We had an amazing time at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference earlier this month in Las Vegas! It was great to connect with colleagues, clients, and Microsoft team members, learn what is coming down the line, and see examples of new ways of working with Microsoft 365. The conference was packed with sessions on AI-powered productivity, governance, and collaboration and while we download all that was learned, here is a recap of a few announcements we were most excited about.
SharePoint Agents
Users can now create AI-powered agents within SharePoint to transform sites and documents into specialized knowledge bases. These agents integrate with Teams and Copilot Chat to enhance information retrieval and productivity.
Simplified Sharing
The new “hero link” provides a single, dedicated link for each file, simplifying sharing and permission management. Copilot can also generate summaries of shared content, offering recipients quick insights without opening the files.
Automation and Workflow Improvements
SharePoint now offers simple approval workflows, reduced pricing for AI-based metadata autofill, and tighter integration with Copilot Studio. Document management is streamlined with Agreements and SharePoint eSignature, facilitating secure and efficient electronic signing within Microsoft Word.
Content Creation and Design
New features like AI-based page and section creation and an FAQ web part enable users to quickly create intranet content. SharePoint Brand Center is now generally available allowing admins or designers to define approved logos, color palettes, and even custom fonts that apply across sites without CSS or manual theme updates.
Admin Tools and Governance Updates
SharePoint Advanced Management (SAM) now includes tools that help administrators easily check who can access content, see what automated tools are running, control how AI accesses content, and manage inactive sites automatically.
Departmental billing lets you set spending policies by department to easily track and manage how each part of the organization uses Microsoft 365’s pay-as-you-go services.
Microsoft 365 Admin Copilot is an AI assistant designed to help administrators quickly handle everyday tasks, find information, and manage settings with ease, all while ensuring security and permissions are respected.
Looking Ahead
The Microsoft 365 Community Conference left us feeling energized and inspired about what’s ahead. It’s clear that Microsoft is making big moves to bring AI into the everyday flow of work with smarter ways to manage and share content, easier site design, and tools that make life a lot simpler for admins. We’re excited to start putting what we learned into practice and can’t wait to see how our clients and community take advantage of everything that’s coming.
If you are curious about how these updates can improve how your organization works, contact us to get the conversation started.
