VS Code Dev Days: How Global MVPs and Communities Brought AI-Powered Coding to Life
The VS Code Dev Days series was a global celebration of AI, community, and learning. Designed to reintroduce developers to Visual Studio Code and GitHub Copilot, this pilot program brought together Microsoft MVPs (Most Valuable Professionals), Microsoft employees, GitHub Campus Ambassadors, and Student Ambassadors. Over two months, 92 events across 36 countries transformed Microsoft offices, universities, and community spaces into innovation hubs. What made this truly special was the collaboration — MVPs and local leaders working hand in hand with Microsoft teams to empower thousands of developers eager to explore the next era of coding. From Toronto to Buenos Aires, Islamabad to Bengaluru, VS Code Dev Days showcased the vibrant spirit of the global developer community. Each region added its own unique energy and creativity. In Toronto, Canada, there were two VS Code Dev Days events by MVP Jack Lee who is leading North Toronto Cloud & DevOps User Group and another MVP Ehsan Eskandari who is leading the Metro Toronto Azure Community and celebrated the power of community-led innovation, “Hosting at Microsoft Canada HQ was incredible. Working closely with the Microsoft team made everything smooth — from logistics to content. The interest in VS Code and Copilot was stronger than ever” said Ehsan Eskandari. & DevOps User Group & DevOps User Group In Bengaluru, India, MVP Mohammed Azarudeen and the TechNexus community hosted over 300 developers at Microsoft’s Bellandur office. “It was a hit! The energy was unlimited,” Azarudeen shared. “Having Microsoft’s venue, content support, and FTE partners like Prasanna Nagarajan made the event seamless. Developers were thrilled about Copilot workflows and MCP integration — so many ‘aha!’ moments” continued Azarudeen. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, MVP Pablo Piovano described the day at the University of Buenos Aires as “a space for knowledge, collaboration, and networking that strengthens and empowers the local tech ecosystem.” ru, India In Islamabad, Pakistan, MVP Hamza Khattak led the city’s biggest developer event of the year. “We had 300+ registrations and 111 attendees — all passionate about AI and Copilot,” he reflected. “Microsoft’s support with content, logistics, and visibility made it feel like a true partnership. Seeing students and professionals code together was inspiring” Khattak continued. In Makati, Philippines, MVP Ziggy Zulueta also led inspiring event with more than 100 attendees. Zulueta said, “We not only demonstrated the basic features of the two platforms, Visual Studio Code and GitHub Copilot, but we also had a hackathon for the participants to test out advanced features of autonomous AI development. The energy and attendance inspire me to hold more events.” Across dozens of cities, organizers echoed the same sentiment — MVPs and Microsoft came together to create great events. Impact and Insights Thousands of developers attended in-person and virtual events with feedback indicating that the majority of participants plan to continue using VS Code with GitHub Copilot, citing its intuitive interface, AI-powered productivity, and integration capabilities. MVPs and local organizers highlighted how Microsoft’s regional support — from providing venues and SWAG to content mentorship — elevated the experience. “Access to Microsoft offices gave our communities credibility and excitement,” said MVP Ehsan Eskandari from Toronto. “Having direct connections with local FTEs created lasting bridges between Microsoft and grassroots communities.” These events also reinforced how global developers are at different stages in adopting AI-assisted coding. Some were using Copilot daily; others were encountering it for the first time. Yet all left inspired and equipped to use AI in their workflows. Ultimately, VS Code Dev Days proved what happens when Microsoft and its MVPs co-create experiences — a ripple effect of learning, curiosity, and empowerment. Call to Action VS Code Dev Days wasn’t just an event series — it was an endeavor of collaboration. Together, Microsoft teams, MVPs, and local user groups helped thousands of developers take their first steps into AI-assisted development. Now, the journey continues with the Microsoft AI Tour — a global event where developers and organizations can explore Microsoft’s latest AI tools, Copilot innovations, and real-world applications. Join us to connect with experts, experience hands-on learning, and see how AI can transform your coding journey. The future of development starts here. Resources Learn more about the MVP Program follow us on MVP Program Website and LinkedIn🚀✨ Get ready for a power-packed November with the Microsoft Zero to Hero Community! ✨🚀
From modernizing legacy applications to building intelligent AI agents, this month is all about innovation, security, and smarter cloud solutions. Whether you’re exploring Azure Service Bus, learning AI on AKS, or discovering how Copilot Studio can extend your AI capabilities, we’ve got something for everyone. 🌍💪 Our incredible lineup of global speakers will help you modernize, automate, and innovate with real-world insights across Azure, AI, and app development. 🌟 💡 November Highlights: 📢 Matthew Hess 📖 Get on the Bus! - The Azure Service Bus 📅 November 8, 2025 – 06:00 PM CET 🔗 https://streamyard.com/watch/jTD8RpCcrvAD?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 📢 Jonathan "J." Tower 📖 Old to Gold: How to Modernize Your Legacy ASP.NET Apps Gradually 📅 November 15, 2025 – 06:00 PM CET 🔗 https://streamyard.com/watch/9cwXWNSeCW8R?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 📢 Dharanidharan Balasubramaniam 📖 Build and Extend AI Agents with Microsoft Copilot Studio 📅 November 17, 2025 – 09:00 AM CET / 07:00 PM AEDT 🔗 https://streamyard.com/watch/bfcqHQsYQjNz?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 📢 Lee Markum 📖 Modern SQL Server Features That Make Life Better 📅 November 22, 2025 – 06:00 PM CET 🔗 https://streamyard.com/watch/D4kqAMh83PUq?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 📢 Thiago Shimada Ramos 📖 Building Intelligent Applications: Quick Guide to AI on AKS 📅 November 25, 2025 – 09:00 AM CET / 07:00 PM AEDT 🔗 https://streamyard.com/watch/D8mhvsJFEqCS?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 📢 Wim Matthyssen 📖 Azure Bastion: One does (still) not simply walk into my VNet! v4.00 📅 November 29, 2025 – 06:00 PM CET 🔗 https://streamyard.com/watch/t6VZxDndvSkA?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 🌎 With sessions across multiple time zones, from Europe to Australia, there’s always an opportunity to learn, connect, and grow. ✨ Don’t miss out on this month’s journey to modernization, intelligence, and security in the Microsoft ecosystem.Intelligent Conversations: Building Memory-Driven Bots with Azure AI and Semantic Kernel
Discover how memory-driven AI reshapes the way we interact, learn, and collaborate. 💬✨ On October 20th at 8pm CET, we’ll explore how Semantic Kernel, Azure AI Search, and Azure OpenAI models enable bots that remember context, adapt to users, and deliver truly intelligent conversations. 🤖💭 Join Marko Atanasov and Bojan Ivanovski as they dive into the architecture behind context-aware assistants and the future of personalized learning powered by Azure AI. 🌐💡 ✅ Save your seat on the following link: https://streamyard.com/watch/DN4thzYripaz🎊Microsoft NextGen Heroes – Season 2 is almost here!
After an incredible first season filled with innovation, collaboration, and inspiring stories myself, Nicklas, Marko, and proudly welcoming Ana to our team for Season 2 — are ready to begin the next chapter in the Microsoft Hero Community 🚀 This season we'll be bringing together industry experts, Microsoft MVPs, students and a wide range of impactful projects that will inspire and challenge the next generation of tech leaders. Stay tuned — the best is yet to come 😍🚀✨ Are you ready for a power-packed, productive, and inspiring October? ✨🚀
Here we go, friends! 🎉 The October Calendar is officially here, right on time, as always! 🗓️💯 This month, we’re bringing you a lineup of world-class sessions designed to help you: 🌍 Explore the https://www.linkedin.com/company/101186090/admin/page-posts/published/?share=true# ecosystem from new perspectives 💡 Gain practical skills you can apply immediately 🤝 Connect with experts and a global community of learners 🚀 Stay ahead with the latest innovations in Azure, AI, Power Platform, Security, and beyond. What makes this calendar stand out is the incredible diversity of voices and expertise it brings together. 🌍 You’ll hear from global speakers who share not just theory, but real-world experiences across different industries, giving you insights that truly matter. And the best part? ⏰ No matter where you are in the world, the sessions are scheduled across multiple time zones so you can always join in. Even better, everything is completely free and open, because learning and growth should be accessible to everyone. 💙 🔗 Check out the full list of sessions, register today, and prepare yourself for an amazing month of learning, networking, and growth. 🔥 This isn’t just another calendar, it’s your chance to grow, connect, and be inspired alongside thousands of passionate learners across the globe. 🙌 Let’s make October unforgettable together in the https://www.linkedin.com/company/101186090/admin/page-posts/published/?share=true# way! 💙 📢 https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaspersvenmozartjohansen/ 📅 October 4, 2025 06:00 PM CET 📖 Get started with a modern zero trust remote access solution: Microsoft Global Secure Access 🖇️ https://streamyard.com/watch/3APZGyZFRyQS?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 📢 https://www.linkedin.com/in/akanksha-malik/ 📅 October 7, 2025 19:00 PM AEST 📅 October 7, 2025 10:00 AM CET 📖 Unlocking Document Insights with Azure AI 🖇️ https://streamyard.com/watch/M6qvUYdv58tt?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 📢 https://www.linkedin.com/in/rexdekoning/ 📅 October 11, 2025 06:00 PM CET 📖 Azure Functions and network security.. Can it be done? 🖇️ https://streamyard.com/watch/RHzXr5bpYHFY?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 📢 https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeevarajankumar/ 📅 October 7, 2025 18:00 PM AEST 📅 October 19, 2025 09:00 AM CET 📖 D365 Field Service 101 🖇️ https://streamyard.com/watch/RtDkftSxhn7P?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 📢 https://www.linkedin.com/in/priyankashah/ 📅 October 21, 2025 19:00 PM AEST 📅 October 21, 2025 10:00 AM CET 📖 FSI and Gen AI: Wealth management advisor with Azure Foundry Agents and MCP 🖇️ https://streamyard.com/watch/Vb5rUWMBN9YN?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 📢 https://www.linkedin.com/in/monaghadiri/ 📅 October 25, 2025 06:00 PM CET 📖 The Role of Sentence Syntax in Security Copilot: Structured Storytelling for Effective Defence 🖇️ https://streamyard.com/watch/EtPkn2EZkauD?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258KCDC: Where Global Voices Drive Local Innovation
At the heart of the Kansas City Developer Conference (KCDC) is a vibrant, inclusive community—one that empowers developers from around the world to connect, collaborate, and innovate. This year, Microsoft MVPs brought their expertise and passion to the event, uplifting others and sparking curiosity across every session. We caught up with a few of them, to hear their reflections on the experience and what makes KCDC such a standout event in the developer world. MVP Dennie Declercq: Hospitality That Fuels Innovation How far would you go for a great developer conference? For MVP Dennie Declercq, the answer is over 4,500 miles (7,000+ km) —crossing continents and time zones from Belgium all the way to Kansas City, Missouri! Dennie’s journey to KCDC wasn’t just about the miles; it was about the magnetic pull of a truly special event. He shared, “KCDC has an incredibly welcoming vibe for speakers. They celebrate their Kansas City roots with legendary BBQ and unique speaker shirts, but what really sets them apart is how they treat their speakers. KCDC challenges the status quo—offering professional photo shoots that speakers can use for personal branding and their professional lives. It’s a level of hospitality and appreciation you don’t find everywhere.” Louella Creemers at KCDC MVP Louella Creemers: Belief That Crosses Borders Sometimes, the most important journeys aren’t measured in miles—they’re measured in encouragement and support. For MVP Louella Creemers, her path from the Netherlands to the Kansas City Developer Conference began long before she ever booked a flight. Lou’s KCDC story started in 2021 when she began sharing online her aspirations to speak and run workshops. The KCDC organizers saw her potential and reached out with a simple message: “You should totally come to KCDC and give a talk.” That early support made Louella feel part of the community, even when she was still studying and unable to travel. “I flew 7,000+ km to KCDC because it’s the conference that believed in me before I’d ever set foot on a stage.” Louella recalls. In 2025, with a job that supports her passion for sharing knowledge, she finally fulfilled that promise—bringing her unique perspective to sessions on topics like inclusive design and cross-platform development. Stepping into the Kansas City developer community was an eye-opening experience for Louella. Coming from the Netherlands, where the tech scene is close-knit and meetups are limited by geography, she was struck by the sheer scale and variety on display at KCDC. Lou shared, “At KCDC I noticed a totally different scale. In the sponsor hall I passed the community booths and saw a full page with names of developer meetups in Kansas City. The number and variety left my mind blown. Talking to these developer group organizers made me realize how much density matters: when you have that many groups in one region, you get more cross-pollination, more chances to learn, and more choices for new people.” Photo: MVP Samuel Gomez at KCDC MVP Samuel Gomez: The Power of New Connections For MVP Samuel Gomez, KCDC stands out for its commitment to welcoming newcomers and fostering meaningful connections. During the opening ceremony, organizers encouraged attendees to reach out and talk to someone they didn’t know—a simple piece of advice that Samuel finds truly transformative. “I love that advice because you never know how meeting someone at an event can change your life—I know mine has!” Samuel’s experience is a testament to the power of community-driven events like KCDC, where a single conversation can spark new opportunities, collaborations, and lifelong friendships. By creating an environment where everyone feels encouraged to connect, KCDC continues to empower developers at every stage of their journey. MVP Ben Dechrai: Curiosity and Collaboration in Action For MVP Ben Dechrai, speaking at KCDC isn’t just another stop on the conference circuit—it’s a return to a place where curiosity and connection thrive. For him, returning to Kansas City each year means rejoining a community where curiosity is celebrated and meaningful connections thrive. “I keep coming back to KCDC because of the audience - they're what make this conference truly special. The rooms are packed with people who come with incredible questions and a real hunger for learning. It's not just polite Q&A; these attendees are genuinely there to absorb as much as they can, and they'll approach you afterward to continue the conversation, ask follow-up questions, or just thank you for sharing your knowledge.” Ben continued, what really sets KCDC apart from other conferences I've spoken at is this combination of deep engagement and Midwestern hospitality. Many of the 1,800 attendees are locals, and that welcoming spirit is palpable throughout the event. While audiences around the world are always welcoming, there's something special about KCDC's community that reminds me of my own hunger for knowledge when I first started attending conferences.” That same spirit extends to speakers, too. From the first outreach to on-site logistics, the organizers go above and beyond to make presenters feel appreciated and supported—one of many reasons KCDC stands out in the global developer community. The Heart of KCDC: Community, Curiosity, and Collaboration From insightful talks to behind-the-scenes planning, MVPs helped shape KCDC into a vibrant and impactful experience for attendees. Their dedication to the developer community shines through in every session, hallway conversation, and late-night planning meeting. Whether you're a seasoned speaker or a first-time attendee, their stories offer a glimpse into the heart of what makes KCDC—and the MVP community—so special. How has a community or conference empowered you in your technical journey? Share your story and join the conversation—because innovation starts with people who believe in each other. Learn more about KCDC and how you can get involved. #MVPBuzzSeoul AI Hub & Microsoft MVPs Empower Citizens with AI Skills — No Coding Required
Seoul AI Hub, an AI-specialized support organization under the Seoul Metropolitan Government, is dedicated to fostering the city’s AI industry ecosystem through talent development, startup incubation, and public education. In partnership with Microsoft MVPs, the hub is making AI accessible to all through the AI Frontiers Series — blending expert talks with hands-on workshops. “AI is no longer just for experts; it’s a tool for everyone,” says Chan-jin Park, Director of Seoul AI Hub. The collaboration between Seoul AI Hub and Microsoft MVPs demonstrates the transformative power of community-led expertise. MVPs such as Jaeseok Lee, Heo seok, Haesun Park, and Minseok Song brought their technical leadership to the forefront — integrating advanced AI concepts with practical skills that citizens could immediately use. From explaining multi-agent architectures to building custom Copilot solutions, their sessions showed how complex AI tools can be democratized for non-developers. Beyond teaching, these MVPs are active contributors to the global AI ecosystem. Minseok Song maintains the Co-op Translator open-source project, integrating AI-based translation workflows into real-world scenarios. Jaeseok Lee leads Korea’s Power Platform User Group, connecting business users and developers to collaborate on Copilot Studio innovations. This kind of community-driven leadership extends the impact of Microsoft technologies far beyond corporate settings. These events also reflect how the MVP community is growing more diverse in expertise and audience reach. Participants came from varied backgrounds — students, entrepreneurs, office workers, and hobbyists — all united by a desire to understand and use AI meaningfully. For many attendees, this was their first encounter with building AI agents, and the supportive environment encouraged experimentation and collaboration. MVPs not only shared technical knowledge but also their own journeys: how they discovered Microsoft AI, grew into community leaders, and applied their skills to solve local and global challenges. Such stories inspire the next generation of community builders and potential MVPs. AI Frontiers Series Summer Sessions Recent events at the Seoul AI Hub where MVP participated included: July 22 featured a deep-dive seminar on “Open AI Technologies for Survival in the AI Frontier Era,” covering multi-agent strategies, LLM and multimodal trends, and real-world open-source AI applications. Aug 12 brought the AI Agent Bootcamp for Non-Developers, where 80 registered citizens learned to create Copilot agents without code. Participants explored integrating AI agents into Microsoft Teams and M365, building document-driven assistants, and deploying multi-channel solutions. “Copilot Studio allows anyone to build their own ChatGPT-like agent. The key is not just creating one agent, but learning how to design multiple agents that work together to solve real problems,” said Jaeseok Lee, Microsoft Copilot Studio MVP. These back-to-back sessions show what’s possible when technical expertise, open-source spirit, and a commitment to public education come together. The impact extends beyond the events themselves — sparking curiosity, building confidence, and equipping citizens to harness AI in ways that are relevant to their lives and work The AI Frontiers Series proves that when experts and communities connect, technology becomes more inclusive and impactful. By lowering the barrier to AI adoption, Seoul AI Hub and Microsoft MVPs are equipping citizens with skills for the future. To explore upcoming sessions or get involved, visit the Seoul AI Hub website and join the movement to make AI a tool for everyone.August Calendar is here!
🌟 Community Spirit? CHECKED! 🌍 Amazing Members & Audiences? DOUBLE CHECK! 🎤 Phenomenal Speakers Locked In? CHECKED! 🚀 Global Live Sessions? YOU BET! The stage is set. The excitement is real. It’s that time again, time to ignite the community with another monthly calendar! 🔥✨ We’ve lined up a powerhouse of sessions packed with world-class content, covering the best of Microsoft, from Coding, Cloud, Migration, Data, Security, AI, and so much more! 💻☁️🔐🤖 But wait, that’s not all! For the first time ever, we’ve smashed through time zones! No matter where you are in the world, you can tune in LIVE and learn from extraordinary speakers sharing their insights, experiences, and passion. 🌏⏰ What do you need to do? It’s easy: 👉 Register for the sessions 👉 Mark your calendar 👉 Grab your coffee, tea, or ice-cold soda 👉 Join us and soak up the knowledge! We believe in what makes this community truly special, and that’s YOU. Let’s set August on fire together! 🔥 Are you ready to be inspired, to grow, and to connect with Microsoft Learn family? Don’t miss out, August is YOUR month! 💥🙌 📢 Shehan Perera 📖 https://streamyard.com/watch/dh62MQJHEv9B?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 📅 5 Aug 2025 (19:00 AEST) (11:00 CEST) 📢Shahab Ganji 📖 https://streamyard.com/watch/qCXk9kkb34W8?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 📅 8 Aug 2025 18:00 CEST 📢 Ronak Vachhani 📖https://streamyard.com/watch/hNjJAZeUcxTF?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 📅16 Aug 2025 (16:00 AEST) (08:00 CEST) 📢Laïla Bougriâ 📖https://streamyard.com/watch/KWwF7Wd5mYAG?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 📅22 Aug 2025 18:00 CEST 📢AJ Bajada 📖https://streamyard.com/watch/vaNSN3hVuXbr?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 📅28 Aug 2025 (19:30 AEST) (11:30 CEST) 📢James Eastham 📖https://streamyard.com/watch/FNGJZNbAKjFi?wt.mc_id=MVP_350258 📅29 Aug 2025 17:00 CESTMVP Collective Launches In-Depth Guide on SharePoint Content AI
MVP and Regional Director Gokan Ozcifci, together with eight fellow Microsoft MVPs, has co-authored SharePoint Content AI, Solutions and Advanced Administration - a new book that delves into the intersection of artificial intelligence and SharePoint. We spoke with the authors to learn more about their collaboration, what inspired the project, and the key themes they explore. What inspired you to collaborate on this eBook, and how did the idea for focusing on AI and SharePoint come about? Gokan Ozcifci, Belgium: The inspiration behind this book stems from observing how rapidly AI is transforming the way organizations manage content, particularly within Microsoft 365 and SharePoint. As this transformation accelerated, I noticed a growing gap: many industry experts, digital transformation directors, and business leaders were eager to embrace these AI-driven tools but found it difficult to understand how capabilities like Autofill, AI-powered metadata, OCR, or governance solutions translate into real-world value. That’s when a group of SharePoint enthusiasts, MVPs, consultants, and practice owners joined forces with a shared goal—to bridge that gap. We set out to create more than just a technical guide. We aimed to build a resource grounded in practical experience, offering clear explanations and actionable insights for those navigating the evolving world of Content AI. SharePoint naturally became our focal point due to its central role in enterprise content management and its rapid evolution in tandem with Microsoft’s AI strategy. Our goal was to demystify the technology, understand the requirements, translate the needs, and show how AI can empower organizations to manage content more intelligently, securely, and efficiently. Can you share a real-world example where AI significantly enhanced SharePoint content management or administration? Frane Borozan – MVP, Croatia: A global enterprise had a use case to classify thousands of legacy contracts in SharePoint. SharePoint content AI extracts metadata, such as expiration dates, the names of signatories, and the validity period of the contract, as well as similar information that is available within the contract. This cut manual effort by almost 90% to hire the workforce to review all these legacy contracts. Noorez Khamis – MVP, Canada: For one client they previously had 5–10 interns manually logging into 20 banking websites each month to download client statements, upload them to SharePoint, tag metadata, and update Salesforce—an inefficient and error-prone process. Now, an automated solution using Power Automate Desktop Flows handles document retrieval, Syntex extracts key metadata, and a validation Power App ensures data accuracy before integrating with Salesforce for approvals and updates. This end-to-end system eliminates manual effort, increases accuracy, and streamlines document processing across platforms. Drew Madelung – MVP, USA: As an M365 consultant, I work with multiple customers and write unique and complex statements of work. I actively utilize SharePoint Content AI features, such as autofill columns, to help summarize and provide key metadata from statements of work, enabling me to discover details from prior and existing projects where overlap is likely to occur. Mike Maadarani – MVP, Canada: AI was deployed at a university to manage their application admissions process. The Content AI significantly improved the classification and extraction of information from various application formats. This process reduced manual work by over 98%, resulting in substantial savings and a high return on investment for the client. Antonio Maio – MVP, Canada: I had a client who greatly benefited from Content AI models in SharePoint Online. They’re a corporate real estate firm that utilizes Content AI models to process lease agreements and rental contracts, automatically extracting key metadata values from these content types. This metadata automatically populates columns in SharePoint libraries, which then drives business process automation and retention policies for those documents. This all happens by users simply uploading new documents into SharePoint libraries. How do you see the role of AI evolving in the SharePoint ecosystem over the next few years? Frane Borozan – MVP, Croatia: SharePoint, as the content management platform, doesn't have a future without the help of AI. Use cases are varied, ranging from extracting metadata from content to helping create new content. I believe that with the help of AI, the possibilities of SharePoint are unlimited. Noorez Khamis – MVP, Canada: Copilot is making SharePoint the go-to content management system by transforming how you discover, create, and interact with content. You can now ask for what you need, generate pages from your existing documents, and get personalized answers through AI-powered SharePoint Agents. With more intelligent automation, beautiful intranet design, and fewer clicks, SharePoint feels more like an intelligent assistant than a static site. Vlad Catrinescu – MVP, Canada: AI will continue transforming how we work, and SharePoint is no exception. Today, we’re already seeing AI help fill in metadata for document libraries. But imagine if AI could go further: automatically suggest and create the right columns, build content types based on the documents you upload, or even configure web parts through natural language prompts. SharePoint has always been a powerful platform, but it hasn’t always been the easiest to use. AI has the potential to make that power more accessible to every user, not just the experts. Drew Madelung – MVP, USA: I would like to see SharePoint Content AI evolve in a way that identifies opportunities for AI using existing content that automatically configures it without user intervention to improve discoverability. The ability to configure and work with these AI features should have a minimal learning curve and be integrated seamlessly, without requiring specialized technical skills. Mike Maadarani – MVP, Canada: As artificial intelligence continues to advance, it is anticipated that content management will become fully automated, reducing the need for administrators to establish and enforce rules. AI algorithms will be significantly more sophisticated, enhancing their ability to comprehend an organization's policies, the nature of the content being added, and the necessary actions required by the rules. Antonio Maio – MVP, Canada: I think auto-fill columns will have a significant impact on SharePoint Online. Metadata is a core element of good information management, but we know that users don’t want to fill in metadata. They’re busy and often move too quickly from task to task, leaving little time to provide a wealth of metadata elements. SharePoint’s auto-fill columns offer an easy way for us to automatically extract metadata, based on a prompt that’s supplied to the column. Joanne Klein – MVP, Canada: As a security and compliance professional, I observe the evolution of AI data governance, which aims to control the proliferation, access, and lifecycle of AI solutions across SharePoint within the enterprise. We need to elevate AI to be a core pillar within an organization's holistic data governance strategy. What advice would you give to SharePoint professionals who are just beginning to explore AI-powered capabilities? Frane Borozan – MVP, Croatia: If you're starting with AI in SharePoint, taxonomy tagging is a perfect first step. It shows how AI can reduce manual effort and bring structure to your content. Set up a managed metadata column linked to your term store and let AI handle tagging based on document content. It’s a simple way to improve search, consistency, and governance—without heavy customization. Start here, learn the basics, and expand as you go. Noorez Khamis – MVP, Canada: Start with the basics and learn how to prompt effectively while using the full Microsoft 365 Copilot capabilities across all the workplace tools you use every day, such as Teams, SharePoint, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Take the time to revise your prompts and use templates that have been proven to work, saving you time, streamlining tasks, and boosting productivity. In SharePoint specifically, explore how to create pages, rewrite content, and use AI-powered SharePoint agents. Vlad Catrinescu – MVP, Canada: Get hands-on as early as possible. Theory is great, but real understanding comes from testing in your environment. Set up a lab, start small, and explore practical use cases where AI can help automate or enhance existing processes. With the Pay-As-You-Go model, there’s no upfront cost—you only pay for what you use. That said, I highly recommend setting a budget cap in Azure to avoid surprises. Drew Madelung – MVP, USA: SharePoint remains essentially unchanged in many ways, and it is still essential to understand the concepts of content types, columns, and permission hierarchies to implement advanced AI solutions against your organization's content effectively. Mike Maadarani – MVP, Canada: IT professionals must stay current with evolving technologies, particularly in the rapidly changing field of AI. With the emergence of AI agents, I recommend acquiring skills in creating, managing, and deploying agents within Microsoft 365 to enhance the integration and utilization of AI in their organizations. Antonio Maio – MVP, Canada: Be curious about AI - play with the AI technology that’s built into SharePoint; experiment with it to see what best benefits your organization to improve how you specifically manage information. Your experience will be different than everyone else’s, so try different things to figure out what works for you and your users. Joanne Klein – MVP, Canada: If your SharePoint setup is a mess, your AI will be too. Solid, well-defined structure and smart governance (site owner stewardship, explicit permissions, retention/deletion to clean up ROT, and data protection controls) are like laying concrete before building—skip it, and your AI’s standing on quicksand. Access the full 194-page e-book, SharePoint Content AI, Solutions and Advanced Administration, at the following link SharePoint Content AI, Solutions and Advanced Administration
