Add a SharePoint agent to a Microsoft Teams channel: bring answers to where your team already works

By Feb 3, 2026 Copilot, SharePoint 0 Comments

A SharePoint agent becomes far more powerful when you bring it into Microsoft Teams, where your team already collaborates every day. Instead of switching between browser tabs, libraries, and chat threads, adding a SharePoint agent directly to a Teams channel lets users ask questions in natural language and get grounded, permission‑aware answers right in the conversation. It’s one of the easiest ways to surface intranet knowledge where work actually happens and is a feature every Microsoft 365 admin or power user should consider enabling in their tenant.

To show how impactful this can be, let’s look at a real scenario from my demo environment. Explorer is an outdoor‑adventure company used in my articles and presentations. Their intranet stores everything from route documentation to safety procedures, permits, content drafts, and seasonal plans. As the team prepares a new Grand Canyon activity for the upcoming season, most discussions naturally happen in Microsoft Teams, but the authoritative information still lives in SharePoint. By adding the Explorer Activities Agent to the planning channel, the team can instantly ask for summaries, safety notes, past trip insights, and related documents without leaving the discussion.

This guide walks you through exactly how to add a SharePoint agent to a Microsoft Teams channel, the benefits for end users, and the limitations you need to be aware of so you can confidently roll it out in your own tenant.

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What’s new for Microsoft Viva – January 2026

By Feb 1, 2026 What's New 0 Comments

I’ve been saying for a while that the hype around the Employee Experience suite has been fading a bit, mostly because Copilot announcements have completely taken over the spotlight. But even with all the noise around AI, some of the Viva apps are still getting important updates, and in many cases, they’re actually tied to Copilot or new AI capabilities.

My highlights this month go straight to Viva Engage. The first one is theme moderation, which will automatically block posts, comments, and replies based on monitored themes. AI handles the detection, and there’s nothing you need to enable ahead of rollout, though admins should definitely review the monitored themes and make sure everything aligns with their governance standards.

The second big change is the unification of Microsoft communication platforms. Viva Engage communities are being integrated directly into Microsoft Teams, bringing asynchronous conversations and leadership engagement into the same space where people already work.

There were more updates across the rest of the Employee Experience apps, and you can find all of those in the details of this post.

What is new for Microsoft Viva

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What’s new for Microsoft Teams – January 2026

By Feb 1, 2026 What's New 0 Comments

I’ve been highlighting the importance of user personalization in these monthly Teams roundups for a long time, not just because it improves the experience for each of us, but because it genuinely helps with adoption. And this month, I want to bring your attention to two new features that fit perfectly into that category.

The first one is branded reactions in meetings. Admins can now replace the default five reactions with custom ones that match the organization’s brand. It’s a small change, but these details help companies create a more consistent and recognizable experience across Teams. The second one is something many of us have been waiting for: choosing what the Enter key does. Who hasn’t sent an incomplete message by mistake? Now you can finally decide if Enter sends or simply adds a new line. And while we’re on this topic, the new quick draft area is also a great addition, it keeps your unsent content easy to find, edit, and send later, making those half-written ideas much more manageable.

My final highlight of the month is one I’m personally excited about: digital signage support on Microsoft Teams Rooms devices running Android. This one is special to me because Appspace is one of the partners available on day one, making the experience fully integrated from the start.

You’ll find all the details and everything else that landed in January in the full post.

What is new for SharePoint as a platform

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What’s new for Microsoft Viva – December 2025

By Jan 2, 2026 Microsoft Viva 0 Comments

On the last day of December, we said farewell to Viva Goals, the OKR tool that was once part of the Viva Suite. It is now officially retired, marking the end of an era for organizations that relied on it for goal-setting and alignment. But December was not only about goodbyes. It also brought updates that improve engagement and expand AI-driven experiences across Viva.

First, Viva Engage received enhancements to its mobile experience, making it easier for employees to stay connected and participate in conversations wherever they are. In addition, Microsoft introduced features that complement the growing role of AI and Copilot in Microsoft 365. The Copilot Dashboard now provides broader access to M365 Copilot Chat insights, with adoption metrics rolling out by January 2026. These analytics offer visibility into usage trends, group adoption, retention, and app-level breakdowns, giving admins powerful tools to monitor and optimize Copilot usage.

Finally, Viva Connections adds more accessibility with AI audio overview support for pages and additional languages. This feature delivers multilingual audio summaries for the top ten news items in the Viva Connections news reader experience. If the SharePoint Knowledge Agent is available, site pages and news posts will also include AI-generated audio summaries, making content easier to consume and more inclusive for everyone.

What is new for Microsoft Viva

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What’s new for Microsoft Teams – December 2025

By Jan 2, 2026 What's New 0 Comments

Every now and then, Microsoft introduces a set of small updates to Teams that end up making a big difference in how we work. December 2025 is no exception. This time, I’m highlighting three features that aren’t related to Copilot but still have the potential to improve productivity and create a stronger sense of connection within organizations.

The first update is a game-changer for Private Channels. For a long time, these channels were limited to chat-only interactions, but that’s about to change. Starting mid-January 2026, apps will be supported in Private Channels, enabling bots, tabs, and message extensions. This upgrade transforms Private Channels into true collaboration spaces, backed by new governance controls. Admins and developers should review policies and update apps to ensure compatibility with channel-level permissions and data compliance.

The second improvement addresses a long-standing pain point: forwarding messages. Until now, forwarding multiple messages meant doing it one by one. With the latest update, you can forward messages in batch, making conversations easier to share. And finally, customization gets a boost with branded reactions. Organizations can now upload custom reaction icons that reflect their brand or event themes, creating more cohesive and on-brand meeting experiences. A simple but powerful way to make meetings feel more connected.

What is new for SharePoint as a platform

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What’s new for Microsoft Viva – November 2025

By Dec 8, 2025 Microsoft Viva, What's New 0 Comments

As we come to the end of the year, I’m seriously considering whether it’s worth continuing a separate roundup for Microsoft Viva. Updates have become fewer each month, and most of them are already covered in the other roundups I publish. Nonetheless, from the few announcements this month, here are my highlights.

First, Viva Amplify introduces a new publishing stack with improved error handling. This enhancement aims to make content publishing more reliable and efficient, reducing friction for communication teams and ensuring messages reach the right audience without unnecessary delays.

On the engagement side, Viva Engage received improvements to community feeds. These updates focus on making interactions smoother and more intuitive, helping communities stay active and connected with less effort. While small, these refinements contribute to a better overall experience for users who rely on Viva for collaboration and engagement.

What is new for Microsoft Viva

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What’s new for Microsoft Teams – November 2025

By Dec 8, 2025 What's New 0 Comments

November brought some exciting updates to Microsoft Teams, and I’ve been exploring what they mean for everyday collaboration. This month was all about making communication smoother, simplifying admin tasks, and improving the overall experience for users and IT teams alike. If you’ve been waiting for features that make Teams more flexible and connected, this roundup is for you.

One of the biggest highlights is the ability to chat with anyone using an email address. This change opens up new possibilities for external collaboration without the need for complex setups. Combined with simplified admin controls for managing external access, organizations now have more control and flexibility when working beyond their own tenant. These updates make cross-company communication easier while keeping security and governance in check.

Presence accuracy also got a boost with new activity detection settings for Teams on the web, ensuring your status reflects what you’re actually doing. On top of that, improvements to the activity feed and the accounts/orgs panel make it simpler to stay on top of notifications and switch between organizations. These refinements might seem small, but they add up to a more seamless experience for users juggling multiple contexts.

What is new for Microsoft Teams

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How to Keep Using Elgato Stream Deck with Microsoft Teams After API Deprecation

By Nov 28, 2025 Devices 0 Comments

If you’ve been using your Elgato Stream Deck to control Microsoft Teams, there’s an important change coming: starting December 2025, the official integration will stop working. This is confirmed in the Elgato Marketplace, and it’s happening because Microsoft is removing the third-party API that powers these features.

Elgato Stream Deck Microsoft Teams API deprecation

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How to Keep Using Logitech MX Creative Console with Microsoft Teams After API Deprecation

By Nov 28, 2025 Devices 0 Comments

So… Microsoft decided to kill the third-party API integration for Teams. Yep, the same API that made your Logitech MX Creative Console super handy for reactions and quick actions. This change is rolling out in December 2025, and if you’ve been using the console for Teams, you’re probably thinking: “Great… now what?”

Don’t panic. Your investment in that shiny console isn’t wasted. You can still make it work with Teams — just in a slightly different way.

Logi MX Creative Console

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What’s new for Microsoft Viva – October 2025

By Nov 3, 2025 Microsoft Viva, What's New 0 Comments

October brought important updates for Viva Engage, some features are being retired, while others make the experience more integrated than ever. Desktop notifications and access to non-native Viva Engage networks are being retired.

On the positive side, one improvement I’m excited about is the ability to access your Engage communities directly from the chat area in Microsoft Teams. This is a great step toward unifying communication and collaboration inside Microsoft 365, making it easier to stay connected without switching contexts.

And that’s just the beginning—there’s more in the full article for those interested in how Viva is evolving to simplify engagement and bring communities closer to where work happens.

What is new for Microsoft Viva

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João Ferreira

I've been working with Microsoft Technologies over the last ten years, mainly focused on creating collaboration and productivity solutions that drive the adoption of Microsoft Modern Workplace.

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