Announcing the 2026 Microsoft 365 Community Conference Keynotes
The Microsoft 365 Community Conference returns to Orlando this April, bringing together thousands of builders, innovators, creators, communicators, admins, architects, MVPs, and product makers for three unforgettable days of learning and community. This year’s theme, “A Beacon for Builders, Innovators & Icons of Intelligent Work,” celebrates the people shaping the AI‑powered future — and the keynote lineup reflects exactly that. These leaders will set the tone for our biggest, boldest M365 Community Conference. Below is your first look at the official 2026 keynote order and what to expect from each session. Opening Keynote Jeff Teper — President, Microsoft 365 Collaborative Apps & Platforms Building for the future: Microsoft 365, Agents and AI, what's new and what's next Join Jeff Teper, to discover how AI-powered innovation across Copilot, Teams, and SharePoint is reshaping how people communicate, create, and work together. This session highlights what’s new, what’s fundamentally different, and why thoughtful design continues to matter. See the latest advances in AI and agents, gain insight into where collaboration is headed, and learn why Microsoft is the company to continue to bet on when it comes to building what’s next. Expect: New breakthroughs in collaboration powered by AI and agents Fresh innovations across Teams, Copilot, and SharePoint Practical guidance on how design continues to shape effective teamwork Real world demos that show how AI is transforming communication and content Insight into what is new, what is changing, and what is coming next Business Apps & Agents Keynote Ryan Cunningham — Corporate Vice President, Power Platform In this keynote, Ryan Cunningham will share how Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, Power Apps, and Agent 365 come together to help makers build powerful agents and help IT teams deploy and govern them at scale. We’ll share how organizations can design, extend, and govern a new model for the intelligent workplace – connecting data, workflows, and systems into intelligent agents that move work forward. Copilot, apps, and agents: the next platform shift for Microsoft 365 Microsoft 365 Copilot has changed how we interact with software. Now AI agents are changing how work gets done – moving from responding to prompts to taking action, across the tools and data your organization already relies on. Expect: A clear explanation of how to leverage and build with Copilot and agents How agents access data, use tools, and complete multi-step work A deeper look at the latest capabilities across Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, and Power Apps End-to-end demos of agents in action Security, Trust & Responsible AI Keynote Vasu Jakkal — Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Security & Rohan Kumar — Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Security, Purview & Trust In our third keynote, Vasu Jakkal and Rohan Kumar join forces to address one of the most urgent topics of the AI era: trust and security at scale. As organizations accelerate into AI‑powered work, safeguarding identities, data, compliance, and governance is mission‑critical. Securing AI: Building Trust in the Era of AI Join Vasu Jakkal and Rohan Kumar as they unveil Microsoft’s vision for securing the new frontier of AI—showing how frontier firms are protecting their data, identities, and models amid rapid AI adoption. This session highlights how Microsoft is embedding security and governance into every layer of our AI platforms and unifying Purview, Defender, Entra, and Security Copilot to defend against threats like prompt injection, model tampering, and shadow AI. You’ll see how built-in protections across Microsoft 365 enable responsible, compliant AI innovation, and gain practical guidance to strengthen your own security posture as AI transforms the way everyone works. Expect: Microsoft's unified approach to secure AI transformation Forward‑looking insights across Security, Purview & Trust Guidance for building safe, responsible AI environments How to protect innovation without slowing momentum Future of Work Fireside Keynote Dr. Jaime Teevan — Chief Scientist & Technical Fellow, Microsoft Dr. Jaime Teevan, one of the foremost thought leaders on AI, productivity, and how work is evolving. In this intimate fireside‑style session, she’ll share research, real‑world insights, and Microsoft’s learnings from being both the maker and the first customer of the AI‑powered workplace. Expect: Insights from decades of workplace research The human side of AI transformation Practical guidance for leaders, creators, and practitioners Why collaboration is essential to unlock the true potential of AI. Community Closer Keynote Karuana Gatimu - Director, Microsoft Customer Advocacy Group & Heather Cook - Principal PM, MIcrosoft Customer Advocacy Group From Momentum to Movement: Where Community Goes Next As the final moments of Microsoft 365 Community Conference come to a close, Heather Cook and Karuana Gatimu invite the community to pause, reflect, and look forward together. This Community Closer keynote connects the breakthroughs, conversations, and shared experiences of the week into a bigger story—one about people, purpose, and progress. Together, they’ll explore how community transforms technology into impact, how advocates and builders shape what’s next across Microsoft 365, and why this moment matters more than ever. More than a recap, this session is a call to action—challenging attendees to take the energy of the conference back to their teams, regions, and communities, and turn inspiration into sustained momentum. You’ll leave not just with ideas, but with clarity, confidence, and a renewed sense of belonging—because community doesn’t end when the conference does. It’s where the real work begins. More Than Keynotes: Why You’ll Want to Be in Orlando The M365 Community Conference brings together: 200+ sessions and breakouts 21 hands‑on workshops 200+ Microsoft engineers and product leaders onsite The Microsoft Innovation Hub Ask the Experts, Meet & Greets, and Community Studio Women in Tech & Allies Luncheon SharePoint’s 25th Anniversary Celebration And an epic attendee party at Universal’s Islands of Adventure Whether you create, deploy, secure, govern, design, or lead with Microsoft 365 — this is your community, and this is your moment. Join Us for the Microsoft 365 Community Conference April 21–23, 2026 Loews Sapphire Falls & Loews Royal Pacific 👉 Register now: https://aka.ms/M365Con26 Use the SAVE150 code for $150USD off current pricing Come be part of the global community building the future of intelligent work.
Apply sensitivity labels with custom permissions in Office for the web
We’re excited to announce that support for applying sensitivity labels with user-defined permissions is now rolling out in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for the web. In the past, users were limited to opening and editing files with existing custom permissions in the web apps; applying new sensitivity labels configured for user-defined permissions or modifying permissions always required switching to the desktop versions. Now, all these actions – applying labels and managing permissions for specific users or domains – can be completed entirely within Word, Excel, or PowerPoint on the web. How the Permissions dialog works in Office for the web When a user applies a sensitivity label that is configured for user-defined permissions in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint on the web, the Permissions dialog opens to let them choose who can access the file and what each person or domain is allowed to do. This is the same modernized experience that previously shipped in the Windows apps, now available in the browser. Apply a label configured for user-defined permissions. From the Sensitivity menu in the toolbar, the file name flyout, or other entry points your organization uses, the user selects a label that their tenant admin has configured in the Purview portal with the option to let users assign permissions. Specify users and domains. In the Permissions dialog, the user adds individual people (for example, someone@example.com) or whole domains (for example, example.com) who should have access to the file. Choose permission levels. For each person or domain, the user chooses from clear permission levels such as Viewer, Editor, or Owner, which correspond to underlying Rights Management usage rights. Use advanced options when needed. The user can expand additional settings to configure options such as a contact email for access requests. Note that web apps do not currently support setting a custom expiration date for permissions. Apply and update permissions. After saving, the selected sensitivity label is applied to the file with the specified permissions. Users with appropriate rights can reopen the Permissions dialog later from the web apps to add or remove people or domains, or adjust permission levels, without switching to the desktop client. The Permissions dialog in Office for the web is designed to be consistent with the experience in the Windows apps, so users see the same permission levels and terminology wherever they work. All enforcement continues to respect your organization’s existing sensitivity label policies, encryption configurations, and Rights Management Service (RMS) settings. What this means for admins This feature enables organizations using sensitivity labels configured in the Microsoft Purview portal with encryption and user-defined permissions to apply these labels and manage permissions directly in the web versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Users can now stay within the browser to classify and protect content, eliminating the need to switch to desktop apps for applying or updating labels and permissions. As support for applying these labels becomes available in Office for the web, consider reviewing your existing sensitivity labels that are configured for user-defined permissions. You may want to update internal guidance and training materials to reflect that users can now complete these workflows entirely in the browser and ensure that security operations and compliance teams are prepared to monitor usage through existing Purview auditing and reporting capabilities. Admin considerations and scenarios Many organizations use user-defined permissions for scenarios where central policies cannot realistically predefine every individual who should have access to a file. For example, you might publish labels that require users to specify recipients for documents that contain deal-specific financials, M&A data, or sensitive HR information. In these cases, granting permissions at the time of labeling helps reduce oversharing and keeps access tightly scoped to the people who genuinely need it. Licensing and configuration requirements To use sensitivity labels with user-defined permissions in Office for the web, your organization must have licensing that supports configuring Purview sensitivity labels, have sensitivity labeling enabled for files stored in SharePoint and OneDrive, and have configured at least one sensitivity label for user-defined permissions. The licensing requirements for applying sensitivity labels with user-defined permissions in the Office web apps is that same as for using sensitivity labels that apply encryption in the Office desktop apps. For more information on licensing requirements, see Microsoft 365 licensing guidance for security & compliance. See Enable sensitivity labels for files in SharePoint and OneDrive for more information about enabling application of sensitivity labels to files stored in the cloud.What to Expect from the Copilot & AI Sessions at Microsoft 365 Community Conference
AI isn’t a side conversation at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference—it’s at the center of how work is changing. The Copilot, Agents, & Copilot Services Sessions are designed for anyone who wants to move beyond curiosity and into real-world application. This is an opportunity to learn how Copilot works today and how agents extend it. You will also explore how organizations can govern, scale, and operationalize AI across Microsoft 365. Questions these sessions will help answer: How do we move from experimentation to real value? How do we scale AI responsibly? How do agents fit into the way we already work? What skills do teams need next? Business leaders, IT pros, developers, and community practitioners will join sessions to find practical insights into how AI shows up in your daily work, and what it takes to deploy it responsibly and effectively. There will also be a focus on change management, champion programs, and adoption frameworks, because deploying AI isn’t just a technical decision, it’s a cultural one. From Copilot to Agents: The Shift from Assistance to Action One of the biggest themes across the sessions are the evolution from AI as a helper to AI as an active participant in work. If you’re curious about what “agentic AI” actually means in practice, attending these sessions will make it concrete. Join your peers as you learn how Microsoft 365 Copilot is being extended through agents that reason, act, and automate. Learn about agent orchestration across tools like Copilot Studio, SharePoint, Teams, Planner, and Power Platform. Discover new agent patterns including declarative agents, multi-agent configurations, workflows agents, and computer-use agents. In these sessions you’ll explore how agents can: Take action on your behalf and do more than suggest content. Work across apps, data sources, and workflows. Participate alongside humans as part of the team. Real Adoption Stories (Not Just Demos)! Go beyond feature walkthroughs to focus on how organizations are actually adopting Copilot and agents at scale. In these adoption stories you’ll hear: How Microsoft uses Copilot and agents internally as Customer Zero. What adoption looks like across large enterprises, frontline environments, and regulated industries. Lessons learned from early adopters—what worked, what didn’t, and what they’d do differently. Governance, Trust, and Control Are Front and Center AI adoption only works when people trust it—and trust is built through strong governance. Learn how organizations are balancing innovation with oversight and enabling teams to build and use agents while maintaining enterprise-grade guardrails. A significant portion of the Copilot & AI track is dedicated to: Agent lifecycle management. Security, compliance, and data protection. Preventing oversharing and managing risk. Observability and control using tools like Agent 365, Microsoft Purview, and Copilot Control System. This is especially valuable for IT and security leaders who are being asked to “move fast” without compromising standards. Building with Copilot: No-Code, Low-Code, and Pro-Code Paths No matter where you sit on the technical spectrum, there’s a clear path to learning how to build responsibly and effectively. Not everyone builds the same way and organizations need prompt engineering that delivers results. In these sessions you’ll learn how to choose the right agent type for the job, extending Copilot with enterprise data, and designing agents that are production ready—not just impressive in demos. These sessions are tailored to: Business users and makers getting started with Copilot Studio Low-code developers extending Copilot with workflows, connectors, and prompts Pro developers building advanced agents using APIs, MCP servers, Microsoft Graph, SharePoint Embedded, and Azure AI Copilot in the Flow of Everyday Work Rather than abstract AI concepts, you’ll see end-to-end workflows that demonstrate how Copilot helps people save time, reduce manual work, and focus on higher-value outcomes. The emphasis in these sessions is on practical impact, not hype showing how AI is grounded in real work. These sessions will showcase Copilot and agents embedded into: Meetings, chats, and channels. Task and project management. Content creation and knowledge management. Business processes and frontline operations. Why the Copilot and AI track matters If AI is part of your roadmap, or already part of your day, this track will show you how strategy can meet execution. Join us to explore clear mental models for Copilots and agents, see real examples you can apply to your work, and gain a better understanding of what’s now—and what’s coming next. Each year, #M365Con26 is built around one simple idea: bringing our global community together to learn, grow, innovate, and get hands-on with the technologies shaping the next era of work. This year’s conference delivers our most expansive program yet, including: 200+ sessions, workshops, and AMAs, covering Microsoft 365 Copilot, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Copilot Studio, and more. 100+ Microsoft-led sessions, giving you unprecedented access to the people building the apps and AI capabilities you use every day. A keynote lineup featuring Microsoft leaders including Jeff Teper, Charles Lamanna, Vasu Jakkal, Rohan Kumar, Jaime Teevan, and many more. Deep-dive workshops to elevate your skills with real-world scenarios and hands-on learning. Exclusive attendee parties and networking events where you can connect with peers and icons. You’ll also get the chance to meet hundreds of Microsoft executives, engineers, and product leaders—ask questions, share feedback, and help shape the roadmap of the technologies you rely on. Register now, save $150 with code SAVE150 - https://aka.ms/M365ConRegisterDriving Trust Through Certification: New TAC Feature Updates for IT Admins
Managing app security and compliance in Microsoft Teams just got easier! With recent updates in Teams Admin Center (TAC), IT admins can now quickly identify trusted apps and enforce organizational standards with confidence. These enhancements not only simplify governance but also underscore the value of Microsoft 365 Certification as a key trust driver. What Existed in TAC? Before the recent trust‑based enhancements, Teams Admin Center already provided foundational visibility into app trust through the Security & compliance tab in the app details experience. This surfaced key signals such as publisher information, permission scopes, data access, and links to security and compliance documentation, helping admins perform due diligence during app reviews. While these signals required manual review and cross‑checking, they established an important baseline for evaluating risk and compliance, reinforcing the role of TAC as the central place for governing apps in Microsoft Teams. What’s New in TAC? Trust Visibility Enhancements The new “Apps to Consider Allowing” tile highlights certified apps, publisher-attested apps, and those providing compliance evidence. This feature enables IT admins to quickly filter and identify apps that meet organizational standards. Security & Compliance Column and filters Amins can now view compliance attributes—such as SOC 2, FedRAMP, and penetration testing—directly in TAC. This helps admins speed up app reviews with trust-based filters and make informed choices without leaving the dashboard. Trust-based filters enable IT Administrators using Teams admin center to view and easily filter apps and agents by specific industry standards, certifications and compliance attributes such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, and more. This will help to streamline app evaluation workflows, enabling broader access to trusted apps across the organization. Dedicated Collections Curated lists of certified apps and agents for easier discovery. Saves time by grouping trusted solutions in one place. Why It Matters For IT Admins: Streamlined governance, reduced risk, and faster compliance checks. For ISVs: Certification boosts visibility and credibility, helping apps stand out in a competitive marketplace. Call to Action Get certified to boost visibility and trust. Learn more about Microsoft 365 Certification →Microsoft 365 Certification
Why Microsoft 365 Certified Apps and Agents Matter for IT Admins As an IT Admin, you're constantly balancing innovation, security, and user productivity. With the growing ecosystem of apps/agents integrating into Microsoft 365, how do you ensure the ones your organization adopts are secure, compliant, and reliable? That’s where Microsoft 365 Certification comes in. What Is Microsoft 365 Certification? Microsoft 365 Certification is a rigorous program that evaluates third-party apps across key dimensions like security, compliance, data handling, and privacy. Certified apps/agents meet Microsoft’s highest standards and are verified through independent assessments and documentation reviews. Top Benefits for IT Admins 🔐 Enhanced Security & Compliance Certified apps/agents undergo thorough security testing, including vulnerability assessments and penetration testing. Many of the controls these apps / agents adhere to are based on established frameworks such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR. This ensures that certified apps align with recognized industry standards, providing confidence when deploying them in enterprise settings. 🛠️ Streamlined Governance With certification, IT Admins can confidently shortlist apps or agents in their tenant, knowing they meet Microsoft’s governance criteria. This reduces the overhead of manual vetting and accelerates app adoption. 📍 Discoverability in Microsoft 365 Ecosystem Certified agents are tagged with a “Microsoft 365 Certified” badge in AppSource, Teams Store and the Microsoft 365 admin center, making them easier to find and trust. 📊 Transparency & Documentation The Microsoft Admin Center and Teams Admin Center include a Security & Compliance section under Integrated Apps where admins can view certification details for apps. This feature is designed to improve transparency and speed up app evaluation. Here’s what is available: Certification Class Publisher Verified – Confirms developer authenticity. Publisher Attested – Indicates the app’s security and compliance posture based on self-assessment. Microsoft 365 Certified – Shows that the app has passed Microsoft’s rigorous audit against security and compliance controls. These details help IT teams understand the app’s risk posture before deployment. Evidence Sharing Developers can opt to share certification evidence (e.g., policy docs, system configs, penetration test reports) directly in MAC. This evidence is uploaded during the certification process in Partner Center and, if consented, becomes visible to admins in Microsoft Admin Center and Teams Admin Center. How to Find Certified Apps Visit the Business Apps – Microsoft AppSource to explore certified apps by category, publisher, or certification level. You can also filter apps directly in AppSource or within the Microsoft 365 admin center. Join the Conversation Have you deployed a Microsoft 365 Certified agent in your organization? Share your experience in the comments below or start a thread in the Microsoft Tech Community to help others make informed decisions.The new cloud-based policy management service for Office 365 ProPlus has been released!
The Office cloud policy service allows administrators to define policies for Office 365 ProPlus and assign these policies to users via Azure Active Directory security groups. Get started today by visiting and signing into the Office cloud policy service.
