M365 Copilot Research and Analyst

There is a new, interesting M365 Copilot Agent that is called Researcher and Analyst.  Researcher and Analyst can work through complex tasks and produce insights leverage reasoning models, and chain of thought reasoning.  Supper interesting, recommend listening to the videos.

Reference:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/03/25/introducing-researcher-and-analyst-in-microsoft-365-copilot/

New Microsoft Team Calendar

In early February 2025, Microsoft Teams released a new calendar experience. This update provides a consistent and unified experience similar to what users have with Microsoft Outlook. The new calendar feature aims to make scheduling meetings more efficient, aligning closely with the richer calendar functionalities available in Outlook.

Reference: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftteamsblog/the-new-calendar-in-microsoft-teams-now-generally-available/4373598

Introducing SharePoint Agents

SharePoint Agents are a new solution currently rolling out.  SharePoint Agents are scoped agents aligned to a site and all the documents and content within it.  On every SharePoint site, you will see a copilot icon with a default agent that has been created.  Now you can leverage agents on targeted content.

It is also very simple to create additional agents that are scope to a site, library, folder or even relevant files.  Creation of agents is integrated in with the SharePoint Ribbons and menu system.

Once a SharePoint agent is created, these agents can be shared via email, Microsoft Teams or referenced through Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat.  

SharePoint Agents are licensed through the Microsoft 365 Copilot License without any additional charges.  Users who do not have a Microsoft 365 Copilot License can still create and use SharePoint agents if they have Copilot Studio capacity packs or pay-as-you-go meters enabled.

References:

https://adoption.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-agents/ 

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/introducing-new-agents-in-microsoft-365/4296918

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/ignite-2024-sharepoint-agents-now-in-general-availability/4298746 

New Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat

There was a big announcement a couple of days ago that a new Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is being introduced.  This new, slimmer capability provides organizations with free AI based chat with enterprise data controls for data privacy and security.  

With Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat users have the ability to have web ground chat, collaborate with Copilot Pages, file upload to analyze documents, generate images, etc.  See chart below for details.  Plus, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat enables organizations to leverage Agents built with Copilot Studio.

Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat gives organizations and entry point solution to start early adoption of AI collaboration capabilities and then start enabling M365 Copilot Chat with Office data when they are ready.

References:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/01/15/copilot-for-all-introducing-microsoft-365-copilot-chat/

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/copilot-chat-brings-the-power-of-ai-to-every-microsoft-365-user/4369018

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windows-itpro-blog/improved-copilot-experiences-for-commercial-organizations/4366315

M365 Copilot for Word and PowerPoint Announcements

There were tons of new announcements made back in November 2024 at Microsoft Ignite, and I am still digging my way through them all.  Specifically, M365 Copilot with Word and PowerPoint, there were some new scenarios announced which I found interesting.

Word Copilot

• You can now create new document content by referencing meeting or email content, in addition to previously being able to reference files.
• When drafting content in Word, Copilot will use files, emails, and meeting information to assist in drafting.
• Copilot will cite sources when drafting, allowing you to investigate how the content was created.
• New prompts provide examples to help you get started.
• The Coaching feature offers suggestions on structure, flow, and tone.
• An automatic summary feature for Word documents is available, which is useful for long files. A similar feature is also available in SharePoint/OneDrive to view a summary of the file without opening it.

PowerPoint Copilot

• Introducing the new Copilot PowerPoint Starter Template, designed to enable users to create branded presentations seamlessly.
• The Narrative Builder feature is based on a selected file and will generate a presentation with that content. Additionally, users can continue to add other files as they refine their narrative.
• Copilot utilizes images stored in asset libraries, including SharePoint Organization Asset Library and now Templafy.
• Once slides are created, Copilot can assist in rewriting the text on a slide, such as condensing the amount of text.
• Copilot facilitates the acquisition of images for your slides, whether by generating AI-created images with a simple prompt, selecting ideal stock photos, or incorporating brand-specific images.
• New features have been introduced to assist in finalizing a presentation, including auto-generated speaker notes, animations, and transitions.
• With Copilot Translation, you can translate an entire PowerPoint presentation into one of 40 languages while maintaining the design integrity of each slide.

References

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/what%E2%80%99s-new-in-microsoft-365-copilot-in-word-at-ignite-2024/4303448

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/what%E2%80%99s-new-in-microsoft-365-copilot-in-powerpoint-at-ignite-2024/4298971

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/keep-your-presentations-on-brand-with-copilot-in-powerpoint/4295913

Teams Premium Email Verification for External Users

A new Teams Premium feature called Email Verification for External Participants is scheduled to be released in early CY25. Organizations often need to allow external participants into meetings, but these participants may not have a Microsoft work, school, or personal account for sign-in. Requiring external users to sign in before attending an organization’s Teams meeting can provide additional assurance. However, not all external participants have accounts for sign-in.

This new feature will enable meetings to require "Anonymous users can join Teams meetings after verifying by email code". A one-time password will be sent to the attendee’s email, which they can use to join the meeting. Once the external user has joined the meeting, an "Email verified" label will appear next to their name, confirming to internal users that the external user has been verified.

This feature enhances Teams Premium's security capabilities and complements existing features such as watermarks, sensitivity labels, and end-to-end encryption.

References

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftteamsblog/enhance-meeting-security-with-teams-premium%E2%80%99s-email-verification-for-external-me/4292196

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?msockid=1e6bf65e64c46bbd2af2e58965c36a50&filters=&searchterms=418125

SharePoint Syntex Document Translation

Microsoft has a feature that translates documents in SharePoint Online called “Document Translation”.  Today, Document Translation is under the SharePoint Syntex brand, and at some point in the future this will move under a new brand called SharePoint Premium (announcement Nov 2023).  This was supposed to happen in CY24, but this has not occurred yet so for the time being will continue to refer to SharePoint Syntex brand.  

Microsoft Syntex offers a robust document translation service that allows you to create translated copies of files while preserving their original format and structure.  Some of the key features are:

• Supported Files: It can translate .csv, .docx, .html, .markdown, .pdf, .pptx, .txt, and .xlsx. For legacy file types like .doc, .rtf, .xls, .ods, .ppt, and .odp, the translated copy is created in the modern equivalent format.
• Language and Dialects: Will translate tons of languages, see references below.
• File Size Limits: Maximum of 40 MB file.
• SharePoint and OneDrive Integration: You can translate files directly in document libraries.  It is literally as simple as finding a document, going to the menu bar, and then selecting what language you want the file translated to.
• Automation: It possible to create rules that will automatically translate a document when a file is added or when a value changes in a column.
• Video: Syntex also supports translating video transcripts and closed captioning files. 

Microsoft Syntex Document Translation Services is part of the new pay-as-you-go model.  With pay-as-you-go, you can use Syntex without any license commitment or upfront purchasing. Any user in your organization can use Syntex services and only pay if and when services are used.  Pay-as-you-go requires an Azure subscription.

References

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/syntex/translation-overview

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/syntex/syntex-overview

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/sharepoint_premium_blog/introducing-sharepoint-premium-%E2%80%93-the-future-of-ai-powered-content-management-and/3981076

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/translator/language-support?source=recommendations#translation

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/syntex/syntex-licensing

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/syntex/translation