Microsoft Roadmap, messagecenter and blogs updates from 26-11-2025

Updated November 25, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

Copilot Dashboard users can now view metrics that reflect both summarized and recapped meeting activity, offering a more complete view of Copilot’s impact in Teams. These updates replace previous Copilot Assisted Hour calculations and meeting metrics with unified “summarized or recapped” metrics, helping leaders better understand usage across their organization. The updated metrics are available in both the Copilot Dashboard and the M365 Copilot Impact report in Advanced Insights, with additional query support for Intelligent Recap meeting metrics.

This change is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID: 494687 

[When this will happen:]

Public Preview: We will begin rolling out this change late September 2025 (previously late July) and expect to complete by late October 2025 (previously late September).

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out this change early January 2026 (previously late November 2025) and expect to complete by end of January 2026 (previously late December 2025).

[How this will affect your organization:]

• Copilot Assisted Hours and Value calculations: values displayed under these metrics will increase, including for prior months, since these numbers will now include meetings where users accessed Intelligent Recap feature on Microsoft Teams.

  

• Meetings card: meeting hours and meetings summarized metrics will be updated to include meetings where Intelligent Recap was accessed.

  

Users who have access to Advanced Insights will see similar updates in the M365 Copilot Impact report. They will also be able to include “Meetings recapped” and “Meeting hours recapped” metrics in their flexible queries.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

The changes mentioned do not impact eligibility criteria to access the M365 Copilot Dashboard or the Microsoft 365 Copilot Impact report on Advanced Insights.

To view the updated metrics in Advanced Insights, you can access the pre-computed Microsoft 365 Copilot Impact report. You can also set-up your own query to customize metrics and additional organizational attributes.

To learn more, please see the following:

1. How to access the Copilot Dashboard and understand Copilot Assisted Hours metrics: Connect to the Microsoft Copilot Dashboard for Microsoft 365 customers | Microsoft Learn
2. To access the Microsoft 365 Copilot Impact report and understand Copilot Assisted Hours metrics: Microsoft 365 Copilot impact report | Microsoft Learn 
3. How we define Copilot meeting metrics: Advanced insights metric descriptions | Microsoft Learn 
4. How to access Advanced Insights: Introduction to advanced insights | Microsoft Learn

Updated November 25, 2025: This change is currently on hold. We will communicate via Message center when we are ready to proceed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and thank you for your patience. 

Introduction

To enhance workbook security, a new group policy is being introduced to expand File Block Settings to external workbook links. This policy allows administrators to control whether links to blocked file types can be refreshed.

If not configured, no changes will take effect immediately. However, starting November 2025, the default behavior will block external links to file types currently blocked by the Trust Center. When this policy is enabled, new references to blocked file types will return a #BLOCKED error. Existing links will display the last successfully refreshed values but will no longer refresh.

When this will happen

General Availability: We will update this Message center post when we are ready to proceed.

How this affects your organization

• Policy not configured: No immediate change will occur.
• Build 2509 warning bar: Users will see a business bar when opening workbooks containing external links to blocked file types, alerting them to the upcoming change.
• Build 2510 enforcement: If the policy remains unconfigured, users will no longer be able to refresh or create new references to blocked file types.
• Existing links behavior: External links will retain the last successfully loaded value but will not refresh.
• New links behavior: Creating a new external link to a blocked file type will return a #BLOCKED error.
• Workbook Links pane: Will indicate which workbooks failed to refresh due to being blocked.

What you can do to prepare

Administrators who need to allow workbook links to blocked file types can revert to the previous behavior using the following methods:

• Registry setting: Set HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Security\FileBlock\FileBlockExternalLinks to 0.
• Group Policy setting: Set File Block Includes External Link Files to Disabled:
• Excel Group Policy Template > Excel Options > Security > Trust Center > File Block Settings > File Block includes external link files

We recommend reviewing existing workbooks and communicating this change to users who rely on external links to ensure continuity of workflows.

Learn more: Macros from the internet are blocked by default in Office

Learn more: External Workbook Links to Blocked File Types Will Be Disabled by Default

Compliance considerations

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

Updated November 25, 2025: After further review, we will not be rolling this out to GCC, GCCH, DoD, USSec, USNat during the timeline outlined below. We will communicate via Message center in dedicated posts when we are ready to proceed. Thank you for your patience.

We’re introducing the new Microsoft Teams calendar experience, designed to unify and enhance productivity across Microsoft 365. This calendar integrates familiar features with innovations like Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Places, enabling seamless collaboration from anywhere. It works consistently across Teams, the new Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web, and Places. As part of this update, the legacy calendar experience will be deprecated, and the toggle to switch between old and new calendars will be removed.

When this will happen

• General Availability (Worldwide): Early November 2025 – Mid-November 2025

Once this update is deployed, users accessing the Calendar app in Microsoft Teams will see the new calendar experience by default. The toggle to switch between the old and new calendar will be removed, and only the new Microsoft 365 calendar will be available. This change may impact users accustomed to the legacy calendar interface.

No admin action is required. We recommend informing your users about the upcoming change and updating any internal documentation or training materials that reference the legacy calendar experience.

For more information about the new calendar experience, visit the Microsoft Teams documentation.

Compliance considerations

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

Updated November 25, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

Content Explorer contains significant volumes of data, and can sometimes feel overwhelming, leading to concerns about too many false positives in Microsoft Purview. To address this, we are introducing Classifier Scoping in Content Explorer. Classifier Scoping empowers customers to define exactly what data they want to see, significantly reducing noise and helping them focus on what matters most.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 518224.

[When this will happen:]

• Public Preview: We will begin rolling out mid-November 2025 and expect to complete by early December 2025
• Worldwide: We will begin rolling out late December 2025 and expect to complete by mid-January 2026.

[How will affects your organization:]

• Who is affected: Microsoft Purview administrators using Content Explorer.
• What will happen:
  • Admins can define and scope views in Content Explorer using selected classifiers, sensitivity labels, and retention labels.

  

  • These scoped views can be saved and reused with a few clicks.
  • No changes to user workflows.
  • The feature will be available by default once rolled out; no opt-in required.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required to enable this feature.
• After rollout, admins can:
  • Define scoped views in Content Explorer using classifiers and labels.
  • Save and apply these views to streamline data analysis.

[Compliance considerations:]

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

Updated November 25, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

Microsoft is introducing the ability to start, stop, and restart meeting recording and transcription directly from Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android devices. This enhancement supports a more seamless meeting experience by removing the need for a companion device to initiate these actions. Spoken language for the meeting can also be changed during the session. This functionality is available with Teams Rooms Pro licensing.

General Availability (Worldwide and GCC): We will begin rolling out in mid-December 2025 (previously early December) and expect to complete by late December 2025.

General Availability (GCCH and DoD): We will begin rolling out in early January 2026 and expect to complete by the end of January 2026.

Who is affected:

• Users joining Teams meetings from Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android devices.
• Organizations with Teams Rooms Pro licensing.

What will happen:

• Users can start, stop, and restart recording and transcription directly from a Teams Rooms device running Android. To do this, they can select More on the meeting interface, then choose Record and transcribe to initiate or stop the recording and transcription.
• The spoken language for the meeting can be changed during the session.
• Previously, users needed a companion device to initiate recording or transcription.
• Recording and transcription are supported in meetings where a participant belongs to the same tenant as the organizer.
• For Meet now or Whiteboard sessions initiated from a Teams Rooms on Windows device, users must invite themselves to the meeting to access the recording file via Teams desktop or mobile app.
• To use the start and stop recording and transcription feature, both the meeting organizer and the room account must have permission to record and transcribe. If either party lacks the required permissions, the button to initiate or stop recording and transcription will not appear.
• If the meeting organizer removes recording or transcription permissions from the room account using meeting options, the button will also be unavailable.

• Limitations – Recording and transcription are not supported in the following scenarios:
  • Peer-to-peer (P2P) calls: Direct one-on-one calls between two users.
  • Group calls: Ad-hoc calls involving multiple participants that are not scheduled meetings.
  • PSTN calls: Calls made through the Public Switched Telephone Network using Teams Calling Plans or Direct Routing.
  • External or cross-tenant meetings and calls: Meetings involving participants from outside the organizer’s tenant.
  • Third-party meetings and calls: Including Direct Guest Join and SIP-based meetings, which use the Session Initiation Protocol to connect external video conferencing systems (such as Cisco or Polycom) to Microsoft Teams. These integrations do not support native Teams recording and transcription features.

Screenshot – New recording and transcription controls in Teams Rooms on Android:

• Ensure room accounts and meeting organizers have permissions to record and transcribe meetings.
• Communicate this change to helpdesk and support teams.
• Update internal documentation to reflect the new functionality.
• Review meeting options to confirm room account permissions are correctly configured.

Compliance considerations:

Updated November 25, 2025: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

[Introduction]

The Interpreter agent is now available in Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows for devices with a Teams Rooms Pro license. This feature enables real-time interpretation in up to nine languages, allowing participants to speak and listen in their preferred language. It also offers an option to simulate a participant’s personal voice for a more inclusive experience. No additional Copilot license is required.

Screenshot 1: Console

Screenshot 2: Front of room display

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 516571.

[When this will happen:]

• General Availability (Worldwide): Rolling out early January 2026 (previously mid-December 2025), expected completion by late January 2026 (previously mid-January).

[How this will affect your organization:]

Who is affected: Organizations using Teams Rooms on Windows with Teams Rooms Pro licensing.

What will happen:

• Users can turn on Interpreter during a meeting:
  • Go to More > Turn on Interpreter, then select the language and voice option.
• Supported languages: Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish.
• Voice representation options: Simulated my voice (default) or Automated voice.
• Privacy: Voice samples or biometric data are never stored; original audio is analyzed in real time and not retained.
• Interpretation is simultaneous and may introduce a short delay; accuracy and latency improvements are ongoing.
• Tenant settings:
  • Interpreter is enabled by default. Admins can control whether the organization can use Interpreter and set the default voice option.
  • No device-level setting in the Pro Management Portal (PMP).
• Licensing: 20 hours of interpretation included per room account per month with a Teams Rooms Pro license. Access beyond included hours is subject to available capacity.

Learn more: Manage Interpreter agent for your organization – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn 

[What you need to do to prepare:]

• Ensure room accounts have a Teams Rooms Pro license.
• Review tenant settings:
  • Confirm Interpreter is enabled (default).
  • Set the preferred default voice option in your tenant.
• Communicate this change to helpdesk and support teams.
• Update internal documentation to reflect the new functionality.

[Compliance considerations:]

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

Updated November 25, 2025: We have updated the content below to provide additional information. Thank you for your feedback.

[Introduction]

We’re improving the performance and startup time of calling features in the Microsoft Teams Desktop Client for Windows. To achieve this, we’re introducing a new child process named ms-teams_modulehost.exe that will handle the calling stack separately from the main application process (ms-teams.exe). This change optimizes resource usage and enhances meeting experiences.

Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, and DoD: Rollout will begin early January 2026 and complete by late January 2026.

Note: Timelines may shift due to year-end feature flag rollout freeze.

• Who is affected: All users running the Teams Desktop Client on Windows.
• What will happen:
  • A new process (ms-teams_modulehost.exe) will appear in Task Manager under the main Teams process (ms-teams.exe).
  • This process is dedicated to calling features and improves performance.
  • No changes to user workflows or UI; however, admins should ensure endpoint and security software allow this new process.

• Update endpoint management and security software to allowlist ms-teams_modulehost.exe alongside ms-teams.exe.
• Communicate this change to helpdesk staff to avoid confusion during troubleshooting.
• Update internal documentation if you reference Teams process names.
• Make sure the same QoS settings applied to ms-teams.exe are also applied to ms-teams_modulehost.exe. Refer to this page for details: Implement Quality of Service (QoS) in Microsoft Teams

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

[Introduction]

We’re retiring the use of external access tokens for actionable messages and transitioning to Microsoft Entra-based authentication. This update enhances security and aligns with modern identity standards, providing a more robust and compliant experience for actionable messages.

[When this will happen]

This change takes effect on March 31, 2026. After this date, external access tokens will no longer be supported.

[How this affects your organization]

Who is affected:

Organizations using actionable messages that currently rely on external access tokens.

What will happen:

• Actionable messages that depend on external access tokens will fail after March 31, 2026.
• All integrations and workflows using actionable messages must adopt Microsoft Entra authentication.
• This change improves security posture by leveraging Entra’s identity and access management capabilities.

• Review all actionable message implementations in your organization.
• Update integrations to use Microsoft Entra authentication before March 31, 2026.

Learn more:

• Actionable messages in Outlook and Office 365 Groups
• Enable Entra token for Actionable messages

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

Organizational Messages will soon include email as a delivery channel, expanding beyond existing surfaces such as the Windows Taskbar, Windows Notifications, Windows Spotlight, and Teams popovers. This enhancement helps organizations reach users through familiar communication channels, improving engagement and adoption.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 503562.

[When this will happen] 

• Public Preview (Worldwide): Rollout began in mid-November 2025 and is expected to complete by late January 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins in late March 2026 and is expected complete by late April 2026.

[How this will affect your organization]

Who is affected: Admins managing Organizational Messages in Microsoft 365.

What will happen:

• Email will be added as a delivery channel for Organizational Messages.
• Admins can send premade, templatized messages via email in addition to existing surfaces like Windows Spotlight, Taskbar, Notification Center, and Teams popovers:



• During Public Preview, new pre-built email templates will be available:

 

• Two welcome messages: Welcome to Copilot and Welcome to Copilot Chat.
• Six weekly Great M365 Copilot Journey emails highlighting features and best practices to drive onboarding and adoption.

[What you need to do to prepare]

No action is required at this time.

[Compliance considerations]

No compliance impacts identified. Review your organization’s policies as needed.

[Introduction]

Action Segments empower IT admins to target Organizational Messages using dynamic, pre-defined usage segments. This enhancement helps admins deliver more relevant communications based on user activity. For the Public Preview, there are two Action Segments available: Inactive Microsoft 365 Copilot Users and Inactive Microsoft 365 Copilot Users in Teams.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 503563.

[When this will happen]

• Public Preview (Worldwide): Rollout began in mid-November 2025 and is expected to complete by late January 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins in late March 2026 and is expected to complete by late April 2026.

[How this will affect your organization]

• Who is affected:
  • Admins managing Organizational Messages in Microsoft 365.
  • Tenants with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses (required for Action Segments to apply).
• What will happen:
  • Admins can target messages based on user activity using Action Segments: 
  
  • Two pre-defined segments are available during Public Preview:
    • Inactive Microsoft 365 Copilot Users
    • Inactive Microsoft 365 Copilot Users in Teams
  • No changes to existing admin policies; feature is additive.

[What you can do to prepare]

• No immediate action is required at this time.
• If you want to take advantage of this feature:
• Ensure your organization has Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses (required for Action Segments to apply).
• Review and configure Action Segments in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
• Communicate this change to your helpdesk or support teams.
• Update internal documentation if you detail Organizational Messages or Copilot usage.

[Compliance considerations]

No compliance impacts identified. Review your organization’s policies as needed.

• Per User Licenses: Summary of licenses purchased, assigned, and consumed based on last 90 days usage.
• Per App Licenses: Summary of licenses purchased and allocated.
• Pay-As-You-Go: View the number of billing plans set up for Power Apps.
• Additional Insights: Month-over-month trends for per-user license and app pass consumption.

• Download detailed license consumption data, including how licenses were consumed based on app launches.
• Identify users who have assigned licenses but have not launched an app recently.
• Manage allocation of app passes directly from this experience for better control and governance.

• Updated layout with the new license consumption report tiles.
• Removal of the “License Type” column from the summary.
• Removal of the Usage Details by License Type table.

We’re making some changes to the Microsoft eCDN configuration.

Starting with Chrome 142, browsers will enforce Local Network Access restrictions that may impact Microsoft eCDN peer-to-peer functionality.

[How this will affect your organization:]

You are receiving this message because our reporting indicates one or more users in your organization may be using this Microsoft eCDN. To maintain optimal performance for Teams Live Events and Town Halls, admins must configure the LocalNetworkAccessAllowedForUrls policy for Chrome-based browsers

[What you need to do to prepare:]

Admins will need to:

Add the following URLs to the LocalNetworkAccessAllowedForUrls policy in your environment:

• [*.]ecdn.teams.microsoft.com
• https://teams.microsoft.com
• [*.]ecdn.teams.cloud.microsoft
• https://teams.cloud.microsoft
• https://engage.cloud.microsoft/

Apply these settings via Group Policy or registry keys for:

• Microsoft Edge: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\
• Google Chrome: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome\

For US Government tenants, use GCC/GCC High-specific hostnames as outlined in the documentation.

Additional Notes:

• This change aligns with Microsoft’s Unified Domains initiative. Ensure your network filters include both legacy and new domains.
• Pair this configuration with WebRtcLocalIpsAllowedUrls for full peer-to-peer functionality.
• Firefox restrictions are planned but not yet enforced.

See documentation for full guidance: Configure Local Network Access Policy for Microsoft eCDN

[Introduction]

We’re adding scheduled prompt capabilities in Microsoft 365 Copilot to help users automate recurring tasks and improve productivity.

A Microsoft 365 Copilot license is required.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap IDs 531912, 531911, 531913, and 531759.

[When this will happen]

• Public Preview (Worldwide): Mid-November 2025 to mid-December 2025
• General Availability (Worldwide): Mid-December 2025 to mid-January 2026

[How this affects your organization]

• Who is affected: Users in organizations enrolled in the Frontier program.
• What will happen:
  • Users can schedule recurring prompts for declarative agents like Analyst and Idea Coach.
  • Users can schedule prompts in the Web tab.
  • Users can edit existing scheduled prompts without deleting and recreating them.
  • Natural language scheduling is available in the Work tab (such as “Help me prepare for my day every Monday at 9 AM”).
  • Feature will be ON by default for eligible tenants.
  • Some agents and tabs may not support scheduled prompts yet; updates will be posted on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap.
  • Editing email notifications and prompt text is coming soon.

Feature Highlights & How to try them

Scheduled prompts for agents

What it does: Allows users to schedule recurring prompts to declarative agents like Analyst, Idea Coach, and more.

Try it: In the Copilot app, navigate to your favorite agent, run a prompt (or find one you’ve run before), hover over the prompt text, and select Schedule this prompt. Fill out scheduling details and hit Save.

Note: Not every agent supports scheduled prompts yet; updates will be posted on the M365 Roadmap.

Scheduled prompts for the Web tab

What it does: Allows users to schedule a prompt in the Web tab.

Try it: In the Copilot app, navigate to the Web Tab, run a prompt (or find one you’ve run before), hover over the prompt text, and select Schedule this prompt. Fill out scheduling details and hit Save.

Edit scheduled prompts

What it does: Allows users to update existing schedules without deleting and recreating them.

Try it: Navigate to the Scheduled prompts management pop-up in the Copilot app. Select your preferred scheduled prompt, click Edit schedule, make your changes, and click Update.

Note: Users can currently only update the schedule of the prompt; support for editing email notifications and the prompt text itself is coming soon.

Natural language support for scheduled prompts

What it does: Allows users to create scheduled prompts directly in chat.

Try it: In the Copilot app, navigate to the Work tab and add a time and recurrence for a prompt you’d like to schedule (such as “Help me prepare for my day every Monday at 9 AM”).

Note: Natural language support is currently only enabled in the Work tab in mainline M365 chat. Support for agents and the Web tab is coming soon.

[What you can do to prepare]

• Ensure your organization is enrolled in the Frontier program via Microsoft admin center.
• Ensure that intended users have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
• Communicate this change to helpdesk staff.
• Update internal documentation if you detail Copilot features.

[Compliance considerations]

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

[Introduction]

Starting January 2026, Microsoft Whiteboard will begin retiring the Insert Document feature. This change removes the ability to insert PDFs and PowerPoint files from OneDrive for Business & SharePoint into Whiteboard. The feature is being retired because of low usage and ongoing maintenance requirements.

[When this will happen:]

• General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin retiring this feature starting in early January 2026 and expect to complete retirement in early February 2026.

[How this will affect your organization:]

Who is affected: All users of Whiteboard on Windows and Mac desktops

What’s changing?

• The option to insert PDFs and PowerPoint files from OneDrive for Business & SharePoint into Whiteboard will no longer be available.
• No admin controls are available to retain or re-enable the feature.

What remains?

• Users can continue to insert PDFs from their local PC using the Whiteboard Windows Native app.
• The Insert Picture feature will remain unaffected.
• Already inserted PDFs and PPTs will remain unaffected and can be seen on existing boards.

Details

Previously, the Insert Document feature allowed users to:

• Add PDFs and PowerPoint files via OneDrive for Business & SharePoint or Local PC on both Whiteboard Windows Native and Web.
• Select specific pages/slides, which were then converted to images and inserted into the Whiteboard canvas.

With this retirement:

• The ability to insert PDFs and PowerPoint files from OneDrive for Business & SharePoint will be removed.
• Local PDF insertion on Windows Native will continue to be supported.

Recommended Alternatives

• Convert files to images before upload: Use PowerPoint or PDF export options to save slides/pages as images and then insert them using the Insert Picture feature.
• Use local PDF insertion: Users can insert PDFs from their local PC via the Whiteboard Windows Native app.
• Leverage OneDrive sharing links: Share the document link in Whiteboard notes or sticky notes for quick access.
• Consider Microsoft Teams integration: Attach documents directly in Teams chats or meetings for collaborative review alongside Whiteboard.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• Inform users about this change and share recommended alternatives to minimize workflow disruption.
• Update internal documentation and training materials to reflect the removal of OneDrive-based document insertion.
• Prepare helpdesk teams to guide users on alternative methods and address questions related to this feature change.
• No immediate action is required. However, if your workflows depend on inserting documents from OneDrive & SharePoint, plan to use the alternatives above before February 2026.

[Compliance considerations:]

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

[Introduction]

We’re introducing a new capability in Microsoft 365 Copilot: scheduling meetings directly from Copilot chat. This enhancement reduces context switching by allowing users to find available times, book rooms, draft agendas, and send invites—all within the chat experience. This feature supports improved collaboration and productivity across your organization.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout is beginning now and is expected to complete by late January 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected: All users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and access to Copilot chat.

[What will happen:]

• Users can schedule meetings directly from Copilot chat without leaving the conversation.



• Simply ask Copilot to schedule a meeting with colleagues, and it will find available times, book rooms, draft agendas, and send invites—all within the chat experience.
• The feature will be ON by default once enabled; no admin configuration is required.
• Existing admin policies for calendar and meeting settings remain respected.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required from admins; the feature will be supported by default.
• Optional: Communicate this change to your helpdesk and end users to reduce support inquiries.
• Review internal documentation if you detail scheduling workflows.

Compliance considerations:

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