Express voice enrollment in Microsoft Teams enables quick voice profile registration for enhanced meeting features. It rolls out to enterprise tenants (excluding EDU) starting February 2026, is on by default, and can be managed by admins via PowerShell. Organizations should review policies and communicate changes accordingly.
Microsoft Teams now supports apps in Private Channels, allowing bots, tabs, and message extensions with new governance controls. Rollout starts mid-January 2026. Admins and developers must update policies and apps for Private Channel compatibility, ensuring compliance with data and permission changes at the channel level.
Microsoft Purview Endpoint DLP will allow admins to add customized messages or hyperlinks in toast notifications triggered by DLP policies. This feature, requiring client version 4.18.25110+, rolls out worldwide from late December 2025 to early January 2026, helping guide users with clear instructions.
The Featured Links feature on the SharePoint Start Page will be retired from March to June 2026 due to low use. Admins will lose access, and existing links will be removed. Alternatives include global navigation links and Viva Connections Resources. Organizations should plan and communicate this change.
A new Permissions report in the SharePoint admin center (under Data access governance) will show which sites a user can access, including direct or group-based permissions. Rolling out worldwide from mid-December 2025 to mid-January 2026, it requires no configuration and aids permission reviews.
The Designer bot and Designer banners in Microsoft Teams will be retired between mid-January and February 27, 2026. Users can no longer use these features but can generate images via Copilot in Teams. No admin action is needed; notify users and update documentation accordingly.
Starting March 1, 2026, devices using Exchange ActiveSync versions below 16.1 cannot connect to Exchange Online. Organizations must update mobile devices and apps to EAS 16.1 or higher. Outlook Mobile and Exchange Server are unaffected. Admins can identify outdated devices via PowerShell and should inform users accordingly.
Teams meeting Notes, powered by Loop, are now available for instant calls and meetings, like those started from ‘Meet now’ and calls started from chat. Notes are Loop components in Teams meetings and chats that allow end users to co-create and collaborate on their meeting agenda, notes, and action items that can be co-authored and edited by everyone. Since Notes are Loop components, they stay in sync across all the places they have been shared. Once added, meeting notes can also be shared and edited in the Loop app in your web browser.
Edge for Business will soon help users quickly take contextual action on their open pages using contextual nudges attached to the Copilot icon in the toolbar
With so many of us in back-to-back meetings, it can be a real struggle to stay on top of pre-reads, action items, and even what each meeting is about. Copilot quickly prepares you for meetings within minutes by bringing real-time insights and summarizing relevant context, tasks, documents, and other resources. You can also chat directly with Copilot to prepare more deeply, to ensure you’re ready to go. This feature is already available in the new Outlook for Windows, Web, Mac, and Mobile and is now being adding to classic Outlook for Windows. It is only available for users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
I've been working with Microsoft Technologies over the last ten years, mainly focused on creating collaboration and productivity solutions that drive the adoption of Microsoft Modern Workplace.
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