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CONFIDENCE, BY DESIGN
Microsoft is introducing a refreshed user experience for SharePoint document libraries to improve usability and navigation. Targeted release in November with general availability scheduled for January 2026.
New features include:
Microsoft is adding general availability of advanced tenant rename with no site count limitation. With this update, the feature is now accessible to all customers, regardless of the total number of sites in the tenant.
Microsoft is retiring SharePoint Alerts by July 2026, phasing out new alert creation starting January 2026 and expiring existing alerts after 30 days from October 2025. Users should transition to Power Automate or SharePoint Rules. Admins should assess impact and update training and support accordingly.
Users will be able to initiate chats with any external contact using their email address. External users will receive an email invitation and can join the chat as guests. The chat experience will be governed by the organisation’s Entra B2B Guest policy. This feature will be enabled by default. Targeted release is in early November with general availability in January 2026.
When someone forwards a message in Microsoft Teams, the forwarded message will now include a clickable link that takes the recipient directly to the original chat or channel message - if they have permission to view it.
Open Teams channel in new window. This enhancement allows users to detach any channel from the main Teams client and view it in a separate window.
You can now search for images in Microsoft Teams – whether it’s a screenshot, whiteboard photo, or any other visual shared in chats or channels. Images can be found by person name or message content in Autosuggest, while the Search Results Page also shows the chat or channel where the image was shared for added context.
Admin activity related to agent management will now be logged in Microsoft Purview Unified Audit Logs. This enhancement improves visibility and traceability for security teams managing Copilot agents across Microsoft 365 services.
A new capability that enables communicators to distribute SharePoint news posts across multiple Microsoft 365 channels – including Outlook, Viva Engage, Teams, and additional SharePoint sites is coming. This enhancement helps streamline content distribution and improve audience reach, all from within the SharePoint experience.
A new feature is coming for a streamlined workflow for adding Outlook and SharePoint actions to agents by curating action groups. Instead of manually selecting individual operations, makers can now add pre-curated sets of actions optimised for common scenarios in Outlook and SharePoint. These action groups ensure agents use the most reliable and relevant tools, improving orchestration quality and minimising errors.
Microsoft is updating the default experience for users with the Microsoft 365 Copilot license to be GPT-5. This change now means all license holders will be on GPT-5 by default.
Classic Outlook will gain a Copilot side pane showing AI-generated summaries of search results from documents and Teams messages. Users can interact with and ask follow-up questions in the pane. The feature rolls out mid-December 2025 to mid-February 2026, enabled by default for commercial M365 Copilot license holders.
Custom Engine Agents (CEAs) are now available in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. CEAs are partner-built agents that run on a developer’s service engine and connect into Copilot in Office apps. This release completes support for all Copilot agent types in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, joining Declarative Agents (DAs) already available.
AI file actions will be available to all users with a Copilot license in SharePoint document libraries on the web. These actions mirror those currently available in OneDrive and offer enhanced productivity by enabling users to interact with files using natural language prompts.
Microsoft is adding the ability to strengthen security of Copilot Studio agents with additional threat protection in Microsoft Copilot Studio. This feature allows you to configure external threat detection systems for enhanced oversight. If the system detects any tools or actions, it deems suspicious, it can intervene to approve or block their execution, providing an extra layer of real-time protection and compliance enforcement. This feature will reach general availability on November 28, 2025.
Copilot will personalise responses using chat history, helping users receive more relevant and contextual replies.
The Copilot floating button is coming, which provides quick access to Copilot-powered actions, helping users work more efficiently by surfacing relevant tools and suggestions directly within the OneDrive interface.
