Archive

Microsoft Agent Framework - Python 1.16.0

agent-framework-core adds configurable timeouts for waiting on the first background-agent task completion, plus programmatic OpenTelemetry configuration for service metadata and OTLP exporters. Fixes cover workflow checkpoint mutations, content field handling during serialization, preservation of unmapped provider finish reasons for Anthropic and Mistral, and streaming integrity for OpenAI when instrumentation replaces SDK responses.

Why it matters: the OTel configuration API removes the environment-variable-only setup that made agent tracing awkward to wire into existing observability stacks.

github.com

Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit templates-v4@6.15.2026082708

Weekly v4 template package refresh for the Agents Toolkit scaffolding templates.

Why it matters: new agent projects scaffolded from the toolkit pick this up automatically, so pin the version if a customer build needs reproducible scaffolding.

github.com

Microsoft Graph CLI reaches full retirement

The Microsoft Graph CLI is fully retired as of today, ending the deprecation period that began September 1, 2025, during which only critical security fixes shipped. Microsoft points users to the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK, citing broader API coverage and active maintenance.

Why it matters: any provisioning or reporting script still calling `mgc` breaks now and needs porting to Graph PowerShell.

devblogs.microsoft.com

Six Foundry model versions retire between August 28 and 31

The retirement schedule was refreshed on August 27. Retiring now: `gpt-chat-latest` (2026-05-28) on August 28; both preview versions of `model-router` (2025-05-19 and 2025-08-07) on August 30; `gpt-realtime-2` (2026-05-06) on August 31; Nixtla `TimeGEN-1` on August 31, replaced by TimeGPT-1 or TimeGPT-2.1; and NTT Data `tsuzumi-7b` v2 on August 31, replaced by tsuzumi2.

Why it matters: deployments still pinned to these versions stop serving this week, and the two preview model-router versions have no listed replacement, so traffic must move to the GA 2025-11-18 version.

learn.microsoft.com

Three more Foundry model versions retire in September

`MAI-Transcribe-1` (2026-01-23) retires September 15 with MAI-Transcribe-1.5 as the replacement; `gpt-realtime-mini` (2025-10-06) retires September 21; `gpt-chat-latest` (2026-06-24) retires September 24 with no listed replacement.

Why it matters: the gpt-chat-latest line rolls roughly every 90 days, so anything grounded on it needs a standing upgrade cadence rather than a one-off migration.

learn.microsoft.com

October is the heaviest Foundry retirement month of the year

October 1: `gpt-4o` (2024-05-13) to gpt-5.1, and `o3-mini` to o4-mini. October 3: `Kimi-K2.7-Code`. October 13: `Cohere-command-a-plus-05-2026`. October 15: `gpt-4o-transcribe`, `gpt-4o-mini-transcribe` and `gpt-4o-mini-tts` (all 2025-03-20), plus `sora-2` (2025-12-08). October 16: `o4-mini`. October 19: `claude-haiku-4-5`, `claude-opus-4-5` and `claude-sonnet-4-5`. October 21: `o1`, `o1-pro` and `o3`, all to gpt-5.6-sol. October 23: `gpt-image-1` (2025-04-15).

Why it matters: eighteen model versions across five providers go in one month, including the audio and image models many agent demos still use, so migration testing needs to start now rather than in October.

learn.microsoft.com

Secure Now guidance for agentic containment

Microsoft Security Exposure Management adds Secure Now recommendations for agentic containment, aimed at putting controls in place before autonomous agent action expands across an environment. The guidance covers constraining agent-initiated actions that happen without explicit user approval, hardening attack surfaces, limiting blast radius, governing identities and permissions, and increasing visibility.

Why it matters: gives a named Microsoft baseline to anchor an agent governance workshop on, instead of assembling controls from Entra, Purview and Defender docs separately.

microsoft.com

New sharing panel in Teams meetings

The in-meeting sharing panel gets a redesigned UI aimed at simplifying window sharing and making sharing options and file sharing easier to discover. Targeted Release and Worldwide (Standard Multi-Tenant), plus GCC, GCC High and DoD; desktop and Mac.

Why it matters: a change to the most-used control in every meeting, so it belongs in end-user comms and any Teams training material due for refresh.

microsoft.com

Outlook: "Days of email to save" offline admin policy

New roadmap entry: tenant admins will be able to set the default value for "Days of email to save" under Settings > General > Offline in the new Outlook for Windows, and decide whether end users may change it. Targeted Release and Worldwide (Standard Multi-Tenant), plus GCC.

Why it matters: the first admin-side control over new Outlook's local cache size, which matters for VDI and shared-device estates where local storage is constrained.

microsoft.com

Planner: Conditional Coloring

New roadmap entry: Planner tasks can be highlighted based on selected criteria, making priority, status and other important task details easier to spot at a glance. Worldwide (Standard Multi-Tenant); Teams and web.

Why it matters: a small but frequently requested visual-management gap in Planner that has pushed customers to third-party boards.

microsoft.com

Microsoft Viva: Campaigns Hub in Engage and Engage in Teams mobile

New roadmap entry: a centralized mobile destination in Viva Engage where employees discover and join organizational campaigns. The hub highlights top and sponsored campaigns, lets users browse active and completed campaigns, and makes it easy to view details and follow campaigns. Worldwide (Standard Multi-Tenant); Android and iOS.

Why it matters: gives internal-comms teams a mobile-first surface for adoption campaigns, which is directly useful for driving Copilot rollout engagement.

microsoft.com

Nudge status in the Enhanced Engagements portal

Service requests raised through Enhanced Engagements can now be tracked end to end across three nudge stages - Nudge Initiated, Nudge Acknowledged and Nudge Actioned - directly in the MCS portal.

Why it matters: escalations on customer tickets become auditable, so a partner can show where an escalation actually sits.

learn.microsoft.com

Nudge timeline in the Enhanced Engagements portal

Selecting an open service request now shows its nudge history in the request details pane, including follow-up nudges, who nudged, and when.

Why it matters: removes the guesswork about whether a follow-up was already raised before nudging again.

learn.microsoft.com

Microsoft 365 admin center: Data Quality Report for Profile Data

Microsoft 365 Organizational Data Services adds a report letting Organizational Data, People and AI administrators see the coverage and health of people attributes across the tenant, identify gaps, and improve attribute coverage. Microsoft names People Card, Org Explorer, Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft 365 Cowork as the experiences that depend on this data. Preview and GA both October CY2026, Worldwide (Standard Multi-Tenant).

Why it matters: makes people-data quality measurable, which is usually the unexamined reason Copilot answers about colleagues and org structure come back thin.

microsoft.com

Microsoft Purview DLP: Adaptive Scopes for SharePoint

The roadmap entry was updated on August 27. Adaptive Scope for SharePoint lets admins target DLP policies to sites dynamically by attributes such as site URL, site name or custom site metadata, continuously re-evaluating site properties and auto-including or excluding locations as they change. It removes the 100-site static policy limit. Preview was February CY2026; GA is January CY2027. Worldwide (Standard Multi-Tenant).

Why it matters: static site lists are the usual reason SharePoint DLP coverage drifts, and this is the fix - but GA is far enough out that current deployments still need manual scope maintenance.

microsoft.com

Introducing the Eligibility Dashboard

Partner Center adds a single dashboard for CSP direct bill authorization requirements; MAICPP enrollment and the security requirement move to tenant-level validation, rolling out to direct bill partners through mid-September with enforcement starting 90 days after release.

learn.microsoft.com

Agent Harness: making your claw production-ready

Part 4 of the Agent Framework series, covering OpenTelemetry traces and token metrics, Purview policy screening, deployment as a Foundry Hosted Agent, and evaluation checks, using one shared agent factory across console, hosted service and evals hosts.

devblogs.microsoft.com

Conversational configuration of connectors in Copilot Studio

Makers will configure the connectors an agent needs through a simple in-chat sign-in instead of opening a separate settings experience. The roadmap entry lists the rollout for Worldwide (Standard Multi-Tenant) only, with no GCC or sovereign cloud instance named.

Why it matters: Connector setup stops pulling makers out of the authoring flow, which lowers the bar for handing agent building to business-side makers.

microsoft.com

Events in Meet app in Teams in GCC

The Meet app is being renamed to the Events app and gains discovery of events across the organization, tracking of upcoming events, and organizing of professional events. This entry is scoped to the GCC cloud instance.

Why it matters: GCC tenants get an events surface commercial tenants already have, and the app rename needs to reach end-user comms before October.

microsoft.com

Hide Organizer Name in Calendar View on Teams Panels and MTR-A

Admins get a Show Organizer Name toggle across management portals and device consoles, controlling whether organizer names appear on Teams panels and Teams Rooms on Android calendar views. Teams Rooms Pro and Shared Space licenses are required.

Why it matters: Answers a recurring privacy objection to room panels in open-plan and shared-floor offices without turning off the calendar view.

microsoft.com

Planner: Track task progress with the Completion (%) field

A new Completion (%) column in Planner gives a more precise view of task progress, letting teams communicate incremental progress rather than only not started, in progress, and completed.

Why it matters: Removes the usual workaround of custom fields or an export to Project when a client wants percentage-based progress reporting.

microsoft.com

Microsoft Partner Compliance Readiness training now available in the Partner Skilling hub

The Partner Skilling hub replaces both Partner University and the Partner Compliance gallery as the single destination for partner compliance training.

learn.microsoft.com

Use Python when Editing with Copilot in Excel

Edit with Copilot can now execute Python code inside Excel for statistical analysis, simulations, automation and advanced visualizations, with results written straight into the workbook. Existing security and execution controls continue to govern how the code runs. Windows, Mac and web.

Why it matters: Analyst-grade work moves inside Excel, so customers no longer need a separate Python or BI tool for advanced analysis.

learn.microsoft.com

Viva Engage private content in Microsoft 365 Copilot

Copilot now uses content from private Viva Engage communities and events as a grounding source. Users only see content they already have permission to access (roadmap 515144).

Why it matters: Extends Copilot answers into private community knowledge, so an Engage permissions review belongs in the pre-rollout checklist.

learn.microsoft.com

Updated Copilot Notebooks UX

Copilot Notebooks ships a streamlined flow for opening items and navigating the product, replacing the previous multi-step interface (roadmap 516042).

Why it matters: Less friction in Notebooks makes it easier to position as a default working surface in adoption programs.

learn.microsoft.com

Copilot Chat available when using Copilot Search

Copilot Chat now opens in a right-hand side pane while users are in Copilot Search in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, so browsing universal search results no longer means switching pages. Available to users with the AI SKU. Windows and web (roadmap 537281).

Why it matters: Search and chat in one view shortens the path from finding something to acting on it for licensed users.

learn.microsoft.com

Open Outlook emails within Copilot Chat

Clicking an email reference or source in any full-app Microsoft 365 Copilot experience now opens that email alongside Chat instead of launching a separate Outlook window. Windows, Mac and web.

Why it matters: Citation checking stays inside Copilot, which addresses the most common trust objection in early deployments.

learn.microsoft.com

Outlook Emails in Copilot Notebooks

Outlook emails can be added as knowledge sources in Copilot Notebooks across Microsoft 365, alongside files. Windows and web (roadmap 564910).

Why it matters: A project notebook can now carry the email thread that drove a decision, improving briefs and decks generated from it.

learn.microsoft.com

Teams Meetings in Copilot Notebooks

Teams meetings can be added as references in Copilot Notebooks, linking transcripts, notes, chat and shared content to a notebook. Android, Windows, iOS and web (roadmap 560706).

Why it matters: Meeting context becomes reusable project knowledge instead of being stranded in a single transcript.

learn.microsoft.com

Unified web and work chat experience with dedicated Work IQ button

Web chat and work chat merge into a single interface, with a Work IQ button in the top left that toggles access to work data without leaving the chat. Windows and web.

Why it matters: Removes the web/work tab split that confused end users and makes the work-data boundary an explicit, visible control.

learn.microsoft.com

Page steering and auto-triggering of pages on mobile

On Android and iOS, users can steer and refine pages with Copilot commands such as "Shorten this page", and prompt Copilot to auto-create a page from chat.

Why it matters: Pages become usable on mobile, which matters for frontline and field scenarios.

learn.microsoft.com

Simplified design for the Microsoft 365 Copilot app

The Microsoft 365 Copilot web and desktop app ships a refreshed chat home screen, a streamlined chat response layout and a redesigned navigation pane. Windows, Mac and web (roadmap 561488).

Why it matters: End-user screenshots and training material will go stale, so adoption collateral needs a refresh pass.

learn.microsoft.com

Scheduling with Copilot chat in classic Outlook for Windows

Users can schedule meetings from Copilot chat or a "Schedule with Copilot" button in classic Outlook for Windows; Copilot finds available times, books rooms, drafts agendas and sends invites. Requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and is rolling out in phases (roadmap 542185).

Why it matters: A concrete, demo-ready time-saving scenario for the many customers still on classic Outlook.

learn.microsoft.com

Reference an email when using Copilot in PowerPoint to create a presentation

Copilot in PowerPoint can reference an email when generating a presentation, instead of requiring the content to be pasted in. Windows (roadmap 555888).

Why it matters: Cuts the manual copy step between an email brief and a first-draft deck.

learn.microsoft.com

Explain slide selection during PowerPoint Live with Microsoft 365 Copilot

Attendees in a PowerPoint Live meeting can select text on a slide and ask Copilot to explain it, with content processed inside the meeting environment. Windows (roadmap 557256).

Why it matters: Gives attendees a self-service way to follow dense decks without interrupting the presenter.

learn.microsoft.com

Use voice for Q&A during Read Aloud in Word

While Word reads a document aloud, users can ask questions by voice such as "What does this mean?" or "Summarize this section" and get answers without pausing playback. Windows (roadmap 523205).

Why it matters: A strong accessibility and document-review story for reading-heavy roles.

learn.microsoft.com

Enable Sonnet 5 in models menu

Sonnet 5 is now available in the Copilot models menu in Word and is set as the default for higher reasoning tasks, raising the default reasoning level used for drafting and edits. Web.

Why it matters: Model choice is now visible to end users in Word, so model governance guidance has to cover it explicitly.

learn.microsoft.com

Microsoft Copilot (Microsoft 365): Power BI reports as references in Copilot Notebooks

Copilot Notebooks will accept Power BI reports as references alongside files, letting Copilot ground summaries, presentations and briefs in report data. Preview in August 2026, GA targeted September 2026. Worldwide (Standard Multi-Tenant), desktop and web.

Why it matters: Closes the gap between BI reporting and Copilot output without building a custom connector.

microsoft.com

Select models when using Researcher in Copilot Chat

Researcher models and modes can now be picked directly in Copilot Chat when the Researcher agent is added to a conversation, instead of running on a fixed default model. Windows and web.

Why it matters: Lets teams match research depth and cost to the task rather than accepting one default for every question.

learn.microsoft.com

Generate and edit images in Copilot Cowork

Copilot Cowork can now generate and edit image artifacts using OpenAI's ChatGPT Images 2.0 model, removing the need for a separate design tool. Android, Windows, iOS, Mac and web.

Why it matters: Adds a visual output type to Cowork, widening the set of deliverables it can finish end to end.

learn.microsoft.com

Work IQ APIs - Unified REST Endpoint for Agents and Workflows

Work IQ now exposes a single REST endpoint as the entry point for invoking agents and workflows, presented as a consistent, scalable alternative to the legacy Copilot Chat endpoints (roadmap 559021).

Why it matters: Anyone integrating against the older Copilot Chat endpoints should plan the migration now, before the legacy surface is retired.

learn.microsoft.com

Azure OpenAI Assistants API retires

The Azure OpenAI Assistants API reaches its retirement date today. Microsoft directs agentic workloads to the generally available Microsoft Foundry Agents service and points pure model-inferencing workloads at the Azure OpenAI Responses API, with a published migration guide for classic agents. The retirement covers the classic Assistants and Agents experience in the Foundry (classic) portal plus the SDKs and APIs built on that surface.

Why it matters: Any customer tenant, prototype or demo still running on classic Assistants stops working from today, so straggler workloads need finding fast.

learn.microsoft.com

One always-on roadmap: Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and Dataverse join the AI at Work roadmap

Microsoft is retiring the twice-yearly release wave 1 and release wave 2 model in favor of continuous publishing on the AI at Work roadmap. New capabilities start publishing there in September 2026, content with public preview or GA dates of June 1 2026 or later migrates between September and November, and Release Planner retires by November 15 2026. Existing release plans stay on Microsoft Learn for historical reference, and Message Center and Learn documentation are unchanged.

Why it matters: Any internal planning process or customer deliverable built on release-wave documents needs rebasing on the AI at Work roadmap before November 15.

microsoft.com

Planner: Connected Plans

Connected Plans will let teams link related plans together so work can be organized across projects and initiatives, with navigation between connected plans. GA targeted September 2026. Worldwide (Standard Multi-Tenant), web.

Why it matters: Gives Planner a cross-project structure that customers currently build by hand or push into Project.

microsoft.com

Organizational Messages now supports Hybrid-joined Devices

Organizational Messages now reach hybrid Azure AD joined devices. Coverage was previously limited to devices fully joined to Azure Active Directory or to on-premises Active Directory (roadmap 503564).

Why it matters: Removes a delivery gap for customers running hybrid identity, so tenant-wide communications land consistently across the estate.

learn.microsoft.com

Outlook: Manage Multiple Inbox Rules at Once

New roadmap entry: Outlook on the web will let users select multiple inbox rules and delete, enable or disable them in one action, GA targeted November 2026.

microsoft.com

Powering Memory in Foundry Agent Service, with Azure Cosmos DB

Walkthrough deploying a CosmosMemoryContextProvider agent to Foundry Agent Service on keyless Azure infrastructure, using fact, procedural and episodic memory scoped by a stable user ID.

devblogs.microsoft.com

From dotnet run to Foundry Hosted Agent in 3 lines of C#

Microsoft Agent Framework .NET console apps can now be deployed as Foundry Hosted Agents via the new Microsoft.Agents.AI.Foundry.Hosting package, still published as a prerelease, using AgentHost.CreateBuilder(), AddFoundryResponses() and RegisterProtocol(). Foundry supplies managed compute and scaling, session state persistence across turns and idle periods, a dedicated Entra ID identity per agent, an OpenAI-compatible /responses endpoint, automatic OpenTelemetry and Application Insights tracing, agent versioning and rollback, and Foundry Toolbox access. Hosted Agents itself is generally available.

Why it matters: Removes hosting, identity and telemetry plumbing from custom agent builds, so a .NET agent prototype can move to managed infrastructure without a bespoke runtime.

devblogs.microsoft.com

Newly created Declarative Agents now understand referenced scanned PDFs

Any newly created Declarative Agents can now reliably ground answers in scanned PDFs and image-based documents referenced from SharePoint, unlocking a major class of enterprise content that was previously hard to use in agent scenarios.

mc.merill.net

SmartArt is becoming more accessible in PowerPoint

PowerPoint now generates accessibility descriptions for SmartArt automatically from the diagram's layout type and node content, so screen readers convey relationships instead of a flat list, for example "Equation diagram showing A plus B equals C". Descriptions regenerate whenever the SmartArt structure or content changes, removing manually maintained alt text. Available to Windows users with a Microsoft 365 subscription on PowerPoint Version 2503 (Build 19729.20000) or later, rolling out over time.

Why it matters: Cuts the cost of accessibility remediation on existing decks, which matters for public-sector and regulated customers with WCAG or EN 301 549 obligations.

techcommunity.microsoft.com