Microsoft is unlocking the "Full Potential" of Private Channels in Microsoft Teams: What You Need to Know

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It has been a while since I posted something just about a Microsoft Teams update, as a lot have been Copilot in Teams to be honest. But here is a real Microsoft Teams update I think is worth knowing about, and it involves Security and Compliance as well. Microsoft is rolling out a "major" update to private channels in Teams, starting in late September 2025 and continuing through mid-December. This biggest change in this update is a shift in how private channel data is stored from individual user mailboxes to a dedicated channel mailbox. Not only will this simplifie compliance management, it will also and align private channels with shared channels, making governance and experience more consistent across Teams. This update promises to increase the support up to 1000 channels per team and 5000 members per channel, removing previous limitations. Teams will also allow meetings to be scheduled directly within private channels, enhancing collaboration.  For organizations using Micr...

Microsoft 365 Copilot Frontier: Finally available world wide.

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Microsoft 365 Copilot Frontier program:

Back in March, Microsoft the release of two new and promising agents: The researcher and The analyst agents. Initially these two agents were launched in the U.S. as part of what has been called the "Frontier" program. Frontier is designed to give Microsoft 365 Copilot-licensed users access to experimental, high-impact features that are still in development—allowing users to shape the future of AI in the workplace. This early-access initiative is now available worldwide, offering organizations a first look at cutting-edge AI capabilities before they become mainstream.

The Researcher and Analyst agents are built on OpenAI’s advanced models and integrated deeply with Microsoft 365 Copilot. Here is a short description of their features:

Researcher (Frontier)

Think of Researcher as your AI-powered research assistant. It combines OpenAI’s deep research capabilities with Microsoft’s orchestration and search tools to help users tackle complex, multi-step research tasks. Whether you're pulling insights from internal documents, third-party data, or the web, Researcher can synthesize it all into coherent, actionable outputs.

Analyst (Frontier)

Analyst is optimized for advanced data analysis. It uses OpenAI’s o3-mini model and chain-of-thought reasoning to iteratively solve problems—just like a human analyst would. It can even run Python code in real time, allowing users to view and verify the logic and outputs behind the scenes. This transparency is a game-changer for data-driven teams. 

How to make sure they are available to your users (or not):

  1. Go to Microsoft 365 Admin Center → Copilot → Settings
  2. Under User Access, select "Copilot Frontier"
  3. Set access to “All Users” or “Specific Users under "Web and Mobile apps" (Microsoft 365 Insiders can also benefit from getting new features directly to their desktop apps)
  4. Go to Microsoft 365 Admin Center → Copilot → Agent & Connectors
  5. Search for "Frontier" and make sure both agents are set available for your users (You may also deploy the app directly from this view.
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