more

• Profile cards in Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Support
• Manage your contacts in Outlook for Windows | Microsoft Support
• Customize the profile card in Win32 apps using registry keys | Microsoft Support

[Compliance considerations:]

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

[Introduction]

We’re improving the RSVP experience in Outlook Mobile by visually highlighting the response a user has selected (Yes, Maybe, or No). This makes it easier for users to quickly see how they’ve responded to a meeting invitation.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High): Rollout begins in late April 2026 and is expected to complete by early June 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• All users who access Outlook Mobile on iOS or Android
• Applies to Worldwide, GCC, and GCC High tenants

What will happen:

• The selected RSVP option (Yes, Maybe, or No) will be visually highlighted



• Users can quickly confirm how they responded to a meeting invitation and edit as needed



• The feature is enabled by default
• No changes to existing meeting workflows or policies
• No impact to Outlook on the web or Outlook desktop clients

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No admin action is required; the update will roll out automatically
• Consider notifying helpdesk staff of the visual change
• Update internal documentation if needed

[Compliance considerations:]

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

[Introduction]

We’re updating Outlook Mobile to give users more control over how meeting invitations are handled after they respond. With this change, users can choose whether meeting invitations stay in their inbox or are automatically removed after responding to a meeting invitation. This aligns Outlook Mobile with the existing behavior and settings already available in Outlook on the web and the new Outlook, providing a more consistent experience across platforms.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High): Rollout begins mid-April 2026 and is expected to complete by mid-May 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• All users who use Outlook Mobile to respond to meeting invitations
• Applies to Worldwide, GCC, and GCC High tenants

What will happen:

• Users will find a new setting in Outlook Mobile to control whether meeting invitations are deleted after responding.
• Users can manage this behavior in Outlook Mobile under Settings > Calendar > Delete invite after RSVP.



• The setting is per user account and roams across Outlook Mobile, Outlook on the web, and the new Outlook.
• Users can choose to:
  • Keep meeting invitations in their inbox after responding, or
  • Automatically delete invitations after RSVP (current default behavior in Outlook Mobile).
• No admin configuration or policy changes are required.
• The feature is user-controlled and does not change existing meeting or calendar functionality.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No admin action is required.

• Notify users about the new setting.
• Update internal documentation or helpdesk guidance if applicable.

[Compliance considerations:]

[Introduction]

We’re introducing the ability for users to Decline and Propose a New Time when responding to meeting invitations. This update improves scheduling clarity by allowing recipients to explicitly decline a meeting while still suggesting an alternative time.

This update is applicable to Outlook for iOS and Android only; other platforms already include this feature.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCCH): Rollout begins mid-April 2026 and is expected to complete by mid-May 2026

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• All Microsoft 365 users responding to meeting invitations in Exchange Online–based calendar experiences (for example, Outlook on the web, desktop, and mobile).
• Worldwide, GCC, and GCC High tenants

What will happen:

• A new Decline and Propose a New Time option will be available



• This option appears alongside existing responses such as Tentative and Propose a New Time
• When selected, the meeting is declined and an alternative time suggestion is sent to the organizer
• The feature is enabled by default
• Existing meeting policies and workflows are respected; no policy changes are required

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No admin action is required. 
• Consider updating internal documentation or training materials that describe meeting response behavior

[Compliance considerations:]

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

[Introduction]

We hear your feedback about ways we can improve the notifications experience in Viva Engage. It’s always a fine balance between ensuring your users are notified of relevant content without notifications feeling too overwhelming or noisy. In response to your feedback, we’re rolling out a more intelligent notifications experience.

Specifically, this change improves how At-Mention and Reply notifications are delivered. This smarter delivery approach optimizes notification delivery based on a user’s engagement behavior, helping to reduce notification fatigue while ensuring timely visibility of important announcements.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out this change in early April 2026 and expect to complete the rollout at a later date (TBD). 

[How this will affect your organization:]

Who is affected:

• All Viva Engage users who receive At-Mention or Reply notifications.
• Organizations using Viva Engage across Teams, email, or mobile devices.

What will happen:

• At-Mention Notifications: Previously, when a user was at-mentioned in Viva Engage, notifications were sent immediately to Teams, email, and mobile push. With this update:
• Users will receive the At-Mention notification in one channel only (Teams, email, or mobile push).
• The notification channel is selected based on where the user has engaged most frequently with Viva Engage notifications over the past 30 days.
• If the notification is not opened within one hour, a secondary notification is sent using another preferred channel.
• Reply Notifications: Previously, Reply notifications were sent immediately to Teams, email, and mobile push. With this update:
• Users will receive Reply notifications in Teams and email, or Teams and mobile push.
• The choice between email and mobile push is based on where the user has engaged most frequently with Viva Engage notifications over the past 30 days.
• If the notification is not opened within one hour, a secondary notification is sent using another preferred channel.
• All existing user notification preferences and settings are respected. If a notification channel is disabled or the app is not installed, it will not be selected as a delivery option.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No admin action is required. However, we recommend:

• Informing users about the updated notification behavior to reduce confusion.
• Monitoring user feedback and engagement after rollout.
• Reviewing internal communication practices to align with the new notification delivery behavior.

[Compliance considerations:]

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

[Introduction]

Microsoft Teams on Windows will now honor the Windows “Do not disturb” (DND) system setting on devices running Windows 11 or later. When this setting is enabled at the OS level, Teams toast notifications will be automatically suppressed to reduce interruptions and align with users’ focus preferences. This feature is available as an opt‑in client toggle, off by default.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 557974.

[When this will happen]

• Targeted Release: Rolling out in early May 2026 and expected to complete by late May 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): Rolling out in mid‑May 2026 and expected to complete by late May 2026.

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• Users running the Microsoft Teams desktop application on Windows 11 or later
• This change does not apply to Windows 10 devices.

What will happen

• A new opt‑in toggle will appear in Teams settings (off by default): 

  

• Teams toast notifications will be suppressed when Windows DND is turned on: 

  

• Notifications will resume automatically when Windows DND is turned off: 

  

• No changes will occur unless the user enables this toggle.

• Existing Windows DND configurations and schedules remain fully respected.
• No impact to Teams notifications on macOS, web, mobile, VDI, or Windows 10 clients.

[What you can do to prepare]

No admin action is required.

Optionally, you may:

• Inform users that they will see a new notification setting in Teams once the rollout begins
• Update internal support or training documentation to reference the new opt‑in toggle
• Review any helpdesk scripts related to Windows DND or Teams notification behavior

[Compliance considerations]

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

[Introduction]

To improve the event creation experience on mobile, Outlook for Android and iOS will now automatically beautify shareable links added to meeting descriptions. This enhancement makes meeting content easier to read and helps ensure that attendees have appropriate access to linked files before the event is sent.

[When this will happen]

• General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins in mid‑April 2026 and is expected to complete in mid‑May 2026.

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• All users who create or edit meetings in Outlook for Android and iOS

What will happen

• Shareable links in meeting descriptions will be automatically beautified when:
  • Converting an email draft with shareable links into a meeting event.
  • Pasting content containing shareable links into the meeting description.
• This update also addresses gaps during draft composition, ensuring that shareable links are consistently beautified across meeting creation scenarios.
• Users can click beautified links in the meeting description to view or update link permissions.
• When sending or updating a meeting, Outlook will check whether all attendees can access linked files.
• If any attendees lack access, users will see an alert prompting them to update link permissions:

   

• This feature will be enabled by default; no configuration is required.

[What you can do to prepare]

No admin action is required.

You may choose to:

• Inform users about the new link beautification experience.
• Note that link permissions can be updated directly from the meeting description.
• Remind users that Outlook will now alert them if attendees lack access to linked content.

No additional documentation is required for this change.

[Compliance considerations]

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

[Introduction]

Microsoft Purview Endpoint Data Loss Prevention (Endpoint DLP) is expanding to support Copilot+ PCs by enabling protection of Windows Recall snapshots. This update helps organizations prevent the capture of sensitive content, including content with restricted sensitivity labels or sensitive information types (SITs). Admins can create Endpoint DLP custom policies designed specifically for Copilot+ PC devices to manage Recall behavior.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 502519.

[When this will happen]

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

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• Admins managing Endpoint DLP within the Microsoft Purview compliance portal
• Organizations deploying Copilot+ PCs with Recall enabled through Intune

What will happen

• Endpoint DLP will support detection and blocking of Recall snapshots that contain sensitive files.
• Purview admins will be able to author custom Endpoint DLP policies that integrate with Windows Recall settings on Copilot+ PCs.
• Policies will apply only to Copilot+ PC devices configured by Intune admins.
• This change is off by default until policies are created and deployed.
• Existing Endpoint DLP policies remain unchanged unless admins choose to extend them.

[What you can do to prepare]

• Ensure all Copilot+ PCs are running anti malware Client version 4.18.26020 or later.
• Review your existing Endpoint DLP policies and determine whether additional policies are needed for Recall scenarios.
• Coordinate with your Intune administrator to confirm that Copilot+ PCs are configured for Recall.
• Notify your helpdesk and security operations teams about expected behavior.
• Update internal device or compliance documentation as needed.

[Compliance considerations]

[Introduction:]

To provide customers with greater flexibility during periods of peak demand, Microsoft is introducing flex routing. Flex routing allows large language model (LLM) inferencing to occur outside the European Union (EU) Data Boundary during periods of peak demand to help maintain a consistent Copilot experience.

No matter where LLM inferencing occurs, data will be encrypted in transit and at rest. Data at rest will continue to be stored inside the EU Data Boundary, except for limited pseudonymized data which may be stored outside the EU Data Boundary for security and operational purposes.

Flex routing is enabled by default for your tenant, and you remain in control – you can review or change this setting at any time in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

[When this will happen:]

This change will take effect April 17, 2026.

[How this will affect your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Tenants using Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat, and Copilot experiences in Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Copilot Studio.
• Tenants in the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

What will happen:

• The flex routing setting is now available in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
• Flex routing is enabled by default for your tenant, but routing changes will not take effect until April 17, 2026.
• During periods of peak demand, LLM inferencing calls may be routed outside the EU Data Boundary if you choose to keep the default flex routing setting.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

Review your flex routing setting and update if needed:

• Sign into the Microsoft 365 admin center
• Go to Copilot > Settings > Flexible inferencing during peak load periods
• Confirm that your current setting aligns with your organization’s needs

Setting changes will be honored within a week of when you make the change.

Learn more about flex routing at learn.microsoft.com.

[Compliance considerations:]

[Introduction:]

To provide more flexibility on model choice, Microsoft is introducing a new “Copilot in M365 apps with Anthropic models” setting in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. When this setting is enabled, Anthropic models will be available by default for Copilot in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

When Anthropic models are used, data processing for these models will occur outside of the European Union Data Boundary (EUDB). Anthropic operates as a Microsoft subprocessor and is subject to Microsoft’s Product Terms, Data Protection Addendum (DPA). No customer data or state is stored outside the EUDB, and all data is encrypted in transit.

This setting applies only to Anthropic model usage for Copilot in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and is separate from the global Anthropic subprocessor setting previously announced here. If your global Anthropic subprocessor setting is already enabled, this update does not introduce any additional change.

Otherwise, this setting is enabled by default for your tenant and you can review or change this setting at any time in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. If no change is made, Anthropic models will be available for Copilot in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint starting May 4, 2026.

[When this will happen:]

This change will take effect May 4, 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

• Who is affected:
  • Tenants using Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat in Excel and PowerPoint.
  • Word support for Anthropic models will be added in summer 2026.
  • Tenants in the European Union (EU), European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and United Kingdom (UK)
• What will happen:
  • The “Copilot in M365 apps with Anthropic models” setting is now available in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
  • If your global Anthropic subprocessor toggle is enabled, this update does not introduce any additional change.
  • Otherwise, this setting is enabled by default for your tenant (based on available capacity from Anthropic) and you can change it at any time.
  • If you keep the default setting, Anthropic model processing for Copilot in Excel and PowerPoint will occur outside the EUDB beginning May 4, 2026. Word support for Anthropic models will be added in summer 2026.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• Review your tenant’s “Copilot in M365 apps with Anthropic models” setting and update if needed:
  • Sign into the Microsoft 365 admin center
  • Go to Copilot > Settings > View All > AI providers operating as Microsoft Subprocessor
  • Confirm that your current setting aligns with your organization’s needs
• You can learn more about this setting here.

[Compliance considerations:]

• March 10, 2026: Microsoft has officially removed the SaRA utility from all in-support versions of Windows. 
• The Get Help command-line tool has been available for some time now. 

1. Download the Get Help command-line tool. 
2. Use GetHelpCmd.exe to run your scenarios. 

• Read the announcement in Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant (SaRA) command-line utility removal from Windows. 
• Command line version of Get Help. 
• Download the Get Help command-line tool.