Photo credit: Gemini
Hey all,
Welcome to the second month of the new year. Below is an AI-assisted parse of all the updates I see for the M365 apps I support. Please do you own diligence here. Meaning, I am sure there are items missed or need more detail. Because of that, I have the sources linked. I plan to post these highlight on or near the first week of each month, follow links below so you can stay informed via your inbox or the socials. That said, let’s get into it!
For February, Copilot continued its rapid expansion across apps, Outlook gained productivity boosts, SharePoint admins finally got dark mode, and Edge introduced new governance tools. Some features are automatically enabled, while others require admin action, making this release wave both exciting and practical.
Table of Contents
- Key Takeaways
- Copilot Expands Across Microsoft 365
- Outlook Productivity Boosts
- SharePoint & Admin Experience
- Microsoft Edge Updates
- Security & Compliance
- Teams & Viva
- Default-On vs Admin-Enabled
- Retirement Radar
- Source
- Follow
Key Takeaways
- Copilot dominates February with usability improvements that are mostly default-on.
- Admins benefit from dark mode, Defender blocking, and expanded eDiscovery visibility.
- Governance tools like Edge extension monitoring and Teams reporting require explicit enablement.
Copilot Expands Across Microsoft 365
- Forms Surveys Agent – Copilot Chat now helps design surveys, send invitations, and analyze results.
- Image Upload in Government Cloud – Parity with commercial tenants, enabled by default.
- Simplified Input Box – Default-on pill-style input streamlines prompt creation.
- Support for .eml and .msg Files – Upload capability enabled by default.
- Image Editing in PowerPoint – Background removal and resolution improvements available immediately.
- Voice Q&A During Read Aloud in Word – Accessibility enhancement enabled by default.
- Real-Time Voice Interactions in Word Podcasts – Users can query Copilot podcasts as they listen.
- Extensibility Admin Tools – Connector admins gain setup guides, error alerts, and editability (requires configuration).
Outlook Productivity Boosts
- Quick Parts for Outlook (Windows & Web) – Default-on feature allowing snippets to be saved and reused in email drafts.
SharePoint & Admin Experience
- Dark Mode in SharePoint Admin Center – Default-on, toggle available immediately.
Microsoft Edge Updates
- Extensions Monitoring – Preview in February, GA in April; requires admin enablement.
- Navigation Management for PWAs – Seamless link handling between PWAs and browser tabs.
- Enterprise New Tab Page – Modernized business-focused experience.
Security & Compliance
- Defender for Office 365 External Blocking – Default-on capability to block external Teams messages, calls, or invites.
- Endpoint DLP Updates – Multi-file policy tips enabled by default; source-context file protection requires admin setup.
- eDiscovery Tenant-Level Process Report – Default-on visibility across cases.
Teams & Viva
- Queues App Historical Reporting – Expanded to 45 days, requires admin enablement.
- Viva Engage Feed Improvements – Gradual rollout, may need tenant adjustments.
- Copilot Dashboard Readiness Page – Tailored configuration recommendations for deployment.
- Organizational Data in GCC-Moderate – Government cloud customers gain ingestion capabilities.
- AI Audio Overview in Viva Connections – Expanded language support and audio summaries for SharePoint pages.
Default-On vs Admin-Enabled
| Feature | Default-On | Admin-Enabled |
|---|---|---|
| Outlook Quick Parts | ✅ | – |
| SharePoint Dark Mode | ✅ | – |
| Copilot Simplified Input Box | ✅ | – |
| Copilot .eml/.msg Uploads | ✅ | – |
| Copilot Image Editing in PowerPoint | ✅ | – |
| Word Voice Q&A (Read Aloud) | ✅ | – |
| Defender External Blocking | ✅ | – |
| Endpoint DLP Multi-File Tips | ✅ | – |
| eDiscovery Tenant-Level Report | ✅ | – |
| Edge Extensions Monitoring | – | ✅ |
| Copilot Extensibility Admin Tools | – | ✅ |
| Teams Queues Historical Reporting | – | ✅ |
| Viva Engage Feed Improvements | – | ✅ |
Retirement Radar
| Quarter | Product / Service | Notes / Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 (Jan–Mar) | No major retirements scheduled | February 2026 has no direct Microsoft 365 retirements, though admins may see deprecation notices in the Message Center. |
| Q2 (Apr–Jun) | Visual Studio 2017 | End of support; developers should move to Visual Studio 2022 or newer tooling. |
| Q3 (Jul–Sep) | SQL Server 2016 | End of support; impacts on‑premises databases and hybrid workloads. ESUs may be available at added cost. |
| Q3 (Jul–Sep) | Windows Server 2016 | End of support; affects domain controllers, file servers, and hybrid identity setups. |
| Q4 (Oct–Dec) | SharePoint Server 2016 | End of support; migration needed to SharePoint Subscription Edition or Microsoft 365. |
| Q4 (Oct–Dec) | InfoPath (remaining components) | Final retirement; migration to Power Apps or modern form solutions recommended. |
| Already Retired (Oct 2025) | Office 2016 & Office 2019 | Out of support since October 2025, but many organizations continue transitioning in 2026. |
| Already Retired (Oct 2025) | Exchange Server 2016 & 2019 | End of support in 2025; operational impact continues into 2026 as migrations finish. |
Source
Follow
- Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/level-up-m365/id1718776415
- Spotify – https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/levelupm365/
- Newsletter/Socials – https://levelupm365.com/subscribe-social-page/
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