Microsoft Roadmap, messagecenter and blogs updates from 09-04-2026

Updated April 8, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

 What and Why

We’re introducing a new capability that allows users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license to scope and control Copilot Chat responses by selecting specific content sources. This enhancement is designed to improve the relevance and accuracy of Copilot responses by limiting them to user-selected sources, aligning with customer feedback for more transparent and customizable AI interactions.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 496596

Rollout Schedule

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin May 2026 (previously April).

Impact on Your Organization

• Who is affected:
  • Users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
• What will happen:
  • Users will see a new option to select content sources when using Copilot Chat.
  • Copilot responses will be scoped only to the selected sources, improving control and precision.
  • This feature will follow a standard rollout and is enabled by default.
  • There is no impact to admin settings or policies.
  • No changes to existing Copilot behavior unless users actively select sources.

Action Required/Recommendations

• No admin action is required.
• This feature does not impact admin controls or require configuration.
• We recommend:
  • Informing helpdesk staff of this new user-facing capability.
  • Updating internal documentation if you provide guidance on Copilot usage.

Compliance Considerations

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

Updated April 8, 2026: The migration of private channels continues with most migration now complete (95%). Organizations can check status including % complete in their tenants with the PowerShell cmdlet listed below.

Migration is scheduled to complete by late April 2026, with some special cases that will require additional time: private channels with an empty membership list or guest-only membership are rare cases and will require additional steps, and this post will be updated with more details on those special cases.

New limits for private channels will rollout starting late April 2026. Private channels not yet migrated would not receive new limits until their migration is complete.

In response to customer feedback, we are introducing enhanced flexibility, greater scalability, and streamlined compliance management for private channels in Microsoft Teams.

Note: It is important for compliance managers to review and take appropriate action before migration starts for these changes to private channels.

[What’s changing?]

Private channels will transition use a channel mailbox instead of individual user mailboxes.

Organizations with compliance policies (retention, legal hold, data loss prevention, or eDiscovery) for private channels must review these policies and must apply policies to the Microsoft 365 group for the channel’s team before migration begins to ensure continuity of the policy for a private channel. Existing policies will continue to apply to user mailboxes; post-migration, new data will be governed by policies on the group. Note that policies applied to the team’s group can apply to all channels in the team.

After the transition to updated private channels in your organization, private channels will be updated as follows.

1. Private channels are no longer limited to 30 per team. Instead, private channels can be added up to the limit of 1000 total channels per team.
2. Private channels can now have up to 5000 members, instead of 250.
3. Meetings can now be scheduled in private channels.
4. Compliance policies for private channels are part of the team’s group policies instead of the individual user level.

The migration of private channels will begin in early October 2025 and continue through late April 2026 (previously March). During this period, private channels will continue to operate normally. Admins and compliance managers should complete any required policy changes by October 2025, before the migration begins. Changes to private channel limits and meeting scheduling will follow in late April through early May 2026 (previously early April).

As part of this change, newly created private channels will not be created with a document library by default; the root folder is used as a default location for any new files.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out private channel migration early October 2025 (previously late September) and expect to complete by late April 2026 (previously March). Updated channel limits and meeting scheduling will complete in early May 2026 (previously April). Restricted clouds rollout will begin in April 2026 (previously March).

[Action required by compliance managers and admins]

1. Purview eDiscovery and Legal Hold

With this change, private channel data will move from user mailboxes to the group mailbox, aligning with how shared channels data is stored. Previously, legal holds were applied to user mailboxes since private channel data resided in each member’s mailbox. Post-migration, the latest version of private channel message data from each user’s mailbox is moved to the private channel’s group mailbox. Message edits and deleted messages will not be copied into the group mailbox.

Note: For users on hold, copies of message edits and deleted messages will remain in the user’s preserved library folder until the hold expires, while the latest version of private channel message data from each user’s mailbox is copied to the private channel’s group mailbox.

Before migration

If a legal hold exists for a private channel, admins must also apply the policy to the team’s group, in addition to the policy already applied to users’ mailboxes, in order for a hold to apply to new data generated and stored in the private channel’s mailbox. Note that policies applied to the team’s group can apply to all channels in the team.



Screenshot 1: Setting up a new hold in Microsoft Purview compliance portal.

After migration

For existing holds admins will need to ensure that the hold is applied to the user mailbox as well as the new group mailbox, in order for a hold to apply to existing and new message data. Any new legal holds will need to be applied to the group.

For complete eDiscovery, include both the private channel’s users’ mailboxes and the team’s group mailbox to retrieve pre-migration messages, message history, and post-migration new content.



Screenshot 2: Configuring an eDiscovery search in Microsoft Purview compliance portal.

2. Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

With this change, private channel messages will be included as a part of the DLP policy scoped to the private channel’s team’s group, as opposed to the user mailbox.

Before migration

Admins must modify the “Teams chat and channel messages” policy for private channels to add the team’s group containing the private channel, in addition to the user mailbox, in order to include new private channel messages in a policy. Note that policies applied to the team’s group can apply to all channels in the team.

After migration

Ensure that “Teams chat and channel messages” policy for private channels is scoped to the team’s group containing the private channel.



Screenshot 3: Configuring a data loss prevention policy in Microsoft Purview compliance portal.

3. Purview Retention Policy

After this change, creation of new private channel-specific policies will not be possible in the Purview portal. Instead, “Teams channel messages” policies applied to the team’s group will now include private channels. Existing private channel policies will remain in effect and preserve all held message data in user mailboxes. Editing of existing policies will not be supported but policies can be removed.

Before migration

Apply current private channel retention policies (previously on user mailboxes) to Teams channel messages to include the team’s group, in order to include new private channel messages in a policy. In Microsoft Purview compliance portal, go to solutions > Data Lifecycle Management > Retention policies. Note that policies applied to the team’s group can apply to all channels in the team.

After migration

If the parent team’s group retention policy differs from the private channel’s policy, create a new or equivalent policy to ensure consistent retention.



Screenshot 4: Configuring “Teams channel messages” for a retention policy in Microsoft Purview compliance portal.




4. Microsoft policies for Optical Character Recognition

Before Migration:

• In Microsoft Purview compliance portal, go to Settings, -> Optical character recognition (OCR), -> Select locations and scope to [1] all users and groups or [2] specific users and groups

After Migration:

Set the settings for “all users and groups” to cover private channels as specific users and groups are not supported.

Frequently asked questions

1. How can admins identify a user’s private channel memberships?
   • Use Teams Admin Center under team settings, or run PowerShell: Get-TeamChannelUser to list members.
2. When is compliance manager action required?
   • If a policy (legal hold, eDiscovery, retention, DLP) applied to a user’s mailbox, in order to include private channel messages, differs from the team policies for the team hosting the private channel. Policies must be applied to the team’s group in order to include new private channel messages in a policy. Note that policies applied to the team’s group can apply to all channels in the team.
   • During eDiscovery for users on hold or during migration, search both user mailbox and group mailbox for complete data on a private channel.
3. What if no action is taken?
   • User-level policies will not apply to a private channel’s new message data. Team-level policies will apply to private channels.
4. Why isn’t Microsoft automatically applying policies from user mailboxes to a private channel’s team?
   • Tenant admins and compliance managers must assess and apply policies as needed. Group policies apply to all channels in the Team. Some user mailbox policies are intended for all of a user’s messages, and some are intended for private channel messages. Each organization must review and decide on policies.
5. Is there any impact to end users?
   • During migration, users may see duplicate search results in Teams searches—both links will navigate to the same content in Microsoft Teams.
6. When will migration happen for my tenant and how long will it take?
   • Migration can start or end at different times for each tenant during the rollout period and can take some weeks depending of the tenant. To track progress, a new PowerShell command is available for tenants to check whether their migration has started or is completed. The command will be: Get-TenantPrivateChannelMigrationStatus -TenantId <tenantId>
   • The response now has additional data on channel counts in the details including “totalChannels”, “migratedChannels”, “remainingChannels” for a tenant when the migration is InProgress or Completed.

Please refer to this blog post for more information: New enhancements in Private Channels in Microsoft Teams unlock their full potential 

We appreciate your attention to this important update.

Please refer to this blog post for more information: New enhancements in Private Channels in Microsoft Teams unlock their full potential 

We appreciate your attention to this important update.

Updated April 7, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

We’re excited to announce that we are making Copilot Chat available as a side-by-side experience in Teams. This will help users access the power of M365 and Web data in addition to current capabilities of Copilot in Chats, Channels, Calling, and Meeting. On Teams desktop (Windows and Mac) and web, users can open Copilot Chat from the Copilot icon located on the top right corner in these surfaces. Copilot Chat will be available in Teams for users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. 

This change is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID: 501107

Screenshot: Copilot Chat in Teams (Windows desktop) for users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. UI elements subject to change. 

[When this will happen:]

Chats, Channels, and Post Meeting + Calling Recaps:

• Public Preview: Rollout of this change starts in early October and completes in the weeks following.
• General Availability: Rollout of this change starts mid-November and completes in the weeks following.

In-Meeting and in-Calls:

• Public Preview: Rollout of this change starts in early December and completes in the weeks following.
• General Availability: Rollout of this change starts July 2026 (previously mid-January) and complete July 2026 (previously early March). 

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected: Users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license using Teams on Windows desktop, Mac desktop, or web (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari).

What will happen:

• You can now create new Copilot Chat sessions or access other sessions within any conversation window. When you reopen Copilot Chat, it will always default back to the latest used session that was within the conversation window.
• Upon completion of the migration, all prior Copilot history will not be migrated into the new Copilot Chat experience. However, you can still access prior history by clicking on the More Options menu (…) located on the top right corner of your conversation window. An entry point to access history will be available within the More Options menu (…) of channel thread summaries as well. Within the menu, you find and select the View Copilot history option to access prior history.
• In-Meeting: A new in‑meeting control lets users stop Teams from processing spoken audio during a meeting. When this control is on, Teams stops processing spoken audio — including transcription and recording — and Copilot will not use or reference anything said during this time. If Facilitator is active, it will also be turned off. Users will also be prevented from restarting recording, transcription, or Facilitator while this control is in effect.
• After the meeting: Copilot and Facilitator will only have access to recordings or transcripts from periods when audio processing was active.

Supported Platforms

Web 

• Chrome 
• Edge 
• Firefox 
• Safari 

Desktop 

• Windows 
• Mac 

[What you can do to prepare:]

Admin action required

To ensure Microsoft Copilot is available in Teams meetings, tenant administrators must allow the Microsoft 365 Copilot app.

If the Microsoft 365 Copilot app is not allowed at the tenant level, users may not see the Copilot entry point in Teams meetings, even when Copilot licenses are assigned.

Admins should review Teams app permission and app setup policies to confirm that the Microsoft 365 Copilot app is allowed for the intended users. Copilot availability in Teams meetings depends on both licensing and app enablement.

For more information, see the public documentation on managing Copilot access: https://learn.microsoft.com/copilot/manage

[Compliance considerations:]

Updated April 8, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

Copilot in PowerPoint is getting smarter. Soon, users will be able to generate a compelling title, concise summary, or captions for visuals simply by describing what they want in natural language. Copilot will use the context of the slide to generate relevant text, helping users turn ideas into content quickly and efficiently.

Note: A Microsoft 365 Copilot license is required to access this feature.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap IDs: 513427, 513428 and 513429.

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin in mid-May 2026 (previously early April) and is expected to complete by end of June 2026 (previously end of May).

• Who is affected: Users of PowerPoint for Windows desktop, PowerPoint for Mac desktop, and PowerPoint Online Web.
• What will happen:
  • A new Copilot dropdown (pen icon) will appear for blank textboxes.
  • Editors will see a prompt box to enter instructions for generating text.
  • The feature will be on by default.

• No admin action is required before rollout.
• You may want to:
  • Notify users about this new capability.
  • Update internal documentation to reflect the change.

Updated April 8, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We’re introducing a new capability in Microsoft 365 Copilot chat that allows users to RSVP to meetings directly within the chat experience. This enhancement simplifies meeting management by enabling quick responses such as Accept, Decline, Tentative, Follow, or Remove canceled meetings—all without leaving Copilot chat.

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC and DoD): Rollout will begin by mid-January 2026 (previously early January) and is expected to complete by end of April 2026 (previously mid-February).

• Who is affected: Users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
• What will happen:
  • Users can RSVP to meetings directly from Copilot chat:

  

  • Supported actions include Accept, Decline, Tentative, Follow, and Remove canceled meetings: 

  

  • This feature will be ON by default for all tenants.
  • No admin configuration is required; existing policies remain unchanged.

• No action is required from admins.
• Communicate this new capability to your helpdesk or end users if needed.

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

Updated April 8, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We’re updating how entities inserted from Add Work Content under the + menu behave in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat. With this change, entity names (such as document titles, people names, or other referenced objects) will no longer be inserted as text within the input box, making it easier for users to craft clean prompts without needing to manually delete entity labels. This feature is available to both users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license (Microsoft 365 Copilot users) and users without a Microsoft 365 Copilot license (Copilot Chat users), but the experience varies.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 552592.

[When this will happen]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins in mid‑February 2026 and completes end of April 2026 (previously mid-March).

[How this will affect your organization]

Who is affected: All users with access to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat in commercial (non-government) clouds.

What will happen:

• When users insert entities through Add Work Content (+):
  • The entity pill will appear in context, but the entity name will no longer be inserted as text in the chat input box:

     

• This change creates a cleaner prompt-building experience by removing extraneous text.
• No admin controls are changing.
• This update is enabled by default for all tenants.

[What you can do to prepare]

No action is required.

Optional steps include:

• Informing helpdesk or training teams about the change.
• Updating internal documentation that references entity insertion behavior in Copilot or Copilot Chat.

Learn more: Using Context IQ to refer to specific files, people, and more in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat | Microsoft Support

[Compliance considerations]

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

Updated April 7, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We’re expanding model choice in Microsoft 365 Copilot with the addition of Anthropic Claude Sonnet for users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Claude Sonnet is available in Copilot Chat in Frontier, alongside the latest OpenAI models, giving users the flexibility to choose the model best suited for their tasks. This expansion reflects our commitment to delivering the latest AI innovation for work—while maintaining the security, compliance, and privacy standards customers expect from Microsoft.

[When this will happen:]

• Frontier availability: Claude Sonnet is available now in Frontier.
• General availability (web/desktop/macOS/mobile): Rolling out gradually; expected completion early April 2026 (previously late March).

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license

Who is not affected:

• Tenants in EU/EFTA and the UK
• Government clouds (GCC, GCC High, DoD)
• Sovereign clouds For these tenants, Anthropic models are not available

For these tenants, Anthropic models are not available and no model option will be shown.

What will happen:

• Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed users will be able to select Claude Sonnet as an option in the model selector within Copilot Chat.
• In regions where Anthropic is configured as a subprocessor and is set to Off by default, admins can choose to opt in to make Anthropic models available for their organization.
• Enterprise Data Protection for Microsoft 365 Copilot continues to apply, with no changes to existing protections.
• Anthropic operates as a Microsoft subprocessor under the Microsoft Data Protection Addendum and Product Terms.
• Anthropic models are currently excluded from EU Data Boundary and in‑country processing commitments.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required. However, it’s recommended that you review internal guidance and communicate to users that availability.
• If your tenant is in a region where Anthropic is Off by default, review the subprocessor setting and opt in if you want Anthropic models available to users. Learn more: Anthropic as a subprocessor for Microsoft Online Services | Microsoft Learn
• Learn more about Anthropic as a Microsoft subprocessor: Anthropic as a subprocessor for Microsoft Online Services

[Introduction]

We’re improving the Microsoft Teams search experience with smarter, personalized Autosuggest to make it easier to find what you need as you type. With this update, Teams now shows clear, easy-to-recognize suggestions right in the search dropdown, helping you quickly choose the right direction without needing to retype or refine your query. These suggestions are tailored based on your activity across chats, channels, and the people you interact with.

[When will this happen]

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

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected:

• Microsoft Teams users

What will happen:

• As users type in the Teams search box, Autosuggest will surface clearer, easier-to-recognize suggestions such as:
• People
• Channels
• Chats – Group chats, meeting chats
• Selecting a suggestion automatically completes the search text.
• Users can navigate and select suggestions using the keyboard.
• Search results are more relevant, especially for short or informal queries (for example, “Alex release update” or “Jordan meeting preread”).
• The feature is enabled by default.
• No changes are made to existing admin policies.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required. The feature is enabled by default.
• Consider notifying users about the improved search experience to help set expectations and reduce support questions.
• Update internal help documentation or training materials if you reference Teams search behavior.

[Compliance considerations:]

The feature changes how existing Teams data (messages, people, channels) is surfaced during search, but does not change underlying storage, permissions, or data residency.

Introduction

To improve compliance and legal review workflows, Microsoft is enhancing how Microsoft Whiteboard content appears in Microsoft Purview eDiscovery. Based on customer feedback, Whiteboard artifacts returned in eDiscovery search sets can now be opened and reviewed directly in a readable HTML format, eliminating the need to download and open files separately in the Whiteboard app.

When this will happen:

This capability is rolling out now and will complete by late April 2026.

How this affects your organization:

Who is affected:

• Compliance, legal, and eDiscovery reviewers using Microsoft Purview eDiscovery
• Administrators managing Purview eDiscovery investigations that include Microsoft Whiteboard content

What will happen:

• Whiteboard files returned as artifacts in eDiscovery search sets can be opened directly within the eDiscovery experience
• Whiteboard content is rendered as readable HTML for faster review and understanding
• Reviewers no longer need to download Whiteboard files to view their contents
• The feature is enabled by default and respects existing Purview permissions and controls

What you can do to prepare:

No action is required.

• This capability is enabled automatically.
• Existing Microsoft Purview eDiscovery workflows, permissions, and policies continue to apply.
• You may want to inform compliance and legal teams that Whiteboard artifacts are now viewable directly in eDiscovery.
• To learn more about Whiteboard data controls and organization-level settings, review Manage data for Microsoft Whiteboard.

Compliance considerations:

This change enhances how existing Whiteboard data is viewed within Microsoft Purview eDiscovery. No new data is stored, and existing compliance, retention, and security controls continue to apply.

[Introduction]

We’re introducing the ability for SharePoint admins to delegate management of Restricted Access Control (RAC) policies to site admins. This change provides more flexibility while maintaining strong security and governance. By allowing site admins to manage RAC directly on their sites—with required justification for changes—organizations can reduce administrative overhead while improving accountability and auditability.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD): We began rolling out in mid-March 2026 and expect to complete by late April 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• SharePoint Online admins
• Site admins in tenants where delegation is enabled
• A Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) or SharePoint Advanced Management license is required to use this feature.

What will happen:

• By default, delegation of RAC management is turned off.
• When enabled by a SharePoint admin:
  • Site admins can manage Restricted Access Control directly from the Site information panel.
  • Site admins must provide a justification when updating RAC policies.
• RAC continues to restrict site access to a defined set of users using:
  • Microsoft 365 groups, or
  • Microsoft Entra security groups
• No changes occur to existing sites or policies unless delegation is explicitly enabled.

What you can do to prepare:

• No action is required to receive this update.
• SharePoint admins should consider the following steps to prepare for their organization: 
1. Evaluate whether delegation aligns with your security model.
2. Enable delegation using Set-SPOTenant -DelegateRestrictedAccessControlManagement $true.
3. Verify delegation status at any time by running: Get-SPOTenant | Select-Object DelegateRestrictedAccessControlManagement
• Update internal documentation and communicate expectations to site admins.

Learn more: Delegate Management of Restricted Access Control to Site Admins | Microsoft Learn

[Compliance considerations:]

[Introduction]

Beginning in July 2026, Microsoft will unify the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel (SAEC) and Monthly Enterprise Channel (MEC) into a single enterprise-focused update channel for Microsoft 365 Apps. This change is designed to simplify update management while continuing to provide a predictable, enterprise-ready servicing experience.

Over time, SAEC and MEC have both served customers who want an enterprise-focused experience with timely updates. Unifying these channels reduces complexity and overlap, helping organizations adopt new capabilities, security updates, and quality improvements more quickly. This unified approach also supports more consistent update expectations across devices and user groups, while maintaining Microsoft’s commitment to quality, manageability, and predictable servicing.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, and DoD): These changes will go into effect on July 14, 2026, with the Patch Tuesday update release.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Microsoft 365 administrators managing update channels for Microsoft 365 Apps
• Organizations currently using the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel (SAEC)
• There is no change or impact for devices on other channels such as Monthly Enterprise Channel (MEC), Current Channel (CC), or associated preview channels

What will happen:

• Devices currently configured for SAEC will receive the same feature and security updates as published to MEC.
• Existing update policies and configurations will continue to be respected.
• There is no change to Microsoft’s commitment to predictable servicing, quality, and enterprise manageability.
• Users are not expected to experience workflow changes as a result of this update.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required. If your organization currently uses SAEC, updates will continue to be published on a monthly basis.

Optional:

• Validate your servicing workflows. Confirm that your pilot, broad deployment, and rollback processes continue to meet your organization’s requirements.

Learn more:

• Overview of update channels for Microsoft 365 Apps | Microsoft Learn 
• As we get closer to rollout, we will share additional details about how this change will appear in admin experiences and documentation.

[Compliance considerations:]

Microsoft 365 Apps update channel selection remains an admin-managed configuration. This change simplifies channel options by unifying feature updates published to SAEC and MEC. (Note: Entra ID group-based control is not introduced by this change; scoping depends on how you deploy policy today, such as Intune group assignments.)

• Review your current use of Enterprise State Roaming.
• Understand how to configure and manage Windows Backup for Organizations through Microsoft Intune or other MDM providers.
• To continue syncing users’ settings, configure the Windows Backup for Organizations backup policy in Microsoft Intune or another MDM provider.
• If you take no action, Windows will honor both ESR and Group Policy (GPO) or MDM roaming controls for one year (prioritizing GPO/MDM). After that, ESR will no longer work, and you’ll have to manage roaming through Windows Backup for Organizations policies.

• Differences between Enterprise State Roaming and Windows Backup for Organizations
• How to configure backup and restore policies in Microsoft Intune

• October 13, 2026: Devices on Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB 2016 will receive a final monthly security update. This date marks end of support (EOS) for this product.
• April 1, 2026: Extended Security Updates (ESU) are available as a temporary bridge to your next step.

• Plan for Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 2016 LTSB end of support
• What’s new in Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2016
• Windows 10 2016 LTSB – Microsoft Lifecycle