The M365 Experience

Hey Reader, "Honestly, when I saw the email about CAPTCHA being removed from Teams meetings, my first thought was: who's going to stop the bots? Turns out Microsoft has already thought of that. The new bot detection just works quietly in the background, and I actually have more control now than I ever did with the old tick-box challenge. My external meetings run so much more smoothly." What's Changing If you've ever joined a Microsoft Teams meeting and been asked to complete a CAPTCHA...

Hey Reader, "I'll be honest, when I heard InfoPath was going away I thought we were in real trouble. Half our team's forms live in SharePoint and I had no idea what we'd replace them with. But once we spent a few hours in Power Apps, we realised we'd been sitting on something far better the whole time. Our forms actually look like they belong in this decade now." What's Changing If your team currently uses InfoPath to build or publish forms in SharePoint Online, that's about to change. From...

Hey Reader, "When I first heard the People agent in Frontier was going away, I panicked a little. It had become my go-to before senior stakeholder meetings. But honestly, having those same insights baked right into Copilot where I already work has actually made my prep faster. I didn't realise how much switching between tools was slowing me down." - Senior Business Analyst What's Changing If you've been using the People agent through the Frontier programme, it will no longer be available from...

Hey Reader, “By the time July 14, 2026 arrives, our team will have workflows that actually tell us when something goes wrong, instead of us finding out three days later. Honestly, I’m relieved we’re being pushed to make the move. Right now we’re still running on SharePoint Designer 2013 flows that nobody fully understands anymore, and the thought of them just… stopping one day was more stressful than the migration itself.” What’s Changing On July 14, 2026, Microsoft will permanently end...

Hey Reader, hope 2026 has started off well for you “By June 30, 2026, I’ll have better engagement tools, more production options, and my virtual events will feel much more polished and interactive. Right now, I use Teams Live Events for our quarterly all-hands meetings, and when I first heard it was retiring, I worried about the disruption. But knowing what’s coming with Teams town halls, I’m actually excited about the upgrade.” What’s Changing On June 30, 2026, Teams Live Events will retire,...

Hey Reader, As 2025 comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to say something I don't say enough: thank you. Thank you for opening these emails. For reading, responding, and showing up. In a world where inboxes overflow and attention is precious, the fact that you choose to spend some of yours here means more to me than I can fully express. This year has been one of growth, learning, and connection and you've been part of that journey. Every reply, every click, every moment you've engaged...

Hey Reader, “By June 2026, when Featured Links were finally gone, I realized the switch to Viva Connections Resources was actually a relief - our team now finds everything in Teams where they already work, links are visible at the top instead of buried at the bottom, and I’m getting compliments instead of complaints about how easy it is to access our tools.” What’s Changing Starting early March 2026, Featured Links on the SharePoint Start Page will begin retiring and be completely removed by...

How's it going Reader, "Starting mid-January 2026, I'll finally be able to @mention specific teammates in task discussions and use bold and italics to emphasize important points - no more sending generic comments that notify everyone on the team unnecessarily. At first I was nervous about the change, but once I saw how the new task chat works just like Teams messaging, I realized this is going to save me so much time and reduce notification fatigue for my colleagues. Right now, every comment...

How's it going Reader, " After October 2026, I'll be able to create our team newsletters and event flyers with tools that work seamlessly across all my devices and let my team collaborate in real-time. I'm excited about Designer's AI-powered templates that help me create professional-looking materials in minutes - something that used to take me hours in Publisher. The transition feels less like losing a tool and more like upgrading to something built for how we actually work today." What's...

How's it going Reader, "Starting in December 2025, I'll be getting a better way to work with Copilot in Excel - Agent Mode works right on my spreadsheet instead of in a separate chat pane, making everything faster and more intuitive. I'm excited because my workflow will actually improve. Currently, I use App Skills through the Copilot chat pane for things like data analysis and formulas, but having to switch between the chat and my spreadsheet slows me down." What's Changing From early...