Microsoft Roadmap, messagecenter and blogs updates from 24-02-2026

Updated February 23, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Additional details about updates to this feature will be added soon. Thank you for your patience.

Prompt categories will be available in Microsoft Copilot Dashboard in Microsoft Viva Insights on the web to help you understand key Copilot use cases for your organization. In Microsoft Copilot Chat (work), which is grounded in work data, these prompt categories will include Ask and find, Catch up, Draft and brainstorm, and Other. These metrics will be added to the metrics library in the advanced insights app.

Learn more about Copilot Dashboard licensing requirements in Connect to the Microsoft Copilot Dashboard for Microsoft 365 customers | Microsoft Learn

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 486698.

Public Preview: We will begin rolling out in early September 2025 (previously mid-September) and will complete by late September 2025

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling June 2026 (previously late February) and expect to complete by end of June 2026 (previously end of February).

[How this will affect your organization:]

Users enabled to view Copilot dashboard will see these updates:

1. Adoption tab: Prompt categories will be available at Viva Insights > Microsoft Copilot Dashboard > Adoption > Adoption by app > Copilot Chat (work) dropdown:

2. Impact tab: Admins can go to Viva Insights > Microsoft Copilot Dashboard > Impact > Copilot chat card > Explore more button to access the prompt categories as metrics in the Copilot impact trend section and the Comparison between groups section:

This change will be available by default.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified dates with no admin action required before the rollout. You may want to notify your admins and/or users about this change and update internal documentation.

Review and assess the impact for your organization. You might consider reviewing with your works council and updating your training and documentation as appropriate.

Learn more: Connect to the Microsoft Copilot Dashboard for Microsoft 365 customers | Microsoft Learn

Updated February 23, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

[Introduction]

We’re introducing the Agent Dashboard, a new dashboard available as part of Copilot Analytics in Microsoft Viva. This dashboard provides visibility into key agent adoption trends and associated Copilot credit usage. It supports insights into agents used within Microsoft 365 Copilot, which may be:

• Built using Microsoft Copilot Studio, SharePoint, or the Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit
• Built by employees, your organization, Microsoft, or Microsoft partners

This release also enhances the Adoption tab of the Copilot Dashboard, allowing users to view agent insights directly and access the Agent Dashboard for deeper analysis.

[When this will happen:]

• Public Preview (Worldwide): Begins rolling out in early February 2026 (previously January), expected to complete by mid-February 2026 (previously end of January).
• General Availability (Worldwide): Begins rolling out in June 2026 (previously March), expected to complete by end of June 2026 (previously end of March).

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Leaders, delegates, adoption specialists, and administrators using Microsoft Viva Insights
• Tenants with at least 50 Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses assigned

What will happen:

• A new Agent Dashboard will be available in Viva Insights under Copilot Analytics
• Users will find:
  • Key adoption metrics with historical trends (up to 6 months):
    • Number of active agents
    • Number of active agent users
    • Number of agent responses
    • Copilot credits used
    • Number of users using Copilot credits
    • Percentage of Copilot users using agents
    Screenshot 1: Key adoption metrics with historical trends, including active agents, active users, agent responses, and Copilot credit usage.

    

  • Monthly and weekly user retention trends, with comparison across groups
  Screenshot 2: Monthly and weekly user retention trends, with comparison across groups.

  

  • Top agents based on the following, with the ability to dive deeper into specific agents:
    • Active user count
    • Agent responses
    • Copilot credits consumed
    Screenshot 3: Agent highlights along with a table of top agents, each with active usage metrics and the ability to dive deeper.

    

    Screenshot 4: Individual agent deep dive page with key adoption metrics and trends over time.

    

• Minimum group size threshold must be met for agent activity insights.
• Learn more: Configure manager settings
• The Adoption tab of the Copilot Dashboard will also include:
  • Contextual insights on how Copilot users are leveraging agents and credits
  • Direct entry points to the Agent Dashboard
  Screenshot 5: Entry points to the Agent Dashboard from the Copilot Dashboard Adoption tab, including agent usage and Copilot credit usage insights.

  

  [What you can do to prepare:]

  • Review and assess the impact for your organization
  • Manage access to the Agent Dashboard using VFAM controls at user, group, and tenant levels (nested under Viva Insights Web app VFAM controls)
  • Consider reviewing with your works council
  • Update training and documentation as needed
  • Additional details will be available on MS Learn once this functionality is released, in a separate Agent Dashboard section: Copilot Analytics introduction

  [Compliance considerations:]

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

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

[Introduction]

This feature empowers organizations with powerful insights into the adoption and usage of M365 Copilot Chat by users who are not licensed for M365 Copilot. Insights include usage trends, retention and usage intensity insights, app-level breakdowns, and filtering by organizational attributes.

This experience will be enabled by default for tenants with at least 1 M365 Copilot license. You can disable insights for Copilot Chat (unlicensed) in Viva Feature Access Management, either at user- or tenant-level.

Screenshot: Copilot chat adoption in Copilot Dashboard

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 501581.

[When this will happen:]

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

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Tenants with at least one Microsoft 365 Copilot license assigned.
• Admins and users enabled for Microsoft Copilot Dashboard.

For tenants with 1-49 paid licenses:

For tenants with at 1-49 M365 Copilot licenses the user experience for the M365 Copilot adoption and impact insights will also update and include organizational filters and group by attributes. However, the minimum group size restrictions, defaulting to 10, will still apply.

It’s important to note that tenants with 1-49 M365 Copilot licenses will not have access to the premium features available to those with 50 or more M365 Copilot licenses. These premium features include benchmarks, export capabilities, Agent dashboard and agent insights on Copilot dashboard, the Reports tab, Advanced insights with query abilities, Group Manager access, as well as any other Viva Insights premium features from Personal and Team insights.

What will happen:

• Feature will be enabled by default; no admin action required.
• New analytics cards and visualizations will appear in the Copilot Dashboard adoption tab.
• Insights will include:
  • Usage Trends Over Time: Visualize how Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat adoption evolves at your organization, by measuring the number of active users over time.
  • Adoption by Group: Compare adoption across organizational attributes, such as organization or job function to uncover where Copilot Chat is gaining traction and where further engagement may be needed.
  • Usage intensity and retention insights: Analyze how consistently users return to Copilot Chat and how many Copilot actions are being taken, with metrics on recurring usage and usage intensity.
  • App-Level Breakdowns: Identify which entry points and applications are driving Copilot Chat adoption.
  • Filtering and drilldown capabilities will be available for both Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot views on the adoption and impact tabs.
  • Filtering and Drilldown: Filter by org attributes to explore adoption patterns, enabling Copilot Dashboard users to tailor their change management and support approaches for maximum impact.

Administrator Controls:

Global administrators, Viva Insights Administrators, and AI administrators will continue to have the following controls:  

• Create a policy for the Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat in Copilot Dashboard feature through Viva Feature Access Management (VFAM) in Microsoft Admin Center or PowerShell.
• Create a policy for access to the Viva Insights web app through Viva Feature Access Management (VFAM) in Microsoft Admin Center or PowerShell. 
• Exclude certain users or groups of users of Microsoft 365 Copilot chat from being included in the aggregated insights through the exclusion feature. 

Learn more: 

• Manage access to Viva Insights web app for individual users and groups in Microsoft 365 admin center
• Control access to features in Microsoft 365

[What you can do to prepare:]

• Read the Microsoft announcement regarding Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat.
• Review and assess the impact on your organization.
• Update training and documentation as appropriate.
• No additional configuration is required; metrics will be enabled by default.

[Compliance considerations:]

Updated February 23, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We’re introducing the new and improved People Hub in Outlook Web, designed to deliver a modern, multi-column contacts experience with fast search and a streamlined interface. We’re investing in fast, relevant search and modern contact management capabilities that deliver a high-quality experience for everyone.

This update provides a unified view of each person, automatically links duplicate entries, and enriches contacts with organizational profile information where available. These enhancements aim to improve reliability and scalability for organizations of all sizes, while phasing out older solutions that no longer meet performance expectations.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 537282.

[When this will happen:]

• Targeted Release (Worldwide): We began rolling out on mid-January 2026 and completed in mid-February 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out on late March 2026 (previously late February) and expect to complete by end of March 2026 (previously mid-March).

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected: All Outlook Web users and admins managing contact solutions in Microsoft 365.

What will happen:

• Users will see a refreshed People Hub with a modern, multi-column layout and improved search capabilities. 
• Duplicate contacts will be automatically linked, and organizational profile data will enrich contact details where available.
• All users will be migrated to the “New Contacts” experience automatically. The toggle to switch off “New Contacts” will no longer be available. 
  
• No admin action is required; the feature will be enabled by default.

• Admins can start training users on the new Contacts experience. Learn more: Add, find, edit, or delete a contact in Outlook.
• Before rollout, we will update this post with updated documentation.

[Compliance considerations:]

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

Updated February 23, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We are updating the Microsoft Teams app bar to create a cleaner and more focused experience. App names will be hidden by default, showing only app icons. Users can still view the app name by hovering over an app icon or navigating to it with keyboard focus, which displays the app name in a tooltip, as it exists today. This update simplifies the app bar by reducing visual noise. This change will exclude EDU tenants

Users can choose to show app names anytime in Settings > Appearance.

Accessibility reviews have been conducted to verify compliance and ensure screen readers are working properly.

[When this will happen]

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

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected: All Microsoft Teams users in commercial (non-government) tenants.

What will happen:

• App names in the Teams app bar will be hidden by default.
• Users will see app icons only, providing a simplified vertical navigation experience.
• Users who prefer to show app names may update this setting individually:
  • Settings > Appearance > Show app names in the app bar
• No admin configuration changes are required.
• There is no impact to existing policies, permissions, or app availability.

Screenshot 1 – Before:

Screenshot 2 – After:

[What you can do to prepare]

• No action is required.
• If helpful, you may notify users or help desk staff about this visual update and how to re-enable app names.
• If your organization maintains internal documentation or screenshots of the Teams interface, consider updating them after rollout.

[Compliance considerations]

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

[Introduction]

Starting in mid‑February 2026, the Microsoft 365 apps for Mac suite installer will include a shim for the Microsoft 365 Copilot app. This change helps organizations more easily deploy the Microsoft 365 Copilot Mac app by enabling users to download the full application directly from the shim.

The Microsoft 365 Copilot Mac app brings AI assistance to macOS, helping users search, analyze, and create from a single, secure desktop experience.

[When this will happen]

• General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin in mid‑February 2026 and is expected to complete by mid‑March 2026.

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected: Organizations that deploy Microsoft 365 apps for Mac using the suite installation package.

What will happen:

• The Microsoft 365 apps for Mac suite installer will include the Microsoft 365 Copilot shim app.
• Users will be able to download and install the full Microsoft 365 Copilot app by opening the shim app from the Applications folder.
• Existing installations of Microsoft 365 apps on macOS are not affected.
• Organizations that want to deploy Microsoft 365 Copilot to devices already running Microsoft 365 apps should deploy the shim app separately.

[What you can do to prepare]

If your organization deploys Microsoft 365 apps for Mac using the suite installer package:

• Ensure the Microsoft 365 Copilot shim app is not excluded during deployment.
• Confirm that Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) is enabled on macOS devices.
• Confirm that devices meet the minimum requirement of macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later.
• Ensure network connectivity is available so the shim app can download the full app.
• This guidance is applicable for all users, not specifically those who want to deploy the shim app separately.
• Review: Deployment guide for Office for Mac | Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn.

[Compliance considerations]

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

• Allocate Copilot capacity to your environment
• Enable “Draw from tenant pool” for your environment
• Set up PayAsYouGo (PAYG) for Copilot credit usage

• The tools are already available to help you to proactively inventory, monitor, and apply updated certificates to your Windows Server devices.
• June 2026: The 2011 Secure Boot certificate authorities (CAs) begin expiring.

1. Inventory and prepare your environment.  
2. Monitor and check your devices for Secure Boot status.  
3. Apply any needed OEM firmware updates before updating certificates.  
4. Plan and pilot Secure Boot certificate deployments.  
5. Troubleshoot issues. 

• Get started today with the recommended approach in Windows Server Secure Boot playbook for certificates expiring in 2026.
• Prepare your servers for Secure Boot certificate updates.
• Join the online event Secure Boot certificate updates explained – Microsoft Technical Takeoff on March 9, 2026. 
• To manage Secure Boot certificate updates on Windows client, see Secure Boot playbook for certificates expiring in 2026. 
• For the latest information, bookmark https://aka.ms/GetSecureBoot as your landing page for resources to help you with Windows Secure Boot certificate updates.

• Add financial dimensions to the Expense mobile app: Allows you to add financial dimensions directly within the Expense Management mobile app.

[Introduction]

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

This feature is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 557348. 

[When this will happen]

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

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• All users of Microsoft 365 Copilot

What will happen

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

  

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

[What you can do to prepare]

No action is required.

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

[Compliance considerations]

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