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

Microsoft 365 Backup New Features

Microsoft 365 Backup became Generally Available (GA) in July 2024.  If you are not familiar with M365 Backup, it is a solution designed to ensure your organization's data is always protected and easily recoverable.  Some of the key features are:

• Comprehensive Coverage: It backs up all or selected SharePoint sites, OneDrive accounts, and Exchange mailboxes.
• Fast Backup and Restore: It offers fast backup and restore times, ensuring your data can be recovered quickly in case of accidental or malicious deletion.
• Granular Restore Options: You can restore entire SharePoint sites, OneDrive accounts, or specific Exchange mailbox items.
• Business Continuity: It provides peace of mind by ensuring business continuity through reliable data protection and recovery.

Past obtaining this feature for business continuity, many customer leverage this solution as part of their security strategy to protect against cyber and ransomware attacks.

One of the appealing features of M365 Backup is that you avoid slow import and export processes.  M365 Backup is very quick offering 10 minute recovery points and recovery times on the order of hours.

In November 2024, a few new features 

• PowerShell Control: Perform operations through automation and reoccurring activities.
• Backup Admin Role: Specific to this feature to limit access to the feature.
• Dynamic Rule Based Backups: Previously, you can create backup policies based on distribution lists and security groups which were point in time based on when the snapshot was made.  With Dynamic backups, policies are applied to memberships as they change.
• Granular file level restore: This allows file level browsing the backups and restore files directly in SharePoint Online and OneDrive.  This enables you to do smaller restores.  Note, Exchange Online already supports restoring granular items.
• Enhanced version controls: Adopt the new enhanced version controls of SharePoint and OneDrive to optimize version lifecycle management.

References:

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

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft_365_backup_blog/enhancing-business-continuity-with-microsoft-365-backup-and-microsoft-365-backup/4298783

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/backup/backup-faq

M365 Copilot and Microsoft Graph Updates

Microsoft Graph Connectors allow you to import unstructured business data into Microsoft Graph, enabling Microsoft 365 Copilot to provide results from both M365 and your business systems. This integration helps users interact with data using natural language for quicker and more informed decisions.

In December 2024, there were some new features introduced.

• Quick Setup experience: new streamlined process for configuration of connectors.
• Index Browser: new administrator experience allowing admins to quickly search for items in the index and review properties.
• Increased item index has been expanded to 50 million item per index per tenant without any extra cost.
• New Connectors: 7 new connectors have been added: GitHub, Google Drive, PostgreSQL, Salesforce Knowledge, Stack Overflow and WordPress.

References:

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/microsoft-graph-connectors--ignite-2024/4360934

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot/extensibility/overview-graph-connector

December 2024 M365 Copilot and Microsoft Teams

Here are some of the new capability releases for M365 Copilot and Microsoft Teams for the month of December 2024:

• M365 Copilot was released to Microsoft GCC cloud.
• Viva Learning and Copilot Academy 
• New templates and reports in Copilot Analytics to better understand employee readiness, adoption and impact which can be used along side of the Copilot Dashboard.
• Copilot on OneNote for Mac and iPad.  Leverage copilot to understand, summarize, rewrite or do further brainstorming.
• New Excel Copilot functions for “understanding” data.  For instance, leverage Copilot has Clean Data detectors to help find inconsistencies with data and provides recommendations.  Plus Copilot will recognize patterns and provide suggested formulas.
• Word Copilot can now read aloud responses in the chat pane.
• Word Copilot will allow users to ask questions about images by simply putting the image into the chat.  Copilot can then extract text, get a description of a chart, translate information or generate alt text.
• Intelligent recap in Teams is now available for meetings that started using the “Meet Now” function.  This allows ad-hoc meetings to have the same AI meeting experiences that a schedule meeting has.
• Teams Meetings now supports the “take control” feature in Teams web app.
• Webinar and Town Halls now support RTMP-In 708 captions are a closed captioning standard that provides enhanced captioning capabilities.

References

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/whats-new-in-microsoft-365-copilot--december-2024/4359815

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftteamsblog/what%E2%80%99s-new-in-microsoft-teams--december-2024/4359658

M365 Copilot Retention Policies

As you may know, M365 Copilot Chat data is available for organizations to retain and perform eDiscovery on for legal purposes.  Up until now, Copilot interactions data shared the same policy with Teams chats.  Microsoft received feedback that many organizations wanted to separate these policies so that they can treat Copilot and Teams chat data separately with different policies.

Hearing this feedback, new data lifecycle management policy has been created and dedicated to Microsoft Copilot.  This enables organizations to specify separate retention and deletion policies for Copilot and Teams chat data.

References:

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftsecurityandcompliance/new-m365-copilot-data-lifecycle-management-options/4304636

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/purview/retention-policies-copilot