What’s New in the Hybrid Data Center & Microsoft | May 2026

Microsoft continues rapidly expanding Copilot capabilities across productivity, automation, analytics, and AI governance. The latest updates introduce broader automation support, additional data grounding sources, enhanced administration controls, and more flexible licensing models.

Service Access

• Copilot Services Transition to cloud.microsoft Domain
  Copilot services are moving to the cloud.microsoft domain and will require organizations to update network allow lists accordingly. Failure to update network policies may disrupt Copilot functionality and user access.

Models and Platform

• Claude Sonnet Available Within Copilot Experiences
  Anthropic Claude Sonnet is now available in Copilot Chat and Word editing experiences with regional availability controls. Organizations gain additional model flexibility while maintaining administrative governance over model access.

User Experience and Surfaces

• Copilot Cowork Adds Expanded Collaboration Features
  Copilot Cowork introduced mobile support, enterprise plugins, skills, and design enhancements as the platform moves closer to general availability. Licensing details remain unclear, so organizations should monitor future packaging and entitlement changes.
• Copilot Navigation and Entry Points Are Being Standardized
  Microsoft is simplifying Copilot navigation across Microsoft 365 applications, including standardized right-side chat panes in Excel and updated Microsoft 365 app layouts. The changes are intended to create more consistent AI interaction patterns across workloads.
• Files and Emails Can Be Opened Directly Within Copilot Chat
  Users can now open Outlook emails, Word documents, Excel files, PowerPoint presentations, and PDFs directly within Copilot chat experiences. The update streamlines workflow context switching and improves AI-assisted content interaction.
• Forms Integrates Copilot and AI Agent Experiences
  Microsoft Forms now integrates Copilot Chat and a Forms/Surveys Agent that supports AI-assisted form creation, editing, invitation drafting, and response analysis. The capability reduces manual effort for survey and data collection workflows.
• Copilot Action Discovery Expands to OneDrive and SharePoint
  Copilot action discovery is being surfaced in OneDrive and SharePoint file previews. This makes AI-assisted actions more discoverable in the context of file review and collaboration workflows.
• PowerPoint Editing Supports Natural Language Prompts
  Copilot can now edit PowerPoint presentations using natural language prompts. This helps users accelerate presentation refinement while keeping editing workflows inside Microsoft 365.

Automation and Task Execution

• Copilot Adds Calendar Agentic Automation
  Copilot can now automate calendar operations across Outlook and Teams using natural language prompts, including rescheduling meetings and personal events based on user preferences. The capability expands AI-driven workflow orchestration for collaboration workloads.
• Agent Builder Adds Scheduled Prompt Execution
  Agent Builder now supports automatically scheduled prompts on hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly cadences without additional administrative setup. Users can manage recurring automation workflows directly within Copilot experiences.

Data Access and Grounding

• Copilot Connectors Support Federated Data Access
  Copilot connectors now support federated access to internal and third-party data sources without requiring ingestion. This improves enterprise data access flexibility while potentially reducing data duplication and governance complexity.
• Private Communities and Events Expand Grounding Sources
  Copilot can now use private community and event content as grounding sources. Organizations should evaluate whether these collaboration spaces contain sensitive or regulated data before broad enablement.
• Outlook Shared and Delegated Mailboxes Are Supported
  Copilot now supports shared and delegated mailboxes in Outlook. This expands AI assistance to team-based mailbox workflows where access permissions, retention, and mailbox ownership should be reviewed.
• Teams Meetings and Web Links Expand Grounding Sources
  Teams meetings and web links can now be used as grounding sources for Copilot interactions. Organizations should evaluate governance implications around meeting content exposure and AI-generated outputs.

Governance and Administration

• Copilot License Request Workflows Expanded
  Enhanced Copilot license request capabilities now support custom approval workflows, business justification requirements, and centralized request pages. Organizations should establish governance processes before enabling broad self-service adoption.

Analytics and Optimization

• Copilot Analytics and Usage Reporting Expand
  Microsoft expanded Copilot analytics with automatically generated dashboard summaries and exportable usage metrics across apps. This gives administrators better visibility into adoption patterns and optimization opportunities.
• Copilot Chat Agent Usage Report Enters Preview
  A new Microsoft 365 admin center usage report for Copilot Chat agents provides visibility into active users, agents, and usage details segmented by license and creator type. General availability is expected at the end of July.
• De-Identified Copilot Analytics Export Introduced
  Copilot Analytics is introducing a default-on, de-identified data export capability that provides weekly user-level usage metrics retained for six months. Organizations should review reporting access, privacy controls, and analytics governance before rollout.

Personalization

• Copilot Memory and Personalization Expand
  Copilot personalization capabilities are being enhanced using chat history while maintaining user controls. Organizations should review governance, retention, and privacy implications associated with AI memory features.

Microsoft continues evolving Copilot Studio into a broader enterprise AI orchestration platform with multi-agent collaboration, governance tooling, and real-time conversational capabilities.

• Claude Sonnet 4.5 Retirement and Migration Timeline Announced
  Claude Sonnet 4.5 is retiring in Copilot Studio with automatic migration to version 4.6 unless organizations request a temporary extension. Customers receive 30 days to update agent models before Microsoft performs the automatic migration.
• Real-Time Voice Agents Launch for Dynamics 365 Contact Center
  Real-time voice agents are launching within Dynamics 365 Contact Center to support adaptive conversational experiences for high-impact customer interactions. The capability is designed to operate within enterprise-grade governance and compliance controls.
• Multi-Agent Collaboration Expands Across Fabric and Microsoft 365
  Copilot Studio agents can now collaborate with Fabric agents and Microsoft 365 Agents SDK agents to reuse business logic, orchestrate workflows, and reason across enterprise data. The approach helps organizations reduce duplication while improving AI workflow interoperability.
• A2A Support Enables Cross-Agent Communication
  Copilot Studio now supports direct communication and task delegation between first-party, third-party, and external agents using open A2A protocols. This expands interoperability while increasing the importance of governance and identity controls for autonomous systems.
• Immersive Prompt Builder Reaches General Availability
  The new Prompt Builder experience allows makers to edit prompts, switch models, configure inputs, and test changes directly within each agent’s Tools tab. The update simplifies agent development and operational management.
• Content Moderation Controls Added for Prompt Management
  Copilot Studio introduced generally available prompt content moderation controls in supported regions. Organizations can now configure harmful content sensitivity thresholds for managed models to better align AI interactions with enterprise governance requirements.

Defender for Office 365 continues improving message classification and analyst efficiency. The latest updates focus on promotional email handling and reducing alert fatigue without weakening investigation workflows.

• Promotional Email Classification Expands
  Promotional email tagging and routing capabilities are being enhanced through automatic classification and learning behavior. The updates help improve inbox hygiene and reduce user exposure to unwanted or low-priority messaging.
• Built-In Alert Tuning Rules Reach General Availability
  Defender alert tuning rules can now automatically suppress alerts tied to common benign activity in Defender for Office 365 without impacting AIR workflows or email notifications. The feature helps reduce analyst fatigue while preserving detection coverage.

Defender for Cloud is expanding its role within Microsoft’s unified security operations strategy. The latest updates connect cloud posture, Defender XDR workflows, and Agent 365 security insights.

• Unified Security Console Integration Expands
  Defender for Cloud is being integrated more deeply into broader Defender XDR workflows to provide unified visibility across cloud security operations. This helps security teams correlate cloud risk with endpoint, identity, email, and agent telemetry.
• Agent-Based Security Insights Added
  Defender for Cloud now incorporates agent-based security insights tied to the broader Defender ecosystem and Agent 365. This extends cloud security visibility into AI-driven workflows and helps organizations evaluate risk across both infrastructure and autonomous agents.

Defender XDR continues expanding unified detection and response capabilities across identity, endpoint, email, and AI agent activity. The latest updates improve analyst actionability, identity attack path visibility, Secure Boot readiness, and AI-aware runtime protection.

• Advanced Hunting Adds Direct Enforcement Actions
  Defender XDR advanced hunting now supports direct allow or block actions for domains and email attachment hashes from within hunting query results. Analysts can respond to threats faster without leaving the investigation workflow.
• Identity-Based Hunting Scenarios Added
  The hunting graph now includes predefined identity-focused attack path scenarios including Kerberoasting, AS-REP roasting, OAuth application risks, and domain compromise routes. Security teams can proactively identify privilege escalation and credential theft exposure.
• Built-In Alert Tuning Rules Reach General Availability
  Defender alert tuning rules can now automatically suppress alerts tied to common benign activity in Defender for Endpoint without impacting AIR workflows or email notifications. The feature helps reduce analyst fatigue while preserving detection coverage.
• Secure Boot Readiness Visibility Added
  Defender now provides Secure Boot readiness visibility and recommendations directly within the Defender portal. Organizations gain improved insight into endpoint hardening posture.
• Defender for Agents Expands AI Security Operations
  Defender for Agents is now available with Agent 365 and provides posture management, runtime threat detection, tool-invocation blocking, and unified threat hunting across agent activity logs. The release reinforces Microsoft’s strategy of extending security operations into AI environments.

Microsoft continues integrating security and AI-awareness directly into enterprise browser experiences.

• Cross-Tenant Application Protection Added
  Edge for Business now supports cross-tenant application protection using Intune Mobile Application Management policies. The capability strengthens policy enforcement for organizations collaborating across tenants.
• Copilot Search Relevance Uses Work Browsing History
  Copilot Search can now improve relevance using work browsing history when enabled through policy controls. Organizations should evaluate governance and privacy considerations before enabling the feature broadly.

Microsoft continues strengthening identity governance, passkey adoption, and federated authentication security within Entra ID.

• Passkeys Reach General Availability on Windows
  Passkeys are now generally available on Windows and are expanding through registration campaigns. The move continues Microsoft’s push toward passwordless authentication and phishing-resistant identity controls.
• Guest Governance Policy Changes Require Azure Subscription
  Organizations will now require an Azure subscription to modify guest governance policies. Administrators should review licensing impacts tied to external identity governance.
• Federated Token Validation Defaults Becoming Stricter
  Microsoft will tighten federatedTokenValidationPolicy defaults beginning in mid-August 2026, blocking federated sign-ins when internalDomainFederation values do not match the user UPN domain. Organizations should validate federation configurations before enforcement begins.
• Cross-Tenant Group Synchronization Expands Collaboration Controls
  Cross-tenant group synchronization is now available to simplify collaboration and centralized group management across tenants. The feature improves identity consistency for multi-organization environments.
• Account Discovery Helps Identify Orphaned Identities
  Account discovery capabilities are now available to identify unmanaged or orphaned accounts that may introduce security and governance risk.
• Authentication Methods Policy Logs Reduce Noise
  Authentication Methods Policy logs now display only changed values, improving audit clarity and simplifying troubleshooting.
• Entra Connect Blocks Hard-Match Sync for Privileged Accounts
  Entra Connect will now block hard-match synchronization for privileged accounts to reduce the risk of account takeover scenarios.

Microsoft continues modernizing Exchange connectivity while tightening security requirements for legacy protocols.

• Exchange Server SE Hotfix Adds Graph-Based Hybrid Migration Support
  Microsoft released a Hotfix Update for Exchange Server Subscription Edition that enables migration of hybrid rich coexistence workflows from Exchange Web Services to REST-based Microsoft Graph APIs. The change supports Microsoft’s ongoing transition away from legacy EWS-based integrations.
• Exchange Server 2016 and 2019 ESU Coverage Extended
  Microsoft announced Extended Security Update Period 2 for Exchange Server 2016 and 2019, extending paid security-only support through October 31, 2026. Organizations still running on-premises Exchange should continue modernization planning before support deadlines tighten further.
• Exchange Online Blocks TLS 1.0 and 1.1 Starting July 2026
  Exchange Online will block POP3 and IMAP4 connections using TLS 1.0 or 1.1 beginning in July 2026. Organizations relying on legacy printers, embedded devices, or older mail clients must migrate to TLS 1.2 or newer to avoid connectivity failures.

Microsoft Fabric continues expanding enterprise analytics, streaming, AI integration, and developer productivity capabilities across the unified data platform.

• Tabbed Multitasking and Object Explorer Reach GA
  Fabric’s tabbed multitasking and object explorer experiences are now generally available following extensive preview feedback and performance tuning. The enhancements improve navigation and workflow efficiency for analytics teams.
• Semantic Model Auto-Description Introduced in Preview
  Fabric now supports AI-generated descriptions for semantic models to improve discoverability and understanding of enterprise data assets.
• Netezza ODBC Driver Deprecation Begins
  Microsoft is beginning deprecation of the previously built-in Netezza ODBC driver in favor of the newer generally available IBM driver.
• Notebook Retry Policies Improve Job Resilience
  Fabric Notebook now supports retry policies that automatically restart jobs following system errors. This improves workload resiliency for long-running data engineering processes.
• VS Code Integration Expands Across Fabric Workloads
  The Fabric Data Engineering VS Code extension now supports workspace management, Environment editing, and Lakehouse configuration directly within Visual Studio Code.
• Maven Support Added for Fabric Environment Preview
  Fabric Environment preview now supports Maven repositories, simplifying dependency management for Scala and Java development workloads.
• Cross-Workspace MLflow Support Expands MLOps Flexibility
  Fabric now supports cross-workspace MLflow logging for machine learning experiments and models, enabling more consistent promotion pipelines from development through production.
• SemPy 0.14.0 Adds 75 Admin APIs
  SemPy 0.14.0 introduces extensive tenant administration APIs covering workspaces, reports, capacities, users, and tenant settings directly from Python.
• JSONL COPY INTO Support Added
  Fabric Data Warehouse now supports direct ingestion of newline-delimited JSON files using COPY INTO operations.
• Eventstream and Eventhouse Real-Time Intelligence Expands
  Fabric introduced expanded Eventstream observability, schema evolution support, MCP integration for AI agents, direct Activator rule management, and mTLS connector support. These capabilities improve real-time analytics, streaming governance, and AI integration.

Microsoft continues reducing endpoint management friction through expanded hotpatching, broader mobile application management coverage, and improved administrative experiences.

• Hotpatching Enabled by Default
  Windows Autopatch now enables hotpatch updates by default, reducing reboot frequency and accelerating patch deployment. Organizations can also globally opt out using new tenant-level controls.
• Additional Applications Added to Intune MAM Portfolio
  Intune expanded its protected application portfolio to include applications such as DeepL and Foxit PDF Editor, extending mobile application protection coverage.
• Support Assistant Expanded to Authenticated Users
  Support Assistant is now available to all authenticated admin center users, though appropriate roles are still required for ticket creation.
• Multiple Managed Mobile Accounts Supported
  Mobile applications now support multiple managed accounts with per-account protection policies. This improves flexibility for organizations managing complex user access scenarios.
• Apple Integration Requires Updated Terms Acceptance
  Organizations using Apple integrations must accept updated terms to maintain functionality.

Microsoft continues tightening governance around collaborative Loop experiences.

• Loop Workspace Creation Can Be Restricted
  Administrators can now restrict Loop workspace creation to existing Microsoft 365 Groups. The capability improves governance and reduces uncontrolled collaboration sprawl.

Microsoft is continuing lifecycle modernization efforts while improving update health reporting.

• Office LTSC 2021 Support Ends in October 2026
  Microsoft confirmed that Office LTSC 2021 support ends on October 13, 2026. Organizations still relying on perpetual Office deployments should begin migration planning.
• Cloud Update Health Reporting Added
  Microsoft 365 Apps is introducing enhanced cloud update health reporting to improve update diagnostics and deployment visibility.

Microsoft continues improving OneDrive scalability and user lifecycle management.

• OneDrive Sync Capacity Expands to One Million Items
  OneDrive Sync now supports up to one million items per device in preview. The update helps organizations managing increasingly large collaboration datasets.
• Offboarding File Transfer Experience Improved
  Microsoft is enhancing OneDrive’s offboarding transfer experience for departing users to simplify data handoff and retention workflows.

Microsoft continues modernizing Outlook collaboration and accessibility experiences.

• Voice-Based Inbox Management Introduced
  Outlook now supports voice-driven inbox management for hands-free email triage and workflow interaction.
• Account Manager Experience Updated
  A new Account Manager experience introduces profile pictures, improved account switching, and simplified access to account details.
• People Hub Redesign Expands Contact Visibility
  Outlook’s People Hub is being redesigned with enriched contacts and improved search capabilities.
• Tenant-Wide Recipient Separator Policy Added
  Administrators can now define tenant-wide default recipient separator behavior using commas.
• Support for Sending Local Files as Attachments Expands
  Outlook will support attaching locally stored Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files beginning in September.
• Follow Without Attending Added
  Users can now follow meetings without formally attending them.
• Shared Calendars Move to Modern REST Model
  Shared calendars are being upgraded to Microsoft’s modern REST-based architecture.

Microsoft continues integrating Planner more deeply within Teams collaboration workflows.

• Planner Tabs Expand to Shared and Private Channels
  Planner tabs are now supported in shared and private Teams channels, improving task visibility and coordination across collaboration scenarios.

Power BI is introducing lightweight but meaningful updates focused on mobile interaction and developer-centric modeling experiences.

• Copilot chat in Power BI mobile (Preview)
  Users can now interact with Copilot directly inside reports on the Power BI mobile app. This enables on-the-go data exploration using natural language, improving accessibility to insights without requiring desktop access.
• TMDL View on the Web
  TMDL View will soon be available in the browser, enabling a code-first semantic modeling experience without needing desktop tools. This gives developers more flexibility to build and manage models directly in web environments. 

Power Apps and Dataverse updates focus on AI governance, agent identity, app runtime behavior, audit controls, and recovery posture. These changes help administrators improve oversight of autonomous agents while aligning app data, access, and recovery practices with enterprise requirements.

• Agent Feed Adds Real-Time Monitoring Capabilities
  Power Platform now includes an Agent feed experience for real-time monitoring and management of autonomous agents. This gives administrators and makers more visibility into agent behavior and helps support operational control for AI-driven workflows.
• Copilot Hub Adds Additional Administrative Controls
  Microsoft expanded administrative governance controls for AI features within Copilot hub. These controls help organizations manage AI feature availability and reduce the risk of unmanaged adoption across Power Platform environments.
• Canvas Apps Online Mode Added
  Online mode is now available for Canvas apps. This expands runtime flexibility for app experiences and gives makers additional options when designing business applications.
• Audit Log Data Removal Supported
  Organizations can now remove customer data from audit logs when required. This may support privacy, compliance, or data governance requirements where audit data contains sensitive customer information.
• Backup Retention Reduced from 28 Days to 7 Days
  Power Platform backup retention is being reduced from 28 days to 7 days, though deleted records remain recoverable. Organizations should review disaster recovery, retention, and restore procedures to ensure recovery expectations still align with business and compliance requirements.
• Agent Lifecycle APIs and Registry Changes Announced
  Microsoft is retiring Agent Registry APIs while introducing Agent 365 APIs as part of evolving AI governance architecture. Organizations using agent lifecycle integrations should plan API updates to avoid operational disruption.
• Self-Service Disaster Recovery No Longer Requires PAYG
  Organizations can now use self-service disaster recovery without requiring Pay-As-You-Go billing. This reduces adoption friction for recovery capabilities and may improve resilience planning across Power Platform environments.
• Dataverse Adds Agent Users with Entra Agent ID
  Power Apps and Dataverse now support agent identities powered by Microsoft Entra Agent ID, allowing administrators to assign roles, audit activity, and govern AI agents as managed identities. This strengthens accountability and access control for autonomous agent activity inside Dataverse.

Power Automate updates focus on improving automation governance, testing, and change visibility for desktop flow development. These enhancements help makers validate changes more confidently and improve reliability for reusable automation components.

• Power Automate Adds Desktop Flow Comparison Tools
  Power Automate now supports side-by-side desktop flow version comparison for improved troubleshooting and governance. This helps makers and administrators understand automation changes before deployment or rollback.
• Desktop Flow Testing Expands to Subflows
  Power Automate desktop testing now supports test creation and assertions for subflows to improve automation reliability. Makers can define inputs, expected outputs, and assertions at the child-flow level, helping teams validate reusable automation components before production use.

Microsoft continues expanding Purview’s role as the governance and compliance foundation for AI, collaboration, and data protection workloads.

• eDiscovery Naming Rules Tightened
  Purview eDiscovery naming rules are being updated to restrict special characters and improve consistency.
• Retention Policies Expand to Teams Call Logs
  Purview Data Lifecycle Management will now support retention and deletion policies for Teams call logs.
• Endpoint DLP Diagnostics Enabled by Default
  Endpoint DLP diagnostics are now enabled by default to improve visibility into policy activity and enforcement outcomes.
• OCR Support Added to Data Security Investigations
  Data Security Investigations is adding OCR support by mid-2026 to improve analysis of image-based sensitive content.
• Purview for Agents Reaches General Availability
  Purview for agents is now generally available with AI observability and insider risk management capabilities.
• Expanded Governance for Agent 365 Announced
  Microsoft announced broader Purview protections for Agent 365, reinforcing governance, compliance, and audit requirements for AI agents.
• Sensitivity Labels Can Restrict Connected Experiences
  Organizations can now use sensitivity labels to block connected experiences that analyze content.
• Copilot Web Search Restrictions Added in Preview
  New preview capabilities can prevent Copilot from using external web search when prompts contain sensitive data, reducing the risk of data leakage.
• Whiteboard Content Added to eDiscovery Visibility
  Whiteboard content can now be viewed directly inside eDiscovery workflows.
• Data Governance Enhancements Expand Across Unified Catalog
  Purview Data Governance updates include glossary migration, bulk editing, advanced resource sets, and expanded data product capabilities.

Microsoft continues transforming SharePoint into an AI-enabled collaboration platform while retiring older governance and workflow technologies.

• Legacy Information Management Features Retired
  Microsoft retired SharePoint Information Management Policies, In-Place Records Management, and deletion-only policies across SharePoint Online. Organizations must migrate to Purview Data Lifecycle Management and Records Management for compliance and retention operations.
• Copilot-Powered Page Creation and Editing Introduced
  SharePoint now supports AI-assisted page creation and editing experiences powered by Copilot.
• AI-Powered SharePoint Site Experience Launches
  Microsoft launched a new SharePoint site experience featuring Copilot-driven content discovery and navigation. SharePoint sites are increasingly positioned as active AI-enabled workspaces rather than passive content repositories.
• AI Charts Web Part Added
  SharePoint introduced an AI-driven charts web part that generates visualizations using natural language prompts.
• SharePoint Designer 2013 and InfoPath Retirement Scheduled
  SharePoint Designer 2013 and InfoPath will retire in July 2026, requiring organizations to modernize legacy forms and workflow solutions.
• AI Citation Analytics Added
  SharePoint is introducing AI citation analytics to help organizations understand how Copilot uses content.
• Home Site Experience Modernized
  Home sites are receiving updated setup experiences, new Resources and Announcements web parts, and expanded customization aligned with the renamed SharePoint app in Teams.
• News Web Part Adds Filmstrip Layout
  SharePoint News now supports a Filmstrip layout and expanded multi-site aggregation capabilities.
• SPO One-Time Passcode Authentication Retiring
  SharePoint Online One-Time Passcode authentication retires by August 31, requiring external users to use Entra B2B guest accounts. The change improves Conditional Access enforcement and guest governance visibility.

Microsoft continues maintaining SharePoint Server security while organizations plan long-term modernization.

• April 2026 Public Update Addresses Multiple Vulnerabilities
  Microsoft released April 2026 SharePoint Server updates addressing spoofing vulnerabilities CVE-2026-20945 and CVE-2026-32201 along with remote code execution vulnerabilities affecting Office Online Server.
• Prerequisite PowerShell Script Required Before Installing Updates
  Organizations patched to the September 2025 Cumulative Update must run Fix-SeptemberCU-Permission-Problem.ps1 before applying the April 2026 updates. Failure to complete the prerequisite step will cause installation failures.

Microsoft continues streamlining Teams collaboration while introducing deeper AI agent integration.

• Targeted Agent Messages Added to Teams
  Teams now supports targeted temporary messages from agents and bots that can be sent privately within channels, meetings, or group chats without notifying all participants. The capability reduces notification fatigue while enabling more contextual AI interactions.
• Threaded Conversations Become Default in New Channels
  Threaded conversations are now the default experience for new Teams channels.
• Teams App Bar and Navigation Simplified
  Microsoft simplified the Teams app bar by hiding labels by default and improving quick access to unread mentions and followed threads.
• Compliance Shifts Toward Group-Based Enforcement
  Teams compliance enforcement is increasingly moving toward group-based governance models.
• Muted and Meeting Chat Sections Added
  Teams now automatically organizes muted chats and meeting chats into dedicated sections to reduce clutter.
• Workflow Slash Commands Added to Chat
  Users can now create workflows directly from Teams chat using slash commands.

Microsoft continues embedding AI-driven accessibility, transcription, and meeting intelligence into Teams conferencing.

• Real-Time Translation Reaches General Availability
  Real-time translation with automatic language detection is now generally available in Teams meetings. The capability supports multilingual collaboration without requiring manual participant configuration.
• CSV-Based Breakout Room Assignment Added
  Teams now supports breakout room assignment through CSV import.
• Interpreter Agent Public Preview Expands Consecutive Interpretation
  The Interpreter agent entered public preview and visually appears on the meeting stage during bilingual meetings.
• AI Meeting Recap Features Expanded
  Teams is adding recap support without transcripts, recap deletion capabilities, and more granular recap access controls.
• Loop-Powered Meeting Notes Expand to Instant Meetings
  Microsoft Loop meeting notes are now available for Meet Now and chat-based instant meetings with Planner and To Do integration.
• External Bots Will Be Clearly Labeled in Meetings
  Teams will begin labeling external bots entering meetings beginning in May 2026 so organizers can approve or reject AI transcription and meeting assistant tools.
• Meeting Transcription and Annotation Capabilities Expand
  Teams is adding auto-start transcription, transcription-only mode, participant-requested annotation support, and macOS annotation improvements.
• SIP Join Support Expands Multivendor Interoperability
  Teams is improving meeting join experiences by expanding SIP join support for multivendor conferencing.
• Audio Device Testing Added Pre-Join
  Users can now test audio devices before joining Teams meetings.
• Together Mode Retirement Announced
  Microsoft is retiring Together mode.

Microsoft continues modernizing Teams Rooms experiences across Windows, Android, and VDI environments.

• Minimized Meeting Experience Introduced
  Teams Rooms users can now raise hands and send reactions while meetings are minimized.
• VDI Optimization Expanded for Omnissa Horizon and Workspace ONE
  Microsoft is replacing WebRTC-based VDI optimization with a dedicated media engine aligned with native Teams clients.
• Miracast Wireless Sharing Added to Teams Rooms on Windows
  Teams Rooms on Windows Pro now supports Miracast wireless content sharing.
• Cross-Platform SIP Join Added to Teams Rooms on Android
  Teams Rooms on Android now supports enhanced SIP join functionality for multivendor meeting interoperability.
• Panel Devices Add Future Meeting Booking
  Android-based Teams panels can now book future meetings directly from the panel after administrative activation.

Microsoft continues modernizing Teams Phone with expanded call handling and fraud prevention features.

• Multi-Line Support Expands to 10 Numbers Per User
  Teams Phone now supports up to 10 numbers per user for advanced calling scenarios.
• Brand Impersonation Protection Added
  Teams Calling is introducing warnings for suspicious inbound calls from first-contact external callers to reduce fraud and impersonation risks.
• Mobile Queues App Introduced
  Microsoft released a Mobile Queues app for managing call queues from mobile devices.
• Call Transfer Experience Improved
  Teams Phone is updating transfer workflows to improve usability.

Microsoft continues expanding premium AI-assisted meeting capabilities.

• AI-Powered Live Interpretation Added to Teams Phone Devices
  Teams Premium now supports AI-powered live interpretation directly on Teams Phone devices.

Microsoft continues simplifying Teams while improving performance and retiring legacy integration models.

• Teams Interface and App Bar Simplification Continues
  Microsoft is streamlining Teams navigation and app bar experiences to reduce workspace clutter.
• Efficiency Mode Added for Performance Improvements
  Teams is introducing Efficiency mode to improve client performance and resource utilization.
• Customer Connect Replaces Live Chat
  Customer Connect replaces Live Chat and introduces booking capabilities.
• Office 365 Connectors Retirement Requires Migration
  Organizations must migrate away from retiring Office 365 connectors used within Teams.

Microsoft continues strengthening endpoint security and simplifying Windows Server modernization workflows.

• April 2026 Patch Tuesday Expands Secure Boot Visibility
  KB5083769 for Windows 11 adds Secure Boot certificate update status visibility, expands support for newer Secure Boot certificates, and resolves an issue that pushed some systems into BitLocker Recovery.
• Remote Desktop Phishing Protection Added
  Windows now displays connection settings embedded within .rdp files before sessions begin and introduces one-time security warnings for first use.
• Vulnerable Driver Blocklist Updates May Affect Backup Software
  KB5083769 updates the vulnerable driver blocklist and may cause VSS timeout errors for backup applications relying on blocked kernel drivers.
• Kerberos Security Hardening Continues
  Microsoft continues rolling out additional Kerberos hardening protections across Windows environments.
• Windows Server 2025 In-Place Upgrades Supported Through Windows Update
  Organizations can now upgrade Windows Server 2019 and 2022 systems directly to Windows Server 2025 using Windows Update without installation media..

Microsoft continues expanding business continuity options for Cloud PC deployments.

• Windows 365 Reserve Announced
  Windows 365 Reserve introduces low-cost emergency Cloud PCs that can be activated for up to 10 days annually for approximately $20 per year. The capability provides organizations with a break-glass continuity option during outages or endpoint disruption events.