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What’s new for Microsoft Viva – October 2025
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.
OCT
1
Starting October 6, 2025, Viva Engage emails will switch from @yammer.com domains to tenant-specific @engage.mail.microsoft domains. Admins must update mail flow rules, spam filters, and safe sender lists accordingly to ensure proper email delivery and filtering. Users should update personal inbox rules if needed.
We’re introducing multilingual support for Copilot in Viva Glint, enabling users to interact with Copilot in their preferred language. This enhancement removes a key adoption barrier for non-English users and promotes equitable access to AI-powered insights across global organizations.
Microsoft will retire the Viva Engage themes feature in user settings by mid-November 2025, removing personal theme customization except on mobile apps. This enables future admin-led branding capabilities. No admin action is required, but user notification and documentation updates are recommended.
OCT
2
Viva Insights is creating an Agent Dashboard, designed to be a central place for leaders, delegates and analysts to understand how your organization is adopting agents. #copilotcontrolsystem
OCT
3
Track user sentiment of Microsoft 365 Copilot. Understand how users perceive Copilot value by analyzing the breakdown of thumbs up and thumbs down ratings after Copilot interactions. See trends over time and breakdowns by group.
OCT
7
Access to legacy Viva Engage (Yammer) networks ends October 13, 2025. Networks not upgraded to Native Mode will become inaccessible and scheduled for deletion. Admins should verify and upgrade networks created before January 16, 2020, via the Engage admin center to avoid data loss.
Microsoft Viva Copilot Analytics introduces a new Agent Dashboard for detailed insights on agent adoption and Copilot credit usage. Rolling out from November 2025 (preview) to February 2026 (general availability), it targets organizations with 50+ Copilot licenses, enhancing adoption tracking and management within Viva Insights.
OCT
9
Microsoft Viva Glint will introduce a toggle to retain or replace first and last names of deleted users, improving data traceability and compliance. This feature, enabled by default, rolls out mid-October 2025. Administrators should review and configure settings by November 1, 2025. Changes apply only to future deletions.
OCT
10
Microsoft is retiring Viva Engage desktop notifications by mid-November 2025 to streamline notifications across Microsoft 365. Desktop push notifications and related settings will be removed. Users will still receive notifications via Viva Engage in-app, Teams, and Outlook. No admin action is needed; inform users accordingly.
OCT
13
The hide user feature is a user-level moderation control. It allows users to see fewer messages from other users, helping to reduce interactions that may be unwanted or inappropriate. Users cannot hide designated leaders, corporate communicators, or network/verified/Engage admins. The hide user feature is default on; admins can turn it off for their network in the Engage admin center.
New analytics experiences available that complement the new Viva Engage Events.
OCT
15
Viva Learning Academy 2.0 now allows learners to unfurl Learning Paths directly within the Academy interface, improving access and navigation. This feature, enabled by default, rolls out worldwide from mid to late October 2025 for users with Viva Learning premium or Microsoft 365 licenses, requiring no admin changes.
Align the community feeds default experience with expected user behaviors; support triage and content review for users who want to read every message in a community.
OCT
21
Your Viva Engage communities will now be available in Teams along side teams, chats and channels. Engage communities in Microsoft Teams make it simple to connect, share, and learn across your organization. This new experience brings discoverable, asynchronous conversations and leadership engagement into Teams—helping employees explore ideas and perspectives beyond project-based collaboration.
Theme moderation in Engage will soon offer an option to block message creation if content aligns with a theme. This change expands on the previous release to monitor and mute content based on themes.
Theme moderation in Engage will soon offer an option to block message creation if content aligns with a theme. This change expands on the previous release to monitor and mute content based on themes.
OCT
23
Copilot in Viva Glint is expanding its capabilities to support multilingual interactions, allowing users to submit prompts and receive responses in their preferred language. This enhancement improves accessibility and usability for global organizations by enabling Copilot to detect the language of user input, and return responses in the same language.
OCT
27
This feature introduces automated, role-targeted onboarding emails for Leaders to drive discovery of the Copilot Dashboard in Viva insights.
OCT
28
Microsoft is retiring Viva Insights export via Microsoft Graph Data Connect (MGDC). New onboarding stops 30 days after the announcement; existing users keep access until full retirement, starting late November 2025. Customers should switch to the Power BI Connector to Microsoft Fabric or CSV export. Admins must update settings in the Microsoft 365 Admin Portal.
The Workplace Patterns Report in Viva Glint integrates Viva Insights workplace data with employee sentiment surveys, enabling HR analysts to uncover actionable insights through automated analytics, interactive visualizations, and role-based access. It will roll out globally from late November to mid-December 2025.
OCT
29
This feature will enable Viva Glint Admins to remove survey participants from surveys. The selected survey must have a closed status, and this action will be irreversible.
A new Power BI report in Microsoft Viva Insights links Microsoft 365 Copilot usage with employee sentiment from Viva Glint surveys. Available late 2025, it requires licenses, admin setup, and integration between Viva Glint and Viva Insights to analyze engagement, sentiment, and improve Copilot adoption.
Listen to the latest updates
This month’s update is now also available as a podcast! If you prefer listening over reading, or want to catch up on the latest SharePoint developments while commuting or running, you can now tune in on Spotify and YouTube.
The podcast features AI hosts Maria and John, who dive into the same updates covered in this post but through a conversational format. John brings his technical analyst perspective with attention to detail, while Maria focuses on the strategic implications and user experience impact. As the prompt director, I guide the conversation to ensure we’re covering what matters most for your day-to-day work.
This is an experiment in making tech updates more accessible, so I’d love your feedback on this format. Give it a listen and let me know what you think!
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