Recent Discussions
How are you keeping your associates up to date on Microsoft changes? HELP
I’m looking for ideas or best practices from other organizations on how you're keeping associates up to date with the constant changes across Microsoft 365 especially in Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, Planner, Visio, and Copilot. With so many updates rolling out daily from the roadmap and message center, it’s a challenge to make sure users are aware of new features and understand how to use them in our environment. Do you have an intake process for all changes or just some? Do you vet all changes? Do you have a self-service model? Do you have a centralized communication or training strategy? Are you using internal champions, newsletters, Viva tools, or other methods? How do you make updates engaging and easy to understand? Any tips for turning roadmap and Message Center updates into actionable guidance? Thanks in advance for sharing what’s working for you!🚀 Microsoft Edge Gets Smarter: Copilot with GPT-5, AI Podcast Creation & Advanced Security!
Big news for productivity and creativity lovers! 🎯 The latest Microsoft Edge update brings some game-changing features: ✅ Copilot Smart Mode powered by GPT-5 – Your AI assistant just got even smarter. 🎙 Create Podcasts with Copilot – Turn ideas into audio content effortlessly. 🎨 Generate Images & Videos directly in Edge – No extra tools needed! 🛡 AI-Powered Shield Against Scareware – Stay safe while you browse. I’ve created a detailed video on my YouTube channel where I explore these features in action and share tips on how to make the most of them. 👉 Watch it here: https://youtu.be/73KEDh2MDow What do you think about these updates? Which feature excites you the most? Let’s discuss in the comments! #MicrosoftEdge #Copilot #AI #Productivity #CyberSecurity #GPT5
M365 Roadmap Management
Wondering if others have tips & tricks on how they stay up to date with the https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap? I find it tedious to stay on top of all the features being announced, switching launch phases, moving target dates, and so on. I was hoping to use the RSS feed in a PowerBI Dashboard or find a solution in Planner similar to syncing the Admin Centre messages, and after some quick searches online could not find an example of anyone doing something similar. I was hoping any members of this community may be able to shed some light on how they approach the roadmap site and what tools if any they use to manage the constant influx of information? TIA!
Reimagining Bing and Copilot: A Creator-Led Movement to Spark Visibility in India
Hello Microsoft Community, I’m Kanishka, a creative technologist and digital storyteller from India, passionate about blending technical precision with emotional resonance. As someone deeply engaged with Microsoft Copilot and Bing, I’ve been reflecting on a bold idea: What if we sparked a grassroots movement that made Bing and Copilot as visible and beloved in India as Google and ChatGPT—powered entirely by creators, from the comfort of their own rooms? 🌟 The Vision: Creator-Led Visibility for Bing & Copilot India’s creator economy is thriving. From students and freelancers to influencers and educators, digital creators are shaping tech adoption at scale. My proposal is to tap into this momentum and position Bing and Copilot as tools of empowerment, creativity, and everyday utility. Here’s how we can do it: Instagram Carousels & Reels: Showcase Bing’s smart search and Copilot’s AI magic in relatable, bite-sized content—caption writing, coding help, idea generation, and more. Regional Language Content: Create tutorials and storytelling in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, etc., to make Bing and Copilot feel accessible and culturally relevant. Festival-Themed Campaigns: Build interactive websites and games using Copilot for occasions like Independence Day, Diwali, or Republic Day—celebrating Indian identity through tech. Creator Challenges & Spotlights: Launch Microsoft-backed contests and spotlight series to reward innovative use cases from grassroots creators. 🎯 Strategic Impact Drives emotional connection with Microsoft tools—especially among Gen Z and Tier 2/3 audiences. Positions Bing as more than a search engine—a smart, intuitive companion for discovery and learning. Elevates Copilot as a creative partner, not just a productivity tool. Builds a creator-first narrative that aligns with India’s digital growth story. 💡 Why Microsoft Should Support This Vision India is not just a market—it's a movement. With over 750 million internet users, a booming creator economy, and a rising wave of digital-first youth, the opportunity to embed Microsoft tools into everyday life is massive. But visibility alone isn’t enough—emotional connection and cultural relevance are key. Supporting creator-led outreach would allow Microsoft to: Accelerate grassroots adoption of Bing and Copilot in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, where curiosity is high but awareness is low. Humanize AI and search tools by showing real creators using them in relatable, everyday scenarios—from writing captions to solving coding challenges. Build trust and loyalty by empowering creators to become advocates—not just users—who shape how Microsoft is perceived in India. Position Microsoft as a creator-first brand, aligned with India’s digital aspirations and storytelling culture. Unlock organic growth through shareable, regional-language content that resonates far beyond traditional marketing. This isn’t just about visibility—it’s about belonging. When creators lead the narrative, Microsoft becomes part of India’s digital identity. Warm regards, KanishkaMaturity framework for digital transformation
Before I end up going too much further down a rabbit hole with this, is anyone else using an adoption framework that recognises the tech maturity of users? Ive regularly used something similar to crawl/walk/run/fly but I’d like to put some more structure around it so it’s easy to apply to any tech. For example, if you pick up anything from the MOCA stack, you can show stages of maturity as people integrate it into their work. The challenge is that I often see organisations push out a new tool and expect radical change without addressing the basics. If we can provide a flexible, visual for decision makers and a rough roadmap for project managers/learning & development/change, we can be realistic about what to expect. Keen to hear what others use or if that sort of resource would be useful.Adoption Masterminds: Copilot Conversations!
We are excited to welcome Pat McGown, CEO of Cloudwell and MVP, for an insightful session on the adoption of Copilot and AI. Pat will share his experiences and insights for the first 30 minutes. Following that, we will have an open discussion for the remaining 30 minutes. Bring your ideas, thoughts, and strategies to help fellow adoption leaders navigate the evolving landscape of AI adoption. The Adoption Masterminds is a quarterly meeting for Adoption Professionals to come together and talk about Adoption of M365 across the globe. These meetings are lowkey and collaborative in the hopes that you will leave inspired and energized! https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/c06af6b8-e69b-4b76-9aba-01e631c066a6@8b3dd73e-4e72-4679-b191-56da1588712bDriving User Adoption - User Personas and User Journey Maps
When we say things like "casting a wide net" in the world of User Experience in most cases this isn't a good thing because it means the wider the net we cast the less we understand about the fish we catch. In the case of O365 Groups we have the power to create groups quickly, create focused content, manage permissions, etc., which is really amazing but the ability to do this in some cases gives false promises that we can just "start something" with the hopes of User Adoption and through Rapid-Adaptation maintain or even build User Adoption. While it is true that being able to quickly adapt to "new" User Needs helps to "build" User Adoption, the problem is that the psychological effects of a Negative Experience are hard to repair for "current" users once they have casted a ballot on UX. A good way to go about solving this problem before actually having Negative User Experiences occur is to create Macro User Personas and then couple them with User Journey Maps of the O365 Groups that we are trying to build an experience around. User Personas and Journey Maps have been around forever and are used in the UX community on a daily basis. The really powerful concept here is that we are still able to rapidly adapt experiences around our users faster and better than ever before thanks to Microsoft making infrastructures smarter and faster but with User Personas and User Journey Maps it gives us the ability to better understand the "emotional connections" of our users and what actually makes them tick. As an example, think about knowing the answer to these questions prior to starting any project then couple the idea with constructing an O365 Group. Workshop questions structured to capture UX for a new interface: What is the average age of the people you think would use this online application? Will you be using a mobile device to access this application? What type of online applications do you use? What online applications do you like? Does this online application have a direct competitor? If so, who is it? What brands do you admire? If the interface did one thing that would make you happy, what would it do? What would make you recommend this online application? Workshop questions structured to capture UX out in the wild already: What is the average age of the people you think use this online application? Do you access this online application with a mobile device? If so, does it work? Do you use other online applications? Does this application work better or worse than other online applications you have used? Do you like this application? What brands do you admire? What is something you wish this application did better? What is something this application does that makes you happy? https://1drv.ms/b/s!AhD16xYVMgyoorJhAX_QGxpSpNfEbw I would really like to start indepth conversations on UD/UI and UX topics and how they relate to the Microsoft Experience as a whole. Thanks,Can't find how to obtain Certification for Specialist Adoption program
Hello everyone, I have completed the Specialist Adoption course. Co-workers have told me that I can take an exam and obtain a certification, upon payment of 99$. It's also mentioned on the Microsoft page: (URL). https://learn.microsoft.com/es-es/office365/customlearning/champ_education I can't find how to take the exam, pay the 99$ and obtain the certificate. Can anyone help me? Thanks in advance.
Threshold based dlp block in Purview DLP
Hi All, Just wanted to know if there is a way to add threshold based email block for sensitive info types. Example: If there are 3 unique Social security numbers keywords matched only then block. If the weightage of the keyword is above 10, only then block. Do we have an option in Purview DLP to block the email using the above examples? Thanks, K.AAI upskilling -10 quick-reads
I just took stock of my blog and found ten on AI adoption! I never bothered to share them all in the public domain, but these themes were of burning interest to me at the time of publishing. However, Microsoft MVP renewal is looming, so I guess it is time to use it or lose it! My blogs combine personal experiences, professional insights, and practical AI-assisted guidance. They are quick reads for anyone interested in AI's evolving, high-impact role in society. I "work out loud," which means sharing your work with a view others might find helpful, and others might help you improve your work. I would love comments. Children's story creation. With the help of AI, I share my journey of bringing my children’s story, “Joy of Stick,” to life, overcoming challenges such as graphic design costs and time constraints. This a cheeky nod to the “Joy of Sex” book title from the 1970s, but the content is entirely different! Responsible Copilot Usage. Drawing parallels with past experiences with Yammer's Responsible Usage Policy, now known as Viva Engage. I point out the need for and importance of a responsible Copilot usage policy. Copilot adoption is easy with Viva Engage. I demonstrate how Viva Engage facilitates the creation of a Copilot champion community. This is also my insight into the differences between seeded and premium features. AI Upskilling Workshops. Testimonials from professionals across various industries highlight the benefits of my AI upskilling workshops, featuring tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, and Copilot. SWOT Analysis of AI Tools. My AI-assisted analysis of AI personal assistants provides valuable insights into their strengths and weaknesses. Social, Emotional, and Artificial Intelligence. My AI-assisted exploration examines the interaction between these intelligences and their potential to enhance our IQ. AI Adoption Steps. My AI-assisted practical advice for consumers on integrating AI into daily life, ensuring effective and beneficial use. AI's Societal Impact. My AI-assisted reflections on the historical impact of technologies such as calculators, email, and the internet, along with forecasts for AI's future influence. AI for Beginners. My simple glossary of AI terms for newcomers. Digital Skills Advocacy. My global petition recommends the relevance of basic digital skills training for new hires and highlights the importance of AI upskilling.
How to apply signature templete on New Outlook by Intune
We want to apply signature template for outlook clients by intune, All classic outlook received the signature template but New Outlook clients are not getting these settings. I understand New Outlook based on web view system, But as it's installed as a client, there should be a way to apply policies for this New Outlook. Please advise.
Rule of thumb for number of champions
Wondering if anyone uses or knows of a heuristic for determining the ideal number of champions for Teams adoption or any other app. I assume number of users would be the denominator. Maybe nuances like use cases and scenarios for Teams use come into play. Would appreciate any thoughts on this.Microsoft Teams Chat vs Channel Posts
In my experience, people tend to avoid posting in Microsoft Teams channels and use chat to communicate with team members instead. My guess is that the reluctance to post in channels is tied to the fear of speaking in public, which is more or less what posting in channels is: putting your thoughts/questions out there for the group to see. I think, from a knowledge management perspective, posting in channels is a lot more useful, and chat certainly has its place, for quick questions, etc., but how to convince team members to adopt the use of team/project related discussions in channels? What is your experience with this? Are team members posting in channels? Should team leads set/define the standards? Does it matter?
Status of Microsoft Places
In a community call last year, there was a demo of Microsoft Places. Can anyone provide an update regarding the release date of this? We are interested in the hotel desk component of this tool. Also, is it going to be part of the Microsoft 365 licenses, Teams Premium, etc.? Thank you.
Tips/resources on managing Shared Mailboxes in New Outlook?
Hello In the New Outlook Shared categories are no longer available on a Shared mailbox. At each and every client I have they rely quite heavily on shared mailboxes for client interactions. Shared categories are used to distribute work in the team and reach consensus on who follows up. This is no longer working in the New Outlook. This makes centralized external communications via Outlook impossible. For small organisations, other software used by corporates is often seen as overkill. Teams is not an option given the fact that there are known external users and unkown users that you want to enable to reach the organisation in a simple and friendly way (Forms are not seen as customer friendly, nor Chatbots) What solutions would you suggest?
Learning pathways - Any helpful 'How to' videos?
Hi My team have just started using Learning pathways. We've found it to be a really useful tool so far, not only to build paths using Microsoft content, but to author pages using our own. I was wondering how other organisations have been using Learning pathways, and what they think of it - What works well, what to avoid, etc. Any comments appreciated. Thanks!
Events
Join our next community call on September 23, 2025, to learn more about how to leverage Viva Engage for Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption.
Host: Tiffany Lee
Guest: James Tyer, Sowmya Gogineni
Mo...
Online
Join our next community call on September 23 2025, to learn more about how to leverage Viva Engage for Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption.
Host: Tiffany Lee
Guest: James Tyer, Sowmya Gogineni
Mo...
Online
Recent Blogs
- Join our next community call on September 23, 2025, to learn more about how to leverage Viva Engage for Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption. Our community calls are in the Teams webinar format, which me...Sep 10, 2025
- Hello Champions! We hope everyone is having a great summer or winter (depending on the hemisphere you reside in) so far. This is a reminder that the program takes a break in August, and community cal...Aug 12, 2025
