In November and December, Microsoft announced that SharePoint Advanced Management (SAM) would be included in Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses.
SharePoint Advanced Management (SAM) is a premium add-on for Microsoft 365 that provides enhanced governance, security, and lifecycle management features for SharePoint and OneDrive. It is designed for organizations that need more advanced control over content access, sharing, and site administration beyond what is available with standard Microsoft 365 capabilities. With SAM, administrators gain tools to better manage site lifecycle policies, control external sharing, monitor access to sensitive content, and enforce compliance across their environment. It also includes enhanced auditing, reporting, and automation options to support IT governance and regulatory needs. SAM helps organizations reduce risks, improve visibility, and maintain tighter control over collaboration and data across Microsoft 365, especially in large or highly regulated environments.
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The SharePoint admin center informs that SharePoint Advanced Management has been enabled.
Previously, the admin center wanted to start the SAM trial add-on, and it still wants to start a trial if your tenant does not have a Copilot license.
As the documentation describes, the following SAM features should now be available if one Microsoft 365 Copilot license is active in your tenant:
- Advanced tenant rename
- Applies to large tenants with up to 100K sites
- AI-Powered Insights
- Block download policy
- Files and Teams recordings
- SharePoint and OneDrive sites
- Change history
- Site changes
- Tenant setting changes
- Data Access Governance (DAG) Insights
- “Everyone Except External Users” (EEEU) insights
- PowerShell: Permission state report for Sites, OneDrives, and Files
- Sharing Links and Sensitivity Labels
- PowerShell: Restricted Content Discovery (RCD)
- Recent admin actions
- Restricted Access Control (RAC)
- SharePoint and OneDrive sites
- Restricted Access Control Insights
- Site Lifecycle Policy
- Inactive SharePoint sites policy
- Read-only sites
- Archived sites
- Site Ownership Policy (temporarily unavailable for Copilot licensed organizations. We are working towards enabling this feature at the earliest.)
- Site Access Review
It also mentions that new SAM features may be excluded from the Copilot license.
Remember, the SAM add-on officially includes “Plan 1”.
In the future, Microsoft may introduce a Plan 2 add-on for features not included in the M365 Copilot license.
You should also read the information about comparing licensed SAM features for Microsoft 365 E3 / E5 in combination with Microsoft 365 Copilot.
