Microsoft is rolling out a new three-tier release model for Microsoft 365, starting with Copilot in May. The new Frontier, Standard, Deferred tiers should give organizations greater control over when users receive new features.
Copilot in PowerPoint has been enhanced with a new editing mode, making it easier to build and refine presentations through natural conversation. A Microsoft 365 Copilot license is required.
A new AI Reader role in Microsoft Entra provides broad read-only access to Copilot and Agent 365 settings, usage reports, service health, and Entra ID objects.
Microsoft 365 Copilot gets a new side-by-side drafting experience in Outlook, letting users refine and iterate on emails through back-and-forth interaction with Copilot without leaving the compose window.
Microsoft is expanding DLP policy enforcement for Microsoft 365 Copilot to cover Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files regardless of storage location.
Designer tools are rolling out in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, giving users guided controls to shape, refine, and fine-tune AI-generated images without having to start from scratch each time.
Microsoft is bringing federated Copilot connectors to general availability in Microsoft 365 Copilot in April 2026. Using the Model Context Protocol (MCP), these connectors provide real-time access to third-party data sources without storing or indexing customer data in Microsoft services. All federated connectors are enabled by default.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat will let users upload .eml and .msg files directly into Copilot Chat, so they no longer have to copy and paste email content into their prompts.
The AI Administrator role in Microsoft 365 and Entra now includes additional permissions for Agent 365, enabling AI Administrators to manage agents without involving a Global Administrator.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is getting a practical upgrade that makes email composition faster and more seamless. Users will soon be able to draft and send Outlook emails without leaving Copilot Chat.
Microsoft has unified the Plus (+) and Tools menus in Copilot Chat into a single entry point, making it easier to add grounding, tools, and sources when prompting.
The SharePoint list agent is generally available. The agent creates lists from plain language or existing content in Teams, Outlook, and Word, but its scope is limited to list creation.
Copilot Agent Builder now supports AI-generated icons for Lite Agents. Describe the look, generate a unique icon, and skip the manual artwork.
Microsoft is retiring the Skills Agent and People Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot as of March 2026, and recommends two other Frontier agents instead. I wouldn’t count on those agents for a long-term availability.
Microsoft now offers a high-usage PAYG report to help identify users who are approaching the cost of a Microsoft 365 Copilot Business license, making license assignment worth considering.
Microsoft introduced a monthly commitment term for Microsoft 365 Copilot Business, allowing organizations to subscribe (or test) without a yearly commitment. The new term comes at a 20% surcharge and is available across all Microsoft 365 Business license packages.
Microsoft will soon enable Edge to share browsing history with Microsoft 365 Copilot Search. Learn how to control this behavior.
Microsoft 365 Copilot now lets users schedule meetings directly from Copilot Chat. Users can find time slots, book rooms, draft agendas, and send invites without leaving the conversation, though some limitations still apply.
The Researcher agent now includes seven pre-enabled 3rd-party connectors for users in Frontier mode. These federated connectors allow real-time access to external data sources.
The Power Platform Inventory in the Power Platform Admin Center and the Power Platform Inventory API are now generally available, providing a unified, tenant-wide view across Copilot Studio, Power Apps, and Power Automate.