🚨 28 new M365 updates reviewed for you from last week

Hi Reader,

Last week, Microsoft was busy and dropped 28 new updates in the Microsoft Message Center (week ending Sunday 17 May 2026).

SharePoint Online: Copilot in SharePoint becomes opt-out preview in mid-June for all Copilot licensed users

Risk: Medium | User Impact: Medium | Admin Impact: Medium

Copilot in SharePoint transitions from opt-in to opt-out preview in mid-June 2026, meaning a floating Copilot button will appear automatically on SharePoint pages, libraries, and lists for all Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed users. Users can create, edit, and manage content using natural language, within their existing permissions. Admins who do not want this experience must proactively opt out at tenant or site level before rollout. Existing opt-out settings will be honoured. Runs on OpenAI's GPT-5.4 Reasoning model at launch.

Action Required: Assess

Key dates: Mid-June 2026 (rollout start) | ID: MC1311968 | Published: 15 May 2026

Microsoft 365 Copilot: Users can now highlight email text and invoke Copilot for contextual insights in classic Outlook

Risk: Low | User Impact: Medium | Admin Impact: Medium

Low Users can highlight text in an email and trigger Copilot via an "Explain This" button to generate contextual insights. Enabled by default for licensed Copilot users in classic Outlook for Windows. No add-in required. Helpdesk teams should be briefed on the new interaction model.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Late May 2026 (preview complete), Late June 2026 (GA complete) | ID: MC1311978 | Published: 15 May 2026

Microsoft Teams: Digital signage now supported on idle Teams panel devices

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Teams panel devices can now display digital signage when idle, extending existing Teams Rooms signage scenarios to panel displays. Supports Appspace and XOGO. Configured per device or tenant-wide via Teams Rooms Pro Management portal. Requires Teams Rooms Pro or Teams Shared Spaces licensing. Note that panel displays are smaller than front-of-room screens, separate content sources are recommended. No user impact unless configured by an admin.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Early June 2026 (rollout start), Mid-June 2026 (rollout complete) | ID: MC1311979 | Published: 15 May 2026

Microsoft 365 Backup: Department billing enables cost allocation across multiple Azure subscriptions

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

New Microsoft 365 Backup customers can now configure up to 50 billing policies tied to separate Azure subscriptions, scoping backup costs by department, geography, or organisational unit. Department-specific admins can be assigned via RBAC. Existing customers are unaffected for now, with departmental billing coming later in the year.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Available now (new customers) | ID: MC1311976 | Published: 15 May 2026

Microsoft Purview: Role groups UI gains new lookup views for roles, members, and own permissions

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

The Role groups page in the Purview compliance portal will gain three new lookup views — by role, by member, and by own permissions — making it faster for admins to validate access and troubleshoot permission issues. Existing role assignments are unchanged.

Action Required: No Action

Key dates: Mid-June 2026 (preview), Mid-August 2026 (GA complete) | ID: MC1311975 | Published: 15 May 2026

Microsoft Teams: New Security Detection Report provides centralised view of messaging threats

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Medium

A new Security Detection Report will be available in the Teams admin center under Analytics & reports > Protection reports, giving security teams a unified view of impersonation attempts, malicious links, and unsafe file detections across Teams messages. Report data can be exported for deeper investigation. Security and helpdesk teams should review current Messaging safety settings and update investigation workflows ahead of rollout.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Late June 2026 | ID: MC1311977 | Published: 15 May 2026

Microsoft 365 Copilot: Create presentations with Copilot directly from PowerPoint Home

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Copilot-powered presentation creation is now accessible from PowerPoint Home in the File menu on Mac, removing the need to open a new file first. Available by default for licensed Copilot users.

Action Required: No Action

Key dates: Late May 2026 (rollout start) | ID: MC1311973 | Published: 15 May 2026

Power Automate: Custom KPIs can now be created and visualised in the process intelligence experience

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Process mining users can build custom metrics using a formula editor drawing on case attributes, event data, timestamps, and existing KPIs. Custom KPIs integrate into all process intelligence tiles, update automatically on data refresh, and can be reused across filters and analysis scenarios.

Action Required: No Action

Key dates: 31 May 2026 (public preview) | ID: MC1310386 | Published: 14 May 2026

Power Automate: Full Power Apps experiences can now be embedded directly in desktop flows

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Flow makers can invoke Power Apps directly from desktop flows, passing inputs in and capturing outputs back into the flow. Replaces legacy custom forms with modern Power Apps experiences and enables event-driven attended automation without UI automation.

Action Required: No Action

Key dates: 29 May 2026 (public preview) | ID: MC1310370 | Published: 14 May 2026

SharePoint Online: Storage quota enforcement will align strictly with licence limits from late May

Risk: High | User Impact: High | Admin Impact: High

SharePoint Online will begin enforcing OneDrive storage quotas against actual licence entitlements. Users exceeding their licensed limit will be placed into a read-only state, restricting write access until storage is remediated. Affects users where admin-set quotas exceed the licence allowance or where EDU users have exceeded their limit. Admins must audit storage usage and either upgrade licences or work with affected users to reduce usage before rollout begins. Helpdesk teams should be briefed.

Action Required: Assess

Key dates: Late May 2026 (rollout start), June 2026 (rollout complete) | ID: MC1310684 | Published: 14 May 2026

SharePoint Online: Microsoft 365 Backup management now available directly in SharePoint Admin Center

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

SharePoint and OneDrive backup configuration and management is now accessible from the SharePoint Admin Center, removing the need to switch to the M365 Admin Center. Existing backup settings and policies are unchanged. Admins should update runbooks and internal documentation to reflect the new management location.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Early May 2026 (rollout start), Mid-May 2026 (rollout complete) | ID: MC1310678 | Published: 14 May 2026

Power Automate: Deleted flows can be restored within 21 days of deletion

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Flow owners, co-owners, and environment admins will be able to recover accidentally deleted flows without contacting support, using either the Power Automate Management connector or PowerShell. Recovery window is 21 days from deletion.

Action Required: No Action

Key dates: 1 June 2026 (public preview) | ID: MC1310368 | Published: 14 May 2026

Microsoft Teams: Faster, standardised file preview experience for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Teams file previews for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will load faster and more reliably across desktop and mobile. PowerPoint and Excel are supported on iOS and Android; Word preview is iOS only for now. Enabled automatically. No change to file storage, sharing, or permissions.

Action Required: No Action

Key dates: Late June 2026 (GA complete) | ID: MC1310683 | Published: 14 May 2026

SharePoint Online: Admins can designate authoritative sites to improve Copilot Search and Chat relevance

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Medium

Admins can mark specific SharePoint sites as authoritative using PowerShell, causing Copilot Chat and Copilot Search to prioritise content from those sites in responses. Off by default until configured. Requires Microsoft 365 Copilot Premium licensing. Key sites such as HR, Legal, and Communications are good candidates to configure first.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Mid-May 2026 (preview), Late June 2026 (GA complete) | ID: MC1310687 | Published: 14 May 2026

Power Automate: Flow makers can set variable default values for faster debugging

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Flow makers will be able to set variable default values directly in the designer to speed up testing and troubleshooting. Default values apply only during debug runs and have no effect on production executions.

Action Required: No Action

Key dates: 15 June 2026 (GA) | ID: MC1310384 | Published: 14 May 2026

Microsoft Planner: Planner now accessible directly in Outlook and the Microsoft 365 Copilot app

Risk: Low | User Impact: Medium | Admin Impact: Low

Planner will appear as a new experience inside Outlook on the web, new Outlook for Windows, and the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, letting users view and manage personal tasks and shared plans without leaving those surfaces. Enabled by default. No Copilot Premium licence required. No change to where Planner data is stored.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Mid-May 2026 (rollout start), Late May 2026 (rollout complete) | ID: MC1309747 | Published: 13 May 2026

Microsoft 365 Copilot: "Visualize this slide" skill transforms text-heavy slides in PowerPoint

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Copilot in PowerPoint for the web can now convert text-based slides into visually rich layouts using a new Visualize this slide skill. Available by default for eligible Copilot users.

Action Required: No Action

Key dates: Mid-May 2026 | ID: MC1309733 | Published: 13 May 2026

Microsoft 365 Copilot: "Review this presentation" skill now available in PowerPoint

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Copilot in PowerPoint can now analyse existing presentations and suggest improvements to structure, narrative flow, and slide clarity. Suggestions are advisory only — no changes are applied automatically. Available now by default for eligible Copilot users.

Action Required: No Action

Key dates: Available now | ID: MC1309735 | Published: 13 May 2026

Viva Engage: Email notifications will stop for frontline users without an active Exchange mailbox

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Viva Engage will stop attempting email delivery to F1 and F3 licensed users who have no active Exchange Online mailbox, eliminating repeated failed delivery retries. Teams and other channel notifications are unaffected. Admins should review Exchange licensing for frontline workers and confirm notification strategy relies on Teams rather than email for those users.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Mid-June 2026 (rollout start), Early August 2026 (rollout complete) | ID: MC1309743 | Published: 13 May 2026

Microsoft 365 Copilot: Frontier Admin Control now supports Entra ID group-based enrollment

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Admins managing Frontier access can now assign enrollment via Entra ID groups rather than individual users, making pilot audience management more straightforward. A 10,000-user limit applies when using specific users or groups. Tenants enrolling all users are unaffected. No change to existing Frontier configuration.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Early June 2026 (rollout start), Mid-June 2026 (rollout complete) | ID: MC1309739 | Published: 13 May 2026

Microsoft Teams: Users can now report suspicious external users directly in Teams

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Users will be able to flag suspicious external contacts from chat requests, profile cards, meetings, channels, and search results. Reports surface in the Teams admin center under Protection reports for admin review and investigation. Enabled by default, governed by the existing Report a security concern messaging policy setting. Security teams should familiarise themselves with the new submission report.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Early June 2026 (Targeted Release), Late June 2026 (GA complete) | ID: MC1309744 | Published: 13 May 2026

Microsoft 365 Apps: Monthly Enterprise Channel update released (13 May 2026)

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

A new Monthly Enterprise Channel update began rolling out on 13 May 2026. Organisations on automatic CDN updates require no action. Those managing updates manually can download and deploy now.

Action Required: No action

Key dates: 13 May 2026 | ID: MC1309508 | Published: 13 May 2026

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Microsoft 365 Copilot: Bulk agent lifecycle actions now available in M365 Admin Center

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Admins can now bulk install first-party Copilot agents across users and bulk reassign ownerless agents to managers directly in the M365 admin center. Available now under Agents > Settings > Agent management rules. No user impact unless admins choose to act.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Available now | ID: MC1308854 | Published: 12 May 2026

Microsoft Teams: Custom branded backgrounds now available for Teams Premium town hall events

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Organisers and presenters of Teams town hall events can now upload custom JPEG or PNG background images within the Manage what attendees see experience, replacing default backgrounds with branded visuals. The feature is enabled by default for Teams Premium licence holders and applies only to town halls with Manage what attendees see enabled. No impact on standard meetings or webinars. Organisations running town halls should prepare branded assets ahead of the rollout.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Late May 2026 (Targeted Release), Mid-June 2026 (GA complete) | ID: MC1307982 | Published: 12 May 2026

Microsoft 365 Admin: Message Centre posts synced to Planner now display HTML formatting

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Message Centre posts synchronised to Planner will now render with full HTML formatting, including text styling, links, and images, matching the experience in the Message Centre itself. The change applies automatically and existing synced items will be updated over time.

Action Required: No action required

Key dates: 13 May 2026 | ID: MC1307883 | Published: 11 May 2026

Microsoft 365 Copilot: Copilot chat pane and page summarisation coming to OneNote on iPhone

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Licensed Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) users will gain a Copilot chat pane in OneNote on iPhone, enabling them to generate summaries of longer pages and ask questions about their notes directly from the mobile app. Existing Copilot controls, permissions, and policies apply. No admin configuration is needed. Users without a Copilot Premium licence are unaffected.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Mid-May 2026 (rollout start), Late June 2026 (rollout complete) | ID: MC1307979 | Published: 12 May 2026

Microsoft Teams Rooms: AI-powered meeting notes with Facilitator agent coming to Teams Rooms on Windows

Risk: Low | User Impact: Medium | Admin Impact: Medium

The Facilitator agent will be available in Teams Rooms on Windows, allowing in-person meeting participants to capture real-time AI-generated notes, decisions, and action items without a scheduled or hybrid meeting. Notes are stored in tenant-owned SharePoint Embedded storage and accessed via meeting recap on Teams desktop. No data remains on the room device after the meeting ends. If no participant adds their work account during the session, notes are deleted automatically. Several prerequisites must be confirmed before rollout: Teams Rooms Pro licensing, Facilitator enablement, Loop components, and meeting transcription policy.

Action Required: Admin action needed

Key dates: Late June 2026 (Worldwide/GCC), Mid-July 2026 (GCC-H), Early September 2026 (DoD) | ID: MC1307512 | Published: 11 May 2026

Power Automate: Unattended desktop flows can now automate administrator-level applications

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Desktop flows running in unattended mode will be able to interact with applications that require elevated administrator rights, removing a previous limitation that forced manual intervention in those scenarios. The capability is enabled via a registry setting and requires no action if your organisation does not run unattended flows against privileged applications. Admins evaluating unattended automation scenarios involving elevated-permission apps should review the configuration guidance.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: 18 May 2026 (GA) | ID: MC1307177 | Published: 11 May 2026

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Disclaimer: Everything here is shared to help you understand your options and help you to make informed decisions. It's informational only, not prescriptive. Your organization's unique context, existing configuration and processes, risk appetite, and team capabilities always matter most when deciding what's right for you and your organization. This is intended for your personal use only and not commercial gain.