New Year, New Momentum: Here are three Copilot updates to get you started into 2026

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It's a new year, so I thought I'd start the year by mentioning three features already released, or soon going to be released. One of the features improves the workflow of sharing files with comments, the other improves the application specific Copilot, and the last feature makes it easer to find the nest available timeslot for a 1:1 meeting. As with all of my other posts, timelines can shift, and the timelines in this post is as written in the Message Center at the time of posting. AI-Summary experience when sharing files. With this new feature, copilot intent to help users share files with clearer context in just a few steps. Users will get the capability to generate a concise summary of a file and include it when sharing from the File Explorer share dialog or the OneDrive activity center. This will make it easier to share the context of a file and giving the receiver a faster understanding of what a document or file contains before they open it. General Availability announced...

Two Major Admin Control Updates for Copilot and Agent Management

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At Ignite Microsoft showcased and talked about two new admin controls for Copilot and Agents. These controls drew a significant amount of attention for their potential to simplify management and strengthen governance across Copilot experiences and AI agents. These capabilities are now emerging in preview, offering administrators early access to improved insights, expanded control surfaces, and more secure operational foundations.

Copilot Overview Page Refresh in Microsoft 365 Admin Center

First off is the redesigned landing page for Copilot in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center (MAC), giving admins an at-a-glance view of the Copilot journey across Chat, Agents, and M365 Copilot. This update  centralizes critical insights and success metrics, helping organizations accelerate adoption and maintain security posture.

The refreshed page introduces success metrics such as Chat active users, assisted hours for licensed users, and satisfaction rate. Each Copilot pillar now includes multi‑signal actionable insights taken from configuration, readiness, security, usage, and engagement data. A new Security pivot provides visibility into Purview capabilities and recommended actions, while usage reports are consolidated under a dedicated Usage pivot.

This feature requires no configuration and is enabled by default. Admins should review the new Overview page and pivots to monitor adoption, readiness, and security posture and use the actionable insights provided to address blockers and accelerate organizational preparedness.

There is no roadmap item for this release, but in the admin message center you can find this mentioned in: MC1187780. Targeted Release began mid-November 2025 and is expected to complete by early December 2025. General Availability rollout will start in late January 2026 and finish by late February 2026. But timelines may change.

Microsoft Agent 365 available for Frontier customers

Microsoft Agent 365 will be the IT control plane for agents, and has been released to customers in the Frontier program. This update brings agents under centralized management, equipping them with the right applications, governance measures, and security protections while reducing the operational burden on IT teams.

Agent 365 provides a registry for complete visibility into all agents across the organization, including shadow agents and third‑party agents. Access control ensures that agents operate with only the permissions they need, while real‑time visualization helps admins monitor connections, behaviors, and organizational impact. Interoperability features streamline workflows by equipping agents with relevant apps and data, and robust security capabilities protect against threats targeting agents while governing the data they create and use.

To get started, visit the new Agent Overview and Inventory experiences in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and review the learning resources provided by Microsoft. The official announcement blog offers additional context on Microsoft’s vision for agent governance and adoption.

Learn more: https://aka.ms/A365mslearn
Announcement blog: https://aka.ms/Agent365HeroBlog

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