Hi, Insiders! I’m happy to share highlights from this month’s SharePoint Showcase series, which explores why metadata unlocks smarter responses from Microsoft 365 Copilot and agents, and how the Knowledge Agent in SharePoint can streamline the process of adding metadata to files.
Why metadata matters
As more teams rely on Copilot and agents to drive productivity, the difference between generic and truly valuable responses comes down to how your content is structured and enriched.
Metadata details like categories, dates, and labels add context to your files, helping Copilot surface the most accurate information. In September, we launched the Knowledge Agent in SharePoint to help automate metadata, keeping your content and sites updated and AI-ready.
This evolution marks a major step forward: You can now rely on AI to deliver answers that are more precisely anchored in the structure and context of your content. This can be especially useful for organizations in fields such as healthcare, law, and finance, where deterministic, audit-ready answers are business-critical.
Best practices for using Knowledge Agent
Adding metadata can be a tedious and time-consuming process. The Knowledge Agent solves this by automating metadata suggestions, tagging, and organization, making it easy to keep your content Copilot-ready and compliant with minimal effort. You can:
- Use folders to represent natural boundaries, like teams or projects.
- Utilize flat lists for content with shared characteristics, such as all invoices or resumes for a particular role.
- Get help with basic sorting and filtering by selecting Organize this library, then letting the Knowledge Agent suggest columns by selecting Create columns.
- Let the Knowledge Agent automatically populate metadata for documents, no need to re-run the agent as new files are added to the document library.
- Select Edit to revise the agent’s autofill prompt if you want to adjust the output.
- Apply manual columns when you need to add information to your content that only you know, and that AI can’t discern without your input.
- Avoid altering the default view for the whole library when you organize documents with the Knowledge Agent by saving your changes as a New view. You can also ask the Knowledge Agent to sort, group, and filter data, and then save that as a separate view.
To learn more about metadata, Copilot, and agents, check out the full blog: SharePoint Showcase: How Metadata and the Knowledge Agent Elevate Microsoft 365 Copilot Responses.
Availability
Get started with the Knowledge Agent in SharePoint today with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license in Public Preview (learn more).
IT administrators can opt into the Knowledge Agent Public Preview by following these steps. Starting in November, individual sites will also be able to opt into the preview, enabling a more scoped and flexible rollout for your organization.
Join us at Microsoft Ignite
Join our sessions at Microsoft Ignite on November 18 on SharePoint AI and OneDrive, or stop by the SharePoint and OneDrive booth to see Knowledge Agent in action. Register today.
Feedback
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