September 2025 Microsoft Teams Updates

Microsoft Teams had several import releases in the month of September 2025.  Here are the top ones that caught my attention:

• Agents in channels (Public Preview): Each channel can now have a Channel Agent that becomes an expert on information within that Teams Channel.  The Agent will be named after the Channel, and will help with common tasks such as identifying important deadlines buried in the conversations, summarizing status, assigning tasks and answering questions.
• Threads in Channels: I was really happy to see this.  You now have the ability to reply to specific messaging, while keeping conversations grouped together preserving the flow and context of a conversation.
• Enhanced AI thread summary in Channels: Now there are AI-generated thread summaries available in a post/reply and threaded channels.  This really helps with lengthy conversations.  Now you do not have to scroll around to read information; you have a summary right there for you to scan before you post something.
• Meeting Facilitator Agent is now GA.  This Agent helps keeps meetings focused and organized.  The agent will set an agenda based know the invitation and inferred goals from the discussion, it will keep conversations on track with visible timelines and reminders, it will capture real-time notes, answer questions within the context of the meeting, records and assigns tasks, etc.  
• Enhanced Meeting Protection – Prevent Screen Captures: This requires Teams Premium. This prevents users from taking screen captures.

Reference: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftteamsblog/what%E2%80%99s-new-in-microsoft-teams--september-2025/4457965

M365 Copilot Agent Store and Marketplace

Back in May 2025, it was announced that the Agent Store and Marketplace were under development.  As of October 2025, the Agent Store and Marketplace is now launched.  The Agent Store is a centralized location where agents built by Microsoft, partners and customers can be published.  All third-party agents go through rigorous validation process to meet enterprise security, compliance and performance standards.  Customers and also use the Agent Store as a distribution tool to make their own agents available to their end users.  IT admins have full control and governance over the Agents that are available in the Agent Store.

References:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-cloud/blog/2025/09/25/empower-your-workforce-with-agents-in-microsoft-365-copilot/

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/microsoft365dev/introducing-the-agent-store-build-publish-and-discover-agents-in-microsoft-365-copilot/  

Microsoft 365 Apps Icons to be Refreshed

It was announced that all the Office Icons are being refreshed. I liked this picture showing the evolution of the Office icons since 2001.

Reference: https://microsoft.design/articles/fluid-forms-vibrant-colors/

New Agent Mode in with M365 Copilot

A new experience called vibe working is being launched within M365 Copilot called Agent Mode within Office Apps.  If you are not familiar with the term “vibe working”, it is a new agentic, collaborative workflow where users and AI iteratively refine content together.  It is really slick.

When running in Agent Mode, users will have an interactive, conversational experience with Copilot for creating and modifying content and data in solutions like Microsoft Word and Excel.  For instance, when you are in Word, you just ask Copilot that you need it to create content like “Please create me a report about XYZ customer, along with recent market trends influencing customers decisions and what solutions they should consider”.  Copilot will write this content.  You can then ask Copilot to iterate on by asking to more emphasis on a particular solution, and it will go through modifying it; pretty amazing.

Same for Excel, when running in Agent Mode, you can ask Copilot to do a full analysis of data a spreadsheet, and ask for Copilot to provide specific insights that that you need to have.  Copilot will then create formulas and data visualizations to provide you that insight.

Additionally, there is a new Office Agent that is available in Copilot Chat.  This enables users to create Word and PowerPoint documents inside of Chat without having to open the Office App.  Copilot Chat will do deep research and reasoning to produce high quality content.

Reference: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/09/29/vibe-working-introducing-agent-mode-and-office-agent-in-microsoft-365-copilot/

M365 Copilot and Anthropic Opus 4.1

There was an important announcement this week.  M365 Copilot will now allow users to leverage Anthropic Opus 4.1 with the Researcher agent.  This was exciting to see because up till now, M365 Copilot could only work with ChatGPT model.  Frankly, I had been telling customers that model selection was not feature of M365 Copilot, however now it is, and it is super exciting to see.

Reference: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/09/24/expanding-model-choice-in-microsoft-365-copilot/

W365 Frontline GCC/GCCH, W365 Cloud Apps Preview and W365 Boot Updates

There were a couple new announcements with Windows 365 (W365) that are interesting.

W365 Frontline is now available in GCC and GCCH Clouds

W365 Frontline is developed to provide organizations with cost-efficient cloud PC solutions for users who require part-time or occasional access to virtual desktops. The service offers two distinct modes: Dedicated and Shared.

• Dedicated Mode: Tailored for shift-based, part-time, or temporary personnel, this mode permits Cloud PC usage exclusively during working hours. Each license allows up to three distinct user assignments; however, only one Cloud PC may be active at any given time. This configuration is well-suited for environments with rotating shifts or non-overlapping schedules.
• Shared Mode: In this arrangement, a single license can be utilized sequentially by multiple users within a group. Upon user logout, the desktop session is reset, ensuring no user data is retained.

The advantages of W365 Frontline include enhanced cost optimization by eliminating the need for individual licenses for every user. Additionally, it serves as an efficient replacement for legacy VDI systems, offering a scalable, secure, and straightforward Cloud PC management solution.

Reference: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windows-itpro-blog/announcing-windows-365-frontline-for-gcc-and-gcch/4452096

W365 Cloud Apps in Public Review

Administrators can assign users access to specific cloud-delivered apps instead of a Cloud PC. This approach is suitable for organizations aiming to streamline app delivery and reduce the overhead associated with virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). W365 Cloud Apps operates on W365 Frontline Cloud PCs in Shared Mode. W365 Frontline licensing permits Cloud PC access for shift-based or part-time workers and supports unlimited users per license, with one active session allowed at a time. W365 Cloud Apps provides streaming access to essential applications such as Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Edge without requiring users to load a full desktop environment.

Reference: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windows-itpro-blog/windows-365-cloud-apps-are-now-in-public-preview/4453397

W365 Boot and Connection Center new experiences

When using a Windows 11 device, W365 Boot enables users to sign directly into their Cloud PC as the main Windows interface. This provides a streamlined method for accessing Cloud PCs. New features include:

• Connection Center now supports selection among multiple Cloud PCs during login.
• Improved troubleshooting and diagnostics capabilities.
• More consistent connection process.
• Built-in cross-region disaster recovery, allowing users to connect through different regions if one is unavailable.

Reference: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windows-itpro-blog/windows-365-boot-connection-center--improved-experience---generally-available/4453399 

M365 Copilot Readiness and Remediation

 This concise article provides an overview of how organizations can effectively prepare for the introduction of M365 Copilot. A primary concern often encountered is the risk of data oversharing accumulated over time and determining where to initiate data remediation. Much of this remediation should focus on SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business. Common issues include:

• Site privacy settings that grant organizational-wide access.
• Default sharing options configured to “everyone.”
• Broken permission inheritance, where site permissions differ from those at the folder or file level.
• Sharing with the “everyone except external users” domain group.
• Sites and files lacking sensitivity labels.

It is important to note that solutions such as M365 Copilot will access all data available to a user when generating results. While this data is also accessible via search, M365 Copilot significantly streamlines the discovery process.

One of the key tools for identifying areas requiring remediation is SharePoint Advanced Management (SAM). Key features of SAM include:

• Content Management Assessment: Generates reports highlighting misconfigurations, inactivity, permission issues, and lifecycle risks across SharePoint sites.
• Site Lifecycle Management: Automatically detects inactive or ownerless sites and recommends remediation actions, such as marking sites as read-only, archiving them, or prompting owners to maintain content.
• Oversharing Control with Permission State Reports: Offers comprehensive reports on site permissions across M365, identifying broken inheritance, public links, and excessive group permissions. Remediation actions can be initiated, including site access reviews or the application of Restricted Access and Restricted Content Discovery controls.
• Restricted Access Control: Enables administrators to restrict site access to a specified user list, overriding existing permissions for rapid content lock-down until remediation is completed.
• Restricted Content Discovery (RCD) and Delegation: RCD allows administrators to prevent overshared sites from being accessed by M365 Copilot.

While SAM offers a robust starting point, additional solutions such as Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) can further address oversharing risks. DSPM assesses active SharePoint sites, surfaces risks related to sensitive files and their protection, identifies overexposed sharing patterns, and provides insights into site usage.

Organizations are also encouraged to utilize Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention policies to prevent Copilot from processing data with certain sensitivity labels. Moreover, implementing Microsoft Purview Information Protection enables the creation of auto-labeling policies that apply protections like encryption for file access control.

Finally, it is advisable to use Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management to establish retention policies for data governance and automated deletion of outdated information. This ensures Copilot does not reference obsolete content when generating responses.

Reference: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/mitigate-oversharing-to-govern-microsoft-365-copilot-and-agents/4448744