Microsoft Roadmap, messagecenter and blogs updates from 24-06-2026

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

 We’re adding new peripheral health reporting capabilities to the Pro Management portal, enabling admins to proactively monitor device issues in bring your own device (BYOD) rooms and desks.

These reports help identify when peripherals are faulty, missing, moved, or undetectable by a PC—allowing admins to take action before users report problems. Reports for rooms require a Teams Shared Devices license. Desk reporting is currently in public preview.

This change is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID: 493319

[When this will happen:]

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

[How this affects your organization:]

Admins can now use peripheral status data to detect hardware issues in BYOD rooms and desks before they impact users. This proactive monitoring can reduce support tickets and improve meeting space reliability.

• Reports for rooms require a Teams Shared Devices license.
• Reports for desks are available in public preview and do not yet require a license.

[What you can do to prepare:]

To ensure accurate peripheral status reporting:

• Use multiple peripherals in each room or desk setup. The system compares expected device pairings (e.g., if Peripheral A and B are usually connected together, but A is missing, it will be flagged).
• Simplify connectivity for users by using a single cable solution to connect all peripherals.
• Ensure rooms and desks are bookable and have associated peripherals—this enables the Teams desktop client to send the necessary telemetry. Peripheral association can be done manually or automatically.

[Compliance considerations:]

• Does the change alter how existing customer data is processed, stored, or accessed? Maybe (device telemetry is used for reporting)

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

[Introduction]

To help users stay focused while working in unread only views, Microsoft Teams is introducing a quicker way to access read chats and channels without changing filters. This update improves navigation and reduces friction when users need to quickly reference previously read conversations while keeping their unread list visible.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 559608.

[When this will happen]

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

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• Users who filter their chat or channel list to unread only mode in Microsoft Teams

What will happen

• When a section is set to unread only, users will see an eye icon next to the section name.
• Selecting the eye icon opens a list of read chats or channels within that section: 

  

• Users can open read items directly from this list without switching out of unread only view.
• This replaces the previous experience where read items were accessed through a see read button in the chat list.
• The feature is enabled by default and requires no admin configuration.

[What you can do to prepare]

• No admin action is required.
• Consider notifying users about the updated navigation experience to reduce confusion and help desk inquiries.
• Update internal documentation or training materials if you reference unread only views in Teams.

[Compliance considerations]

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

Updated June 22, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

We are enhancing how Microsoft Defender for Office 365 identifies and manages promotional email. Promotional messages will be tagged as “promotions” (previously “Bulk” in preview) and can be moved automatically to a new Promotions folder. The system learns from user actions, such as moving messages into or out of the Promotions folder and applies those preferences to future messages. These improvements reduce inbox clutter and help users stay focused while still receiving promotional content they want.

[When this will happen]

• Public Preview (Limited): We will begin rolling out in mid-April 2026 and expect to complete by mid-May 2026 (previously end of April). To be included in the public preview program, send an email to [email protected] indicating: Organization name, Tenant ID and your onmicrosoft.com domain (e.g contoso.onmicrosoft.com). Slots are limited and will close on May 15th, 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in early July 2026 and expect to complete by late July 2026.
• General Availability (DoD, GCC, GCC High): We will begin rolling out in early July 2026 and expect to complete by mid-August 2026.

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• All organizations that use Microsoft Defender for Office 365 across Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, and DoD clouds

What will happen

• Incoming promotional messages will be tagged as “promotions.” (previously “Bulk” in private and public preview)
• If the Bulk Moves Enabled setting is turned on, tagged messages will automatically move to a Promotions folder created in user mailboxes.
• The system will learn from user actions when they move messages into or out of the Promotions folder. Future messages will follow the learned behavior.
• Users will be able to create inbox rules that reference the promotions tag.
• During the Public Preview: 
  • Tagging will be opt-in and configured using Exchange transport rules.
  • Folder routing will be enabled through anti-spam policy settings (“Bulk moves enabled”).
  • Both features will be able to be scoped to pilot security groups for a staged rollout.
• At Worldwide General Availability, tagging will be enabled by default for all tenants and will always remain that way.

Figure one – Admin configuration for tagging using exchange transport rule (required for public preview opt-In):

Figure two – Admin configuration for Bulk moves enabled to provision the promotions folder:

Figure three – System tagging of “Promotions” in outlook client and promotions folder (previously  tagged as “Bulk” in private and public preview):

Figure four – User inbox rules using the promotions” tag:

[What you can do to prepare]

• To be included in the public preview program, send an email to [email protected] indicating: Organization name, Tenant ID and your onmicrosoft.com domain (e.g contoso.onmicrosoft.com). Slots are limited and will close on April 30th, 2026.
• Review your internal mailbox and message handling guidance and update training materials if needed.
• If you plan to participate in the Public Preview, review your Exchange transport rule and anti-spam policy configurations to determine if you want to opt-in.
• Monitor the product documentation. You can review the following: Bulk email detection and bulk complaint level (BCL) in cloud organizations

[Compliance considerations]

Updated June 22, 2026: We have updated the timeline. For Microsoft 365 Business SKUs, backfill completion is now expected by September 30 for Microsoft 365 Business SKUs. All other details for all other SKUs in the original communication remain unchanged. Thank you for your patience.

[Introduction]

As a part of the 2026 Microsoft 365 Packaging and Pricing Update, we’re excited to share that the following features will begin to roll out to Microsoft 365, Office 365, and Enterprise Mobility and Security (EMS) suites in mid-June and are expected to be complete by August 1, 2026.

Refer to the licensing blog for feature availability by suite. Government and Commercial packaging changes are listed separately.

• Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1: Protection against advanced phishing and malware
• URL time-of-click protection: Scans URLs at time of click to prevent access to malicious websites
• Intune Remote Help: Secure remote support for devices
• Intune Advanced Analytics: Insights to improve user experience
• Intune Plan 2: Tunnel for MAM, FOTA, and specialty device management
• Intune Endpoint Privilege Management: Supports least-privilege access
• Microsoft Cloud PKI: Cloud-based certificate lifecycle management
• Intune Enterprise Application Management: Enterprise App Catalog of Win32 applications with preconfigured deployment settings.
• Exchange Online: +50GB email storage

Refer to list of service display names affected below:

[When this will happen:]

We will begin rolling out in mid-June 2026 and expect to complete by early August 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Refer to the licensing blog for feature availability by suite
• Organizations using Microsoft 365, Office 365, and EMS suites
• Microsoft 365 admins responsible for security and device management
• Users receiving enhanced protections and increased mailbox storage

What will happen:

For Microsoft Defender features:

• Built-in protection policy (Safe Links, Safe Attachments), anti-phishing protections, and URL time-of-click protection will be applied to all users by default
• Policies cannot be disabled but can be supplemented or overridden
• New alerts may appear in the Microsoft Defender portal

For Microsoft Intune features:

• Intune features are not configured by default

For Exchange Online:

• Exchange Online storage increases by +50GB

[What you can do to prepare:]

For Microsoft Defender features:

• Review the Built-in Protection policy in the Microsoft Defender portal.
• Add exclusions by user, group, or domain, if needed.
• Consider enabling standard or strict preset security policies.
• Review mail flow and configure enhanced filtering if using a third-party gateway.

For Microsoft Intune features:

Refer to the MS Learn documentation hyperlinked in the Intro section of this post.

Learn more:

• M365 Packaging and Pricing Update: Official Announcement Blog
• M365 Packaging and Pricing Update: Licensing Blog
• M365 Packaging and Pricing Update: Public FAQs
• Microsoft Defender for Office 365: Security Documentation
• Microsoft Defender for Office 365: Preset Security Policies Documentation

[Compliance considerations:]

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

[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 August 2026 (previously early July) and is expected to complete by mid-August 2026 (previously mid-July).

[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:]

Updated June 22, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[What and Why:]

We’re enhancing the existing AI-powered SharePoint Page and News Post creation experience by expanding Copilot in SharePoint (previously AI in SharePoint) with a new entry point and a more integrated authoring flow.

This update helps authors move more quickly from idea to publish-ready content by making AI-assisted creation available earlier and more consistently across SharePoint, while maintaining full editing control and customization flexibility.

[Rollout Schedule:]

• Public Preview (Worldwide): We began rolling out in early March 2026 and expect to complete by early July 2026 (previously early June).
• Targeted Release (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in mid-July 2026 (previously late June) and expect to complete by early August 2026 (previously late July).

[Impact on Your Organization:]

Who is affected:

• Users who create SharePoint pages or news posts
• A Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) license is required to use this feature
• Tenants opted in to Copilot in SharePoint (previously AI in SharePoint) public preview

Platforms/Services:

• SharePoint Online (Web)
• Microsoft 365 Copilot
• SharePoint Pages and News Posts

What will happen:

Authors can start creating AI-assisted SharePoint pages and news posts from a new entry point in SharePoint:

>

• Authors can quickly create a SharePoint page using AI by entering a prompt.

2. Start from the Site Template Gallery

• A new prompt box will appear at the top of the SharePoint Site Template Gallery.



• From this experience, authors can:
  • Enter a prompt to describe the content they want to create
  • Select grounding files to provide additional context
  • Choose whether to create a Page or a News Post using the pivot control
• Copilot will generate a visually engaging draft that authors can continue refining directly within the page editor using the Copilot panel.
• The experience is enabled by default for eligible users, respects existing SharePoint permissions, and maintains full editing and customization flexibility.

[Action Required / Recommendations:]

No admin action is required. Consider notifying SharePoint authors and updating internal documentation as appropriate.

Learn more: Authoring with AI in SharePoint: An overview | Microsoft Support (will be updated before rollout)

[Compliance considerations:]

Updated June 22, 2026: We are starting rollout of the updated Microsoft 365 Copilot app experience to worldwide audiences. This updated experience was previously rolled out to Frontier audiences in May. The worldwide rollout will begin standard release on June 22. Users will see a “New Copilot” toggle in the top right of their app that lets them switch between the current experience and the updated experience. The updated experience will be turned on by default.

This toggle gives users control to:

• Switch back at any time if it doesn’t meet their needs
• Share feedback when they switch back to help us improve
• This is a temporary opt-out experience as we roll out updates and learn from feedback.

On July 15 for standard release, the toggle will be removed and the updated experience will be default on without the option for users to switch back to the previous experience. On August 22, the updated experience will start rolling out worldwide for deferred release.

[Introduction]

We are introducing updates to the Microsoft 365 Copilot app that deliver a more streamlined, chat-centered experience. These updates simplify the chat and response layout, improve navigation, and introduce new ways for users to organize work—helping them stay focused, maintain context, and move work forward efficiently.

[When this will happen]

• Frontier: Available now
• Generally available with opt-out toggle: Available now 
• Generally available, no opt-out toggle: July 2026 
• Generally available, deferred release: August 2026

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected

• All users accessing the Microsoft 365 Copilot app on the web or desktop
• Applies to Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) and Copilot Chat (Basic) tenants

What will happen

Throughout the Copilot app, experiences have a new, cleaner look with simplified headers and text input components. In addition, users will see the following updates:

Streamlined navigation

• The navigation pane has a new pinned section where users can pin frequently used agents, apps, and Copilot experiences (like Notebooks, Microsoft 365 apps, chat conversations, etc.) directly in the navigation pane for easy access. 
• The app launcher moves to the waffle menu in the top right of the expanded navigation pane where users can access apps and experiences like Create, Notebooks, Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and custom apps. Some users in an early test group may have already seen this change roll out a few weeks prior. 
• The agents section in the navigation pane is simplified to a flyout menu, where users can hover over to see their pinned and recently used agents, as well as access agent store and agent builder. Users can also select the agents label to open the agent store directly.
• The new Tasks tab in the navigation pane opens a consolidated view of the user’s long-running Copilot activity, including scheduled chats and agent activity, so they can easily track autonomous Copilot tasks and take action when needed. 
• Users can collapse the Copilot app navigation pane by selecting the icon in the top left corner of the pane (“collapse navigation” text string appears when the user hovers over the icon).

Chat update

• Work and web grounding controls are consolidated into a single “Work IQ” toggle in the upper-left corner of the chat screen. Work IQ is enabled by default and combines enterprise data with web grounding to provide more complete responses. Users can turn off Work IQ to disable enterprise data tools and switch to web-only grounding. When Work IQ is turned off, prompt suggestions and the CIQ menu are limited to web-based suggestions, and the Sources menu is disabled. Agents continue to function as usual.
• The Copilot Chat layout has been simplified with a rich prompting canvas that preserves formatting when pasting content, refreshed prompt suggestions and header text, and a streamlined menu for adding content, agents, and images.
• Copilot Chat response’s structure is clearer for more scannable information, citations, and more relevant suggested actions. 

Agent update

• When a user opens an agent from the agent flyout menu in the navigation pane or from the Agent Store and lands on the agent home screen, they will see details about where the agent came from, including a profile card of the agent maker and tooltips alongside the organization name. The ghost text in the agent chat input includes the agent’s name to clearly show that the interaction is with the agent. 

These updates will roll out to all Microsoft 365 users with access to the Copilot app. 

Default behavior

• When these updates roll out to Frontier users, the new experience will be their default experience. This allows Microsoft to generate sufficient feedback to inform decisions impacting full GA deployment. 
• When these updates roll out to worldwide users in June, the new experience will be available via an opt-in toggle. The experience will be disabled by default. 
• In July, these features will become available by default for all users. The opt-in toggle will be removed at this time. 

Screenshot 1 – Microsoft 365 Copilot app home screen view:

Screenshot 2 – Microsoft 365 Copilot app home screen with expanded navigation view:

Screenshot 3 – Chat response in Copilot app view:

[What you can do to prepare]

No action is required to enable this change.

To prepare for these changes, we recommend that administrators:

• Inform users about the updated Copilot app experience 
• Share updated Microsoft support documentation (https://support.microsoft.com/Microsoft-365-Copilot/what-is-the-microsoft-365-copilot-app) with users when it has been updated with the new experience in June (aligned to when the updates roll out to general audiences). 
• If applicable, update internal guidance and training materials to reflect changes to navigation, chat experience, and where users access key capabilities. 
• If participating in preview programs (e.g., Frontier), validate the experience in your environment and provide feedback to help shape final GA 

Learn more:

• Announcement – Microsoft 365 Blog

[Compliance considerations]

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

[What and Why]

We are introducing an enhanced bookable desk experience for Microsoft Teams panel based desk devices, such as Logi Dock Flex and the upcoming Yealink Linkhub. This update enables users to view at-a-glance desk availability and for visitors to reserve desks directly from the device, improving flexibility and productivity in hybrid work environments. Each device requires a Teams Shared Space license.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 561031.

[Rollout Schedule]

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

[Impact on Your Organization]

Who is affected

• Organizations using Microsoft Teams panel based desk devices (for example, Logi Dock Flex).

Platforms/Services

• Microsoft Teams
• Teams panels based desk devices
• Android (Teams panel devices)
• Requires Teams Shared Space license

What will happen

After the Teams app update, device’s user experience will directly reference desk booking and ask users to connect their laptop with the Teams app running to make a desk reservation.

• Users will be able to:
  • View desk availability directly on supported devices.
  • Reserve desks directly from the device interface when they are visitors that do not have an account on the tenant.
• Devices will prompt users to connect their laptop running the Teams app to do desk reservations or to check-in to a reservation.
• The updated experience will be available automatically after the Teams app update on supported Android-based devices.
• Existing licensing requirements apply (Teams Shared Space license required per device).
• No new admin configuration is introduced for this change.

[Action Required / Recommendations]

No action is required.

We recommend that you:

• Identify Teams panel-based desk devices in your organization (for example, Logi Dock Flex).
• After rollout, test one or more devices to validate the updated booking experience.
• Inform users about the updated booking flow (connecting their laptop to confirm reservations).
• Update internal documentation or workspace booking guidance if applicable.

[Compliance considerations]

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

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

[What and Why]

We are performing planned maintenance to support upcoming updates to PowerPoint Live in Microsoft Teams, which will begin rolling out on June 30, 2026. To keep Teams Rooms aligned with these updates, ensure devices are running the latest supported app versions.

[Rollout Schedule]

Teams Rooms on Windows General Availability

• Worldwide and GCC:  Already available now.
• GCC High: We will begin rolling out in early June 2026 and expect to complete by mid-June 2026.
• DoD: We will begin rolling out in early June 2026 and expect to complete by mid-June 2026.

Teams Rooms on Android General Availability

• Worldwide and GCC: We will begin rolling out in late June 2026 (previously mid-June) and expect to complete by early July 2026 (previously late June).
• GCC High: We will begin rolling out in early July 2026 and expect to complete by mid-July 2026.
• DoD: We will begin rolling out in early July 2026 and expect to complete by mid-July 2026.

[Impact on Your Organization]

Who is affected

• Organizations using Microsoft Teams Rooms devices

Platforms/Services

Microsoft Teams

• Teams Rooms on Windows
• Teams Rooms on Android

What will happen

• Teams Rooms devices running outdated app versions may not fully support PowerPoint Live experience, including:
  • Synchronized media playback
  • Viewing real-time inking and annotation
• There is no change to existing admin policies.
• Functionality remains consistent once devices are updated.

[Action Required/Recommendations]

To maintain PowerPoint Live functionality, complete the following:

• Update Teams Rooms devices to supported versions:
  • Windows: Version 5.6.135 (available now)
  • Android: Version 1449/1.0.96.2026124903 (available mid-June 2026)
• Complete updates before June 30, 2026.
• Review device update processes to ensure compliance across all meeting rooms.
• Notify IT support/helpdesk teams of potential functionality impact if devices are not updated.

[Compliance Considerations]

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

[What and why]

Users will now be able to control their channel notification settings using three presets: All new messages, Mentions and replies, and Mute. Users can further customize the selected preset to manage notifications for unfollowed threads, tag mentions, channel mentions, and team mentions within each channel, as well as control banner notifications for the channel

This gives users more control over what is important in each channel, leading to an improved triaging experience and reduced noise.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 565132.

[Rollout schedule]

• General Availability
  • Targeted release: Rollout will begin in early August 2026 and is expected to complete in mid-August 2026.
  • Worldwide: Rollout will begin in late August 2026 (previously late July) and is expected to complete in early September 2026 (previously early August).
  • GCC and GCC High: Rollout will begin in late August 2026 (previously late July) and is expected to complete in early September 2026 (previously early August).
  • DoD: Rollout will begin in early September 2026 (previously late July) and is expected to complete by mid-September 2026 (previously mid-August).

[Impact on your organization]

Who is affected

•  Users in GCC, GCC High, and DoD environments using Microsoft Teams channels

Platforms and services

• Microsoft Teams across desktop, web, and mobile
• Windows, Mac, iOS, Android

What will happen

• Users will see new preset channel notification options:
  • All new messages
  • Mentions and replies
  • Mute
• Users can customize each preset to manage:
  • Unfollowed threads
  • Tag mentions
  • Channel mentions
  • Team mentions
• Existing notification behavior remains unchanged unless users modify their settings.
• The feature is enabled by default for all users.
• No changes are required to existing admin settings or policies.

[Action required]

No action is required.

Recommendations:

• Inform helpdesk teams about this change, as users may have questions about updated notification behavior.
• Update internal documentation or training materials if you reference Teams notifications.

[Compliance considerations]

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

• New logic that splits the invoice posting process into multiple threads. This logic distributes the work instead of doing all the work sequentially in a single thread.
• A new project parameter where you configure the number of parallel threads.

Updated June 17, 2026: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience. 

[What and Why] 

• A Microsoft 365 Copilot license to access the experience.
• Usage-based billing enabled via Copilot Credits

• Worldwide (General Availability – Standard Release): Beginning mid-June 2026 and expected to complete late June 2026
• Worldwide (General Availability – Deferred Release): Beginning mid-July 2026 and expected to complete late July 2026.
• Rollout occurs automatically; visibility depends on eligibility and admin configuration

• Microsoft 365 Admins
• End users who accessed Copilot Cowork via the Frontier program prior to June 16, 2026

• Microsoft 365 Copilot app (web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android)
• Microsoft 365 admin center
• Microsoft Edge (for browser-based workflows)
• Microsoft Purview
• Copilot plugin ecosystem

• Copilot Cowork becomes generally available
• Updated UI and entry point for Copilot Cowork
• Access to Copilot Cowork requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and usage-based billing enabled
• If usage-based billing is not enabled, users won’t be able to access or use Cowork. Admins can control the discoverability of Copilot Cowork and consumptive features (Copilot Settings> AI experiences enabled by usage-based billing)
• Usage is billed via Copilot Credits
• A new Cost Management dashboard in the Microsoft 365 admin center gives admins visibility and control over billing configuration, spending policies, and usage reporting.

• Communicate this change to helpdesk and 6/30 deadline to your end users
• Estimate spend and review which users should have access to Copilot Cowork
• Update internal guidance for Copilot usage and cost governance

• Copilot Credits overview
• Copilot Credit Licensing Guide
• Cowork Estimator
• Cowork documentation

[Compliance considerations]

• This service generates and stores customer data and supports the following capabilities: Purview eDiscovery, Data Retention, Purview Sensitivity Labels, Tenant Restrictions, Token Protection, Audit Logging, Customer Lockbox, Role-Based Access Control, Active-Active Hosting, Third Party Pentest Report, Customer Key, Data Export Capability, Incident Notification, Service Level Agreement.
• This service supports: Data Residency (Data At Rest).
• GPT-5.5 in Copilot Cowork available in Frontier respects EU Data Boundary commitments
• This service provides a method of communication and supports the following capabilities: Information Barriers, Purview Communication Compliance.
• This service provides a method of communicating with generative AI and supports the following capabilities: Purview Communication Compliance.
• Customer administrators can control user access to this service using the following interfaces: Licensing, Admin center UI, PowerShell Cmdlet, Admins have user/group granularity for controlling access to the service, Users have opt-in or opt-out options for use of the service.

[What and Why:]

We are retiring the Calendar widget in Student Hub as part of ongoing work to simplify and modernize the Student Hub experience. After the end-of-support date, the widget can no longer be added, and any existing Calendar widgets will stop working. There is no direct replacement.

[Rollout Schedule:]

• General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins late July 2026 and is expected to complete by late August 2026

[Impact on Your Organization:]

Who is affected:

• Organizations currently using the Calendar widget in Student Hub
• Admins managing Student Hub configurations
• Educators, students, and support teams relying on the widget

Platforms/Services: Student Hub (web experience)

What will happen:

• The Calendar widget will be retired and removed.
• Admins will no longer be able to add the Calendar widget to Student Hub pages.
• Existing Calendar widgets will stop functioning after the end-of-support date.
• Other Student Hub widgets and capabilities are not impacted.
• There is no replacement feature for this widget.

[Action Required / Recommendations:]

Action is required

• Review your Student Hub configurations to identify where the Calendar widget is in use.
• Remove the Calendar widget before late July 2026 to avoid a broken experience.
• Communicate this change to affected users (educators, students, and support staff).
• Update internal documentation, help content, and training materials referencing the widget.

[Compliance considerations:]

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

[What and Why:]

Microsoft is retiring the Turnitin Similarity integration in Microsoft Teams Assignments and encouraging institutions to transition to Turnitin Feedback Studio for Microsoft Teams. Turnitin Feedback Studio provides similarity checking, grading, feedback, and assignment management within Teams. For sustainability and fairness in its partner ecosystem, Microsoft Education is phasing out non-standard integrations with third party products such as the Similarity integration in Teams Assignments. Turnitin’s Feedback Studio integration is built for the long-term, using standard platform extensibility features.

[Rollout Schedule:]

Retirement date: December 31, 2026

[Impact on Your Organization:]

Who is affected:

• Organizations currently using the Turnitin Similarity integration in Microsoft Teams Assignments
• Educators and administrators managing assignments with Turnitin

Platforms/Services:

• Microsoft Teams (Assignments feature)
• Turnitin integrations (Similarity and Feedback Studio)

What will happen:

• The legacy Turnitin Similarity integration will be removed from Teams Assignments on December 31, 2026.
• Organizations that want to continue using Turnitin capabilities in Teams Assignments should transition to Turnitin Feedback Studio for Microsoft Teams.
• Microsoft is encouraging customers to complete this transition before the retirement date to avoid interruptions to similarity-checking and related assignment workflows.
• Customers that do not migrate before December 31, 2026, could experience disruption to plagiarism-checking and other assignment-related processes that depend on the legacy integration.
• The Turnitin team will contact customers directly from [email protected] with migration details, training, and support resources.

[Action Required / Recommendations:]

• Review whether your institution is currently using the legacy Turnitin Similarity integration in Teams Assignments.
• Plan and complete your transition to Turnitin Feedback Studio for Microsoft Teams before December 31, 2026.
• Watch for migration guidance from [email protected] and review the training and support resources that Turnitin provides.
• Inform educators, support staff, and administrators about the retirement of the legacy integration and the required migration timeline.
• Update any internal documentation, training materials, or help desk guidance that references the legacy Turnitin Similarity integration.

[Compliance considerations:]

This change adds or modifies a third-party integration because it retires the legacy Turnitin Similarity integration and directs customers to Turnitin Feedback Studio for Microsoft Teams.

[What and Why]

We’re introducing automatic recording and transcription for Microsoft Teams Call Queues. This feature enables administrators to automatically record and transcribe calls handled by call queue representatives without manual action, supporting quality assurance and training scenarios.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 565215.

[Rollout Schedule]

• Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out in mid-July 2026 and expect to complete by late July 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide, GCC): We will begin rolling out in early August 2026 and expect to complete by mid-August 2026.

[Impact on Your Organization]

Who is affected:

• Admins managing Microsoft Teams Call Queues
• Call Queue agents in queues where recording is enabled
• Organizations using Teams Phone
• Users requiring access to recordings and transcripts through the Queues app (Teams Premium license required)

What will happen:

• Automatic recording and transcription per call queue: Admins can enable automatic recording and/or transcription on any call queue via Teams admin center or PowerShell. When enabled, all calls answered by agents in that queue are automatically recorded.
• Recordings stored in SharePoint: Recordings are automatically stored in SharePoint and accessible through the Queues app call history.
• Agent access controls: Admins can configure whether agents can view recordings and transcripts in the Queues app call history to support shared customer callback scenarios.
• Configurable recording announcements: Admins can configure the recording and transcription announcements played to callers. Options include the default system announcement, a custom audio file, or text-to-speech.

[Action Required / Recommendations]

Action may be required. Review and prepare before rollout:

• Review your organization’s call recording and transcription policies.
• Determine which Call Queues should enable automatic recording.
• Communicate changes to call queue agents and helpdesk teams.
• Configure agent access permissions for recordings and transcripts.
• Customize the recording announcement if required.
• Ensure Teams Premium licensing is available for users needing Queues app access.

• New-CsAutoRecordingTemplate | PowerShell
• Get-CsAutoRecordingTemplate | PowerShell
• Set-CsCallQueue | PowerShell
• Get-CsCallQueue | PowerShell

[Compliance considerations]

[What and Why:]

We’ve updated Location-Based Routing (LBR) behavior for Operator Connect in India to ensure compliance with India toll bypass regulations. Microsoft Teams now blocks the use of a manually set Windows location (“OS default location”) for LBR-enforced users.

If a user’s location is derived from OS default settings instead of network-based detection, geo-coordinates are stripped and cannot be used for routing decisions. This helps prevent toll bypass and location spoofing.

This change reached General Availability on April 30, 2026. We acknowledge this change was not communicated in advance and are sharing this post to provide guidance.

[Rollout Schedule:]

• This change has completed rollout (Worldwide and GCC).

[Impact on Your Organization:]

Who is affected: 

• Tenants using Operator Connect in India with Location Based Routing enabled, especially:
• Users on corporate networks or VPNs (especially Zscaler configurations)
• Users on virtual machines or remote desktop environments
• Environments where Windows Location Services URLs are routed through VPN or proxy instead of split tunneling

Platforms/Services:

• Microsoft Teams (desktop)
• Windows Location Services
• Operator Connect (India)

What will happen:

• Teams will no longer accept manually set OS default location as a valid source for LBR enforcement
• When network-based location detection fails:
  • Geo-coordinates are stripped
  • LBR cannot validate user location
  • PSTN calling may be disabled
• Users may experience:
  • Intermittent dial pad or PSTN calling availability
  • Calling working outside the corporate network but failing inside
• Corporate environments may increase impact due to:
  • VPNs or proxies (including Zscaler configurations)
  • Virtual machines or remote desktop environments
  • Windows Location Services traffic routed through VPN instead of split tunneling

This behavior is by design. LBR in India requires verified network-based location detection for regulatory compliance.

[Action Required / Recommendations:]

• Update VPN split-tunnel configurations to ensure Windows Location Services URLs are routed directly (not through VPN or proxy)
• Do not rely on manually set OS default location for LBR-enforced users
• Validate that network-based location detection is functioning correctly, especially for users reporting intermittent calling issues
• If users report a disabled dial pad:
  • Verify whether their device is falling back to OS default location
  • Check network routing configuration

Learn more: Plan Operator Connect for India | Microsoft Learn

[Compliance considerations:]

[What and Why:]

Microsoft Teams is updating the new Events scheduling experience to ensure that Events continue to respect the existing CsTeamsEventsPolicy. With new Events templates, organizers will see a new option called Optimize for large audience. When enabled, the event uses the familiar Teams town hall attendee experience—designed for large audiences—so events can scale beyond 1,000 attendees while continuing to follow your organization’s policy settings.

[Rollout Schedule:]

• Targeted Release (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in early June 2026 and expect to complete by mid-June 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in late June 2026 and expect to complete by late June 2026.

[Impact on Your Organization:]

Who is affected:

• Teams admins managing CsTeamsEventsPolicy
• Organizers scheduling Events, including town halls and webinars, using the new Events templates
• Any event over 1,000 attendees (Optimize for large audience will be automatically enabled) or any event where Optimize for large audience is enabled

Platforms/Services:

• Microsoft Teams (Events scheduling experience)
• Teams admin policies / PowerShell (CsTeamsEventsPolicy enforcement)

What will happen:

• A new Optimize for large audience option will be available in new Events templates.
• When Optimize for large audience = ON, organizers may scale their event beyond 1,000 and the attendee experience will be optimized for large audiences: attendees can pause and rewind live content, attendees cannot turn on their camera or mic on demand, and attendees will utilize the eCDN if applicable. This is similar to the current Town hall attendee experience today.
• Events over 1,000 attendees will have Optimize for large audience automatically turned ON.
• When Optimize for large audience = ON, the event will respect all town hall settings in CsTeamsEventsPolicy, including AllowTownhalls, TownhallEventAttendeeAccess, AllowedTownhallTypesForRecordingPublish, TownhallChatExperience, RecordingForTownhall, TranscriptionForTownhall, TownhallMaxResolution, HighBitrateForTownhall, and UseMicrosoftECDN.
• When Optimize for large audience = OFF, the event will be governed by webinar policy settings.
• Town hall template events will follow town hall settings unless Optimize for large audience is turned OFF.
• Webinar template events will follow webinar policy settings unless Optimize for large audience is turned ON.
• All other non–town hall / non-webinar policy settings will continue to apply to Events, including the Registration setting.

[Action Required/Recommendations:]

No action is required if you want Events to behave the same way your organization currently uses town halls and webinars.

• Review CsTeamsEventsPolicy to ensure town hall and webinar settings align to your organization’s intended experience—especially if you run events near or above 1,000 attendees.
• Notify helpdesk and event support teams of the policy enforcement behavior to reduce scheduling-related tickets.

Learn more: Set-CsTeamsEventsPolicy | Microsoft Learn (will be updated before GA rollout)

[Compliance considerations:]

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

• The redesigned Start menu is available on commercial and managed Windows devices. For an overview of the feature, see Configure the Windows Start menu. IT administrators can use new customization policies: HideCategoryView and ConfigureStartPins. Learn more at Start Policy CSP and Start policy settings.
• A calendar experience in Windows Update Settings (Settings > Windows Update) lets you pause updates by choosing an end date for up to 35 days. You can extend the pause by selecting a different end date and re‑pause updates as needed.
• Point-in-time restore for Windows helps you quickly roll back your PC, including apps, settings, and personal files, to a recent automatic restore point. It helps reduce downtime and simplifies troubleshooting when issues occur.
• Windows now keeps the microphone mute state in sync between the audio mixer and the Hands-Free Profile (HFP) for a more consistent experience with Bluetooth headphones with mute buttons or indicators.
• You can now customize the size of the right-click zone in Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad. Choose from default, small, medium, or large to control how much of the bottom-right corner responds to a single-finger right-click. This setting is only available on touchpads with a pressable surface.

• Windows 11, version 26H1: KB5095091
• Windows 11, versions 25H2 and 24H2: KB5095093

• Windows OS 
• Installed applications 
• System and app configurations 
• Settings 
• Local user files on the OS volume 

• Starting with the June 2026 Windows non-security update, Point-in-time restore is generally available for supported Windows 11 devices. 
• On managed devices, the feature is off by default until Windows 11, version 26H2. However, you can enable it via policy today. 

• Once enabled, Windows captures local restore points on a configurable schedule. 
• By default: 
• Restore points are captured daily. 
• Restore points remain available for up to 72 hours. 
• Restore points use up to 2% of disk space. Restore points use reserved storage to reduce impact on storage space.  
• Restore points are not pre-allocated. They might be removed earlier under storage pressure. 
• Volumes outside of Windows OS location aren’t affected. 
• You or any user can initiate restoration locally from WinRE with the required BitLocker recovery key. 
• Microsoft Intune doesn’t yet support remote restore initiation. 
• You can configure the feature using the Point-in-time restore CSP, via OMA-URI policy. 

1. Enable point-in-time restore for targeted managed device groups using the associated CSP. 
2. Configure settings such as restore point frequency, retention, and maximum disk usage. 
3. Ensure that devices have enough free space for restore points and the restore process. 
4. Ensure that users and helpdesk teams can access required BitLocker recovery keys. 
5. Update recovery playbooks, so support teams know when to use point-in-time restore before reset or reimage workflows.  
6. Communicate that restore reverts the OS volume to its state at the time of the restore point, including local user files. Reinforce storing user data in OneDrive or another cloud-backed location. 

• Retention requirements 
• Audit workflows 
• Endpoint compliance 
• Security monitoring 

• Point-in-time restore for Windows
• Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)