SharePoint Online New Features (Mar 2024 – May 2025)

Below is a comprehensive summary of SharePoint Online features and updates announced from March 2024 to May 2025, organized by quarter. Features are grouped into logical categories: Intranet & Employee Experience, Document Management & Content, Collaboration & Integration, Admin & Compliance, and Developer & Extensibility. Each feature includes a brief description (with context on its purpose or impact) and an impact score from 1 (minor) to 5 (major).

Q2 2024 (April – June 2024)

Intranet & Employee Experience

Feature	Summary	Impact
SharePoint Brand Center (Preview)	Introduces a centralized branding hub for SharePoint and Viva Connections, allowing brand managers to manage fonts, colors, logos and other assets consistently across sites. This improves intranet visual consistency and governance by empowering designers to apply corporate branding at scale.	4
Viva Connections Search in Teams	Enabled SharePoint intranet search directly from the Viva Connections experience in the Teams mobile app. This lets users find intranet sites, pages, or content on the go (within Teams mobile), improving mobile employee access to intranet information. 【No explicit citation – derived from official roadmap announcements】	3
Page Authoring – New Heading Levels	Added new heading level options for text on modern pages, allowing authors to choose heading hierarchy (H2, H3, H4) in web parts. This enhancement improves content structure and accessibility on intranet pages by aligning heading sizes and hierarchy (similar to Word’s heading styles).	2
Video Page Templates (Stream)	Provided new “video page” templates that integrate with Microsoft Stream. Users can create SharePoint pages or news posts directly from a video in Stream, auto-populating the page with the video and its metadata. This makes it easier to amplify video content on the intranet by creating pages for videos without leaving Stream.	3
Viva Amplify – Audience Targeting	Viva Amplify (communications campaign tool) now supports SharePoint audience targeting for news posts. Campaign publishers can target specific audiences (by security or M365 groups) when publishing news to SharePoint sites, resulting in more personalized and relevant intranet communications.	3
Image Web Part – Shape Options	Added the ability to apply decorative shapes to images on pages (both standalone Image web parts and inline images in text). Authors can choose shapes like circle, hexagon, teardrop, etc., to make page visuals more engaging. This enhances the look and feel of intranet pages.	2
OneDrive File Card in Viva Dashboard	Introduced a OneDrive file viewer card for the Viva Connections dashboard, showing a user’s recently accessed or favorited files. This gives employees a personalized window to their files from the intranet homepage, streamlining access to important documents.	2

Document Management & Content

Feature	Summary	Impact
Syntex “Autofill” AI Columns	A new Autofill columns feature (in SharePoint Premium/Syntex) lets admins configure an AI prompt on a document library column that analyzes file content and automatically populates the column value. For example, it can extract a contract date or generate metadata based on a file’s text. This reduces manual data entry and makes content more discoverable.	4
SharePoint eSignature (Approvals)	Native e-signature integration was introduced, allowing users to send documents for signature and track status via the Approvals app in Teams. This built-in signing workflow (initially PDF-based) enables users to request and monitor signatures without third-party tools. It improves document approval processes within SharePoint.	3
Enhanced File Viewer (Non-Office)	The OneDrive/SharePoint file viewer was overhauled for non-Office files. The updated viewer provides a new toolbar, navigation panes, dark mode support, and supports viewing over 300 file types. It offers a more intuitive UI for viewing PDFs, images, videos, and other files in the browser, making file review and collaboration easier.	3
Version History Controls (Preview)	New version history management options for document libraries were introduced in preview. Admins and site owners can now auto-optimize or manually limit versions by count or age, set organization-wide default version limits, override per site/library, and even bulk delete old versions. These controls help manage storage and data retention more efficiently (e.g., trimming low-value older versions).	4
Advanced Tenant Rename (SharePoint)	A new Advanced Tenant Rename capability (in SharePoint Advanced Management) launched, supporting renaming your SharePoint Online domain even for large tenants (up to 100k sites). It provides more control, allowing prioritization of specific sites during rename. This helps organizations handle rebrands or mergers by changing the .sharepoint.com URL with minimal disruption.	4

Collaboration & Integration

Feature	Summary	Impact
Link SharePoint Files via Teams Mobile	Users on Teams mobile (iOS/Android) can now easily attach links to SharePoint or OneDrive files in chats and channels. The new file-picker in Teams mobile lets you browse and multi-select files from SharePoint sites and OneDrive, then share links directly in a conversation. This saves time by enabling file sharing on mobile without switching to a desktop.	3
OneDrive: Shortened Sharing Links	SharePoint/OneDrive introduced shorter, more friendly sharing URLs for files and folders. This change makes links easier to copy, paste, and share (especially in communications), improving the user experience when collaborating via links. 【No direct citation – part of OneDrive updates announced in June 2024】	2
Microsoft Loop B2B Guest Sharing	Microsoft Loop now supports B2B guest sharing for workspaces, pages, and components (honoring admin policies). This update – highly requested by users – allows external partners to collaborate in Loop workspaces within SharePoint, facilitating cross-organization teamwork on ideas and documents. 【As noted in Microsoft’s April 2024 update【63†L216-L220】】	2
Teams Meeting – Loop Workspace Prompt	When a recurring Teams meeting ends, organizers are now prompted to auto-create a Microsoft Loop workspace (stored in SharePoint) for that meeting. This Loop workspace gathers meeting content (notes, files, recordings) in one place for ongoing collaboration. It streamlines teamwork by capturing and organizing artifacts from recurring meetings.	2

Admin & Compliance

Feature	Summary	Impact
Manage SharePoint Embedded Containers	New admin controls were provided to manage “SharePoint Embedded” containers (the SharePoint sites powering Loop workspaces and other Microsoft 365 experiences). This allows admins to oversee creation and lifecycle of these auto-generated sites, ensuring governance of Loop content in the tenant. 【Mentioned in March 2024 announcements as “Manage SharePoint Embedded containers”】	3
Microsoft 365 CLI – Archive Sites	The Microsoft 365 CLI (command-line tool) v7.10 added commands for SharePoint site archive/unarchive and listing site admins. This gives IT pros a scriptable way to move inactive sites into cold storage (using the new Microsoft 365 Archive service) and later restore them. It helps reduce storage costs by retaining inactive data in low-cost storage.	3
Security: Microsoft 365 Backup (Preview)	(Previewed late Q2; GA in Q3) – Microsoft 365 introduced a native Backup solution for Exchange, SharePoint, and OneDrive. In preview, it promised rapid backup/restoration of content, far faster than traditional third-party solutions. This aims to enhance business continuity by enabling point-in-time restore of SharePoint sites and content in case of accidental deletion or data loss. (Note: Became generally available in Q3 2024 with high impact.)	5

Q2 2024 saw major improvements in SharePoint’s intranet styling and content authoring, integration of AI and communication tools, and foundational admin controls for domain rename and data protection. Developer enhancements (e.g., page APIs) also arrived, broadening customization possibilities.

Q3 2024 (July – September 2024)

Intranet & Employee Experience

Feature	Summary	Impact
SharePoint Pages – Content Pane	Introduced a new SharePoint content pane in the page editor that consolidates authoring tools and resources in one hub. When editing pages or news, authors now see a panel with categorized options (web parts, media, section templates) for easy drag-and-drop onto the page. This organized pane streamlines page creation and makes editing more “seamless and consistent” (also used in Viva Amplify’s editor for consistency).	4
Co-Authoring for Pages & News	Enabled real-time co-authoring of SharePoint pages and news by multiple editors simultaneously. Authors can see others’ cursors and changes live on the page (sections and web parts). Changes are auto-saved, and the old “Save as draft” step was removed. This update significantly improves team collaboration when building intranet content, akin to Office document co-authoring.	5
SharePoint Start (Home) Revamp	Rolled out a new SharePoint Start experience (the SharePoint home page). Beyond the classic site listings, the new Start provides a user-friendly central place to create sites and pages, refine drafts, and track engagement metrics for your content. Users can build personal pages (with templates), publish them to target sites when ready, and see all their pages in one view. This effectively adds a “mini pages app” to the SharePoint home, helping users start intranet content more easily.	4
Banner Web Part (Title Region)	Introduced a New Banner web part that overhauls the page title area. Page authors can now choose to have no banner, a single banner, or multiple banners on a page. The title area is no longer mandatory and is now treated as a flexible Banner web part with new layout options. This gives creators more control over the top section of pages/news – e.g., using a large hero image carousel or simpler header – improving the visual impact and flexibility of intranet pages.	3
Design Ideas for Pages	Design Ideas (inspired by PowerPoint Designer) became available for SharePoint pages. When editing a section of a page, authors can click Design Ideas to get AI-driven suggestions for layouts, background images, text formatting, and additional web parts based on the section’s content. For example, if a section has text, it might suggest an attractive background and an image web part to accompany it. Authors can apply these suggestions with one click. This feature helps less-design-savvy users quickly enhance page aesthetics.	3
Copilot Text Suggestions (Pages)	(Preview) Brought Microsoft 365 Copilot assistance into SharePoint page editing – specifically in the Text web part. Authors can leverage Copilot to rewrite or generate text in pages/news posts, with options for tone and length (similar to Viva Amplify’s Copilot editor). This AI integration helps content authors improve wording, adjust tone (casual, professional, etc.), or create initial drafts for intranet news. 【Mentioned at Ignite 2024 – allowed AI suggestions within the SharePoint text editor】	4
Copilot in OneDrive – GA	Microsoft 365 Copilot’s file AI in OneDrive reached General Availability. Users can ask Copilot questions about their OneDrive files (including SharePoint content they have access to) and get summaries or insights. For example, an employee could ask “Summarize the Q3 Project Proposal” and Copilot (grounded by permissions) will generate a summary. This dramatically improves knowledge discovery and personal productivity on stored files.	4

Document Management & Content

Feature	Summary	Impact
Microsoft 365 Backup (GA)	Microsoft 365 Backup became generally available, delivering a native backup/restore solution for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange. It provides high-speed, point-in-time restoration of content (much faster than traditional migration-based backups). Organizations can now natively back up active SharePoint data and quickly recover from accidental deletions or ransomware events, greatly enhancing data protection.	5
OneDrive: PDF Annotation	Added the ability to annotate PDFs stored in SharePoint/OneDrive with text boxes (in the browser). Users can open a PDF in the online file viewer, click Edit, and insert text comments or notes, then save the changes in place. This eliminates the need to download PDFs for simple annotations, streamlining document review workflows.	2
Lists: Row Reordering	Introduced drag-and-drop row reorder for Microsoft Lists. Users can now manually rearrange list items by dragging one or multiple rows to a new position. This creates a custom sort order without needing additional sort columns or workarounds. It’s especially useful for ordered lists (e.g., task priorities or ranked ideas) that aren’t easily sorted by a single field.	2
Add Approvals in Lists	Approvals for Lists launched, allowing any SharePoint list item to go through an approval process (integrated with the Teams Approvals app). Users or admins can enable “Add approval” from the list’s Automate menu; this adds an Approval Status column and lets users submit items for approval with a designated approver. Approvers get notified via Teams and can approve either in Teams or directly in the list; once approved, the list item’s status updates. This built-in workflow simplifies reviewing and sign-off for list data (e.g., ideas, requests) without custom Power Automate flows.	4
Third-Party eSignature Integration	SharePoint’s eSignature feature expanded to support Adobe Acrobat Sign and DocuSign as alternatives to the native service. Admins can enable third-party e-sign providers in the M365 admin center without requiring the native SharePoint eSignature to be enabled. Users with Adobe or DocuSign licenses can then initiate signature requests from SharePoint using those providers. This gives organizations flexibility and “choice” in e-signing, integrating SharePoint with their preferred signing solutions.	3
Syntex Pay-as-you-Go (Licensing)	Pay-as-you-go billing was enabled for SharePoint Syntex services (content processing). This means Syntex AI features (like document processing models) can be billed per use via an Azure subscription. It allows organizations to use Syntex on a consumption basis instead of per-user licenses. This model, accompanied by a new prebuilt “simple document processing” AI model for OCR and form extraction, lowers the entry barrier for automating content understanding, as admins only pay for what they use.	3

Collaboration & Integration

Feature	Summary	Impact
OneDrive: File Type Filters	OneDrive introduced new file type filters on web to help users quickly narrow their file lists by category (e.g., Word, Excel, PDFs, OneNote, images, etc.). In views like Home, Shared, or Favorites, users can use a dropdown to filter by file type (including newer types like Loop components and Lists). This improves content findability – essentially “search 101” – by letting users refine large file lists and find the right file faster.	2
OneDrive: Shared Folder UX Update	The user experience for viewing shared folders in OneDrive was improved (e.g., clearer indication of who shared the folder, improved navigation into shared libraries). These enhancements make it easier for users to work with content others have shared with them, reducing confusion between their own files vs. shared files. 【No direct citation: announced in July 2024 update】	2
Loop Components in OneNote	Brought Loop components (live, sync’d snippets of content) into OneNote. Users can now insert Loop components into OneNote pages, and those components stay up-to-date across OneNote and other apps. This integration extends Loop’s collaborative pages beyond Teams and Outlook, allowing knowledge workers to embed real-time collaborative content in OneNote notebooks.	2
Copilot in OneDrive (Files)	Microsoft 365 Copilot for OneDrive reached GA (as noted above), enabling intelligent file assistance. Users can ask Copilot questions about files or ask for summaries and get AI-generated responses. For example, asking “What are the key takeaways from this PDF?” yields an instant summary, accelerating understanding of content. (Listed here again due to its strong collaboration impact – bridging personal content and AI.)	5
Viva Engage Leadership Corner (Yammer)	Within SharePoint, the Viva Engage (Yammer) Conversations web part gained a new “Leadership feed” option (for leaders’ posts/Q&A). This allows organizations to surface leadership engagement on intranet pages. Employees can view leaders’ posts and even interact (ask questions) directly from the SharePoint page. It encourages leadership–employee dialogue on the intranet.	2

Admin & Compliance

Feature	Summary	Impact
Microsoft 365 Backup – General Availability	Microsoft 365 Backup (discussed in Q2) became GA in August 2024, providing admins a fully Microsoft-supported way to back up and restore SharePoint content at scale. With launch partners and an Advanced Data Residency add-on, organizations can trust Microsoft for faster backup/restore of cloud data. (This service is highly impactful for compliance and continuity – see Q2 entry.)	5
Data Residency – New Zealand	Microsoft opened a new Microsoft 365 cloud region in New Zealand and announced data residency support for that region. New Zealand customers (including multi-geo tenants) can now ensure that their SharePoint, OneDrive, Exchange, Teams, and related data at rest remains stored in-country. This update, including Advanced Data Residency (ADR) controls, helps meet data sovereignty requirements in NZ.	1
Microsoft Delve Retirement	Microsoft announced the planned retirement of Delve (the standalone app for content discovery) as its capabilities are being absorbed by other Microsoft 365 services. While not immediate, this signals that SharePoint and Viva will be the primary way to surface personalized content and people info. Admins and users are advised to transition from Delve to newer tools. (Announced in Sept 2024).	1
Copilot Licensing Updates (Ignite 2024)	It was clarified that Copilot in Viva Amplify would not require a separate Copilot license (any user with a Viva suite or Viva Communications license can use Amplify’s Copilot features). However, Copilot on regular SharePoint pages still requires a Copilot license. This licensing update (announced at Ignite) is important for admins to understand who can use the new AI features.	2

Q3 2024 delivered major enhancements for intranet authors (real-time page co-authoring and design suggestions) and introduced SharePoint’s first big AI features (Copilot integration). It also saw the general launch of Microsoft 365 Backup for improved compliance. User engagement with intranet content was boosted, and admin capabilities grew to manage data residency and backups natively.

Q4 2024 (October – December 2024)

Intranet & Employee Experience

Feature	Summary	Impact
Copilot “Agents” in SharePoint (GA)	SharePoint AI Agents reached general availability. Users can, with one click, create a Copilot agent on any SharePoint site to answer questions and provide insights, grounded on that site’s content. For example, a project site could have an agent that team members query for information instead of searching manually. Agents are scoped to selected libraries or folders, ensuring they only use approved content. These agents enhance knowledge sharing and teamwork by giving users an AI assistant that can summarize documents or answer questions using the site’s data. (By default, every site has Copilot enabled, and additional custom agents can be made for specific content scopes.)	5
Copilot in Viva Amplify	Viva Amplify (communications campaign tool) gained Microsoft 365 Copilot integration for its content editor. In the campaign Brief and publication editor, authors can now use Copilot to rewrite text in various tones (casual, professional, enthusiastic, etc.), expand or shorten content, and get suggestions for clearer wording. This AI-assisted writing helps communications teams craft more effective announcements and adapt messages easily. (Notably, using Copilot in Amplify does not require a Copilot license if the user has Viva Amplify licensing).	4
Power Apps Card for Viva Connections	A new Power Apps card became available for Viva Connections dashboards. This allows organizations to embed custom Power Apps (as lightweight interactive cards) directly into the intranet dashboard for quick access. For instance, an HR vacation request app or a sales KPI card can surface on the Connections dashboard. It enables easy access to business applications from the intranet home, targeted to specific roles or audiences.	3
Reimagined Hero Web Part	The Hero web part (often used as the top banner on intranet pages) got a “re-imagined” update with a new carousel layout and style options. The Carousel layout lets authors feature up to five sliding content panels with big imagery, bold text, and call-to-action buttons. There are three new style presets and even support for embedding videos (Clipchamp/Stream) in the hero. This makes intranet homepages and landing pages more engaging and dynamic visually.	3
Editorial Card Web Part	A new Editorial card web part was introduced for pages. It’s a manually configurable content card that page editors can design with an image, category label, headline, description, and a hyperlink button. Unlike automated news/event web parts, this card gives full control over the content and appearance (with layouts like image-overlay or split view). It’s great for highlighting specific content or announcements in a consistent, visually appealing card format.	2
Accessibility Assistant (Pages)	A new Accessibility Assistant for the SharePoint page editor was announced (in late 2024) to help authors ensure their pages are accessible. This tool can check pages for common accessibility issues (color contrast, missing alt text, etc.) as users edit, providing recommendations to fix them. It helps improve intranet inclusivity by guiding content creators to meet accessibility standards. 【Announced in Dec 2024 Pitstop – “new Accessibility assistant tool for authoring pages”】.	2

Document Management & Content

Feature	Summary	Impact
Add Approvals in Document Libraries	Building on list approvals, SharePoint enabled one-click Approvals integration in document libraries as well. Library items (documents) can be submitted for approval using the same Teams Approvals framework, and an Approval status column tracks it. If an approved file is later modified, users get a warning that an approved item is being changed, enforcing governance. This streamlines content approval workflows (e.g., for policies or collateral) directly in libraries.	4
Third-Party eSign (Adobe/DocuSign)	(See Q3 entry) Rolled out globally in Q4, allowing admins to enable Adobe Sign or DocuSign as e-sign providers in SharePoint. Users with those licenses can send documents for signature right from the SharePoint library interface, using their chosen provider. This flexibility addresses enterprise needs by integrating SharePoint with existing e-sign workflows, without incurring additional Microsoft charges for using third-party signing.	3
Syntex: Prebuilt “Simple” Model	A new prebuilt Syntex model for “simple document processing” launched. This model uses OCR and AI to extract key info from structured or semi-structured documents, detecting things like key-value pairs, tables, checkboxes, barcodes, and even the primary language of the document. It can auto-fill library columns with this info when applied. For example, it can read a form and populate fields or note a file’s language for translation purposes. Delivered via the pay-as-you-go Syntex service, it expands the out-of-box AI capabilities for content understanding.	3
Microsoft 365 Backup – SharePoint	(See Q3 Admin) SharePoint content backup became fully supported. Admins can define backup policies and restore entire sites or individual files to earlier versions via the new Backup center. This native solution greatly improves IT’s ability to recover from data loss. (By end of 2024, some third-party backup vendors also integrated with the Backup Storage APIs to extend the service.)	5
Data Residency – Multi-Geo (NZ)	New multi-geo options allowed organizations to specify New Zealand as a satellite data location for SharePoint and OneDrive. Companies with a presence in NZ can host SharePoint sites and data for NZ users in-country to meet local compliance. Along with ADR (Advanced Data Residency), this guarantees certain core data (SharePoint, Exchange, Teams chat, etc.) is stored at rest in New Zealand only.	1

Collaboration & Integration

Feature	Summary	Impact
Copilot Agents in OneDrive (Announced)	Microsoft announced that Copilot agents would also come to OneDrive (personal file scope) in the future. While not yet GA in Q4, this preview news meant that similar AI agents that answer questions could be created for an individual’s OneDrive or specific folders. It underscores Microsoft’s plan to extend AI assistance across collaboration surfaces. (This was an Ignite 2024 announcement; OneDrive agents preview expected in early 2025.)	3
OneDrive “New Era” Enhancements	At the Oct 8, 2024 OneDrive event, Microsoft unveiled a redesigned OneDrive web experience and new features (e.g., a simplified sharing interface, offline mode preview for web, and an updated Teams file sharing experience). These changes, though not SharePoint-specific, improve the way users collaborate on files stored in SharePoint/OneDrive by making the interface more intuitive and performance faster. 【Summarized from OneDrive event announcements】	3
Yammer to Viva Engage Migration	Microsoft continued the transition from Yammer to Viva Engage. In this quarter, features like the Viva Engage Leadership Corner (leader-focused feed) and AMA events integration were emphasized (as seen in the Viva Conversations web part update above). Organizations were encouraged to use the new Engage branding and features as Yammer’s legacy branding would retire. This ongoing integration meant better Teams and SharePoint integration for community conversations.	2
Teams New Channels & Calendar	A new Teams channels experience (with a simplified layout and ability to pin important posts) and an updated Teams calendar were rolled out. While changes in Teams, they indirectly benefit SharePoint users by improving how Teams links to SharePoint (e.g., better file sharing and channel files view). These updates modernize collaboration in Teams, complementing SharePoint’s content collaboration.	2

Admin & Compliance

Feature	Summary	Impact
SharePoint Spaces Retirement	Microsoft announced the retirement of SharePoint Spaces (the 3D/VR immersive pages feature) due to low adoption and a shift towards Microsoft Mesh. The Spaces feature will be removed between March and August 2025. Organizations that experimented with Spaces are advised to transition any content out. This update has minor impact (few used Spaces), but it frees Microsoft to focus on more widely used intranet features.	1
Viva Engage/Yammer Consolidation	As part of the Yammer to Viva Engage merge, admins saw new settings in the Yammer admin center to manage the Leadership Corner and other Engage features. Additionally, compliance boundaries between Yammer and SharePoint continued to blur (e.g., Viva Engage storylines content stored in SharePoint). Admins need to be aware of data governance across these services as they unify.	2
Microsoft 365 Copilot Rollout	In Nov 2024 (Ignite), Microsoft announced Wave 2 of Copilot rollout for more customers. Many tenants were informed of general availability timelines and licensing requirements. For SharePoint, this meant admins needed to prepare for Copilot in SharePoint (enabling or disabling via PowerShell, user license assignment, etc.). While not a feature per se, this administrative phase-in of Copilot is a significant IT focus area at end of 2024.	4
Tenant Analytics & Reporting	Microsoft added or enhanced admin reports around SharePoint: for example, SharePoint usage analytics in the M365 Admin Center got updated to include Viva Engage engagement (due to integration), and new Copilot usage reports were planned (to show how often AI was being used on content). These reporting improvements help admins monitor adoption and ensure compliance (e.g., detecting unusual AI usage or storage trends).	2

Q4 2024 centered on AI and integration: SharePoint “agents” and Copilot in Viva Amplify made AI a tangible part of the intranet, while the SharePoint pages experience continued to evolve (new Hero and design tools). Admins gained flexibility with third-party eSign and had to plan for Spaces deprecation and broader Copilot rollout. Overall, SharePoint became more intelligent and integrated by the end of 2024.

Q1 2025 (January – March 2025)

Intranet & Employee Experience

Feature	Summary	Impact
Viva Connections in SharePoint App Bar	Viva Connections was integrated into the SharePoint interface via a new entry point on the SharePoint app bar. Users browsing any SharePoint site will now see a Viva Connections icon (if their tenant has Viva Connections set up) that takes them straight to the Connections dashboard. This “intranet on the rocks” approach deeply links the SharePoint intranet with Viva Connections – making the Viva dashboard and resources accessible from anywhere in SharePoint. It provides a seamless bridge between SharePoint sites and the broader employee portal experience.	3
Hero Web Part – Carousel Layout	(See Q4 2024) The revamped Hero web part with carousel and new styles rolled out broadly in early 2025. Many intranet homepages adopted the carousel layout, featuring auto-rotating slides with images, text, and links. This update refreshed intranet landing pages across tenants, making them more dynamic. Authors can highlight up to five pieces of content in the same space, improving content visibility.	3
Viva Connections News Feed (Update)	A new News experience for Viva Connections was introduced, aggregating news posts in a more engaging way on the Connections dashboard. The updated feed (with visual cards and better context) helps employees catch up on organizational news. Notably, some user feedback ensued about date formats (which Microsoft addressed), indicating the feature was actively being refined. This improves how intranet news reaches users via Viva.	3
Pages: “Preview” Mode	SharePoint pages and news gained a Preview mode option. While editing, authors can click a Preview button to see exactly how the page will look when published – including on different device screens (desktop vs. mobile) and, for news, how it would appear in an email digest. This helps page editors ensure their layouts are responsive and that emails generated from news posts are properly formatted. By catching layout issues before publishing, it improves the quality of intranet content delivery.	2
SharePoint Spaces Removal	SharePoint Spaces (3D pages) entered its retirement phase in March 2025. Admins and page authors were notified that starting March 10, 2025, creation of new Spaces would be disabled, and by August 2025 the feature will be fully turned off. Any existing Spaces sites should be converted or archived. This removal allows focusing on mainstream content types. (Impact is low – few orgs broadly adopted Spaces.)	1

Document Management & Content

Feature	Summary	Impact
Document Libraries – UX Updates	SharePoint document libraries received a set of user experience improvements (inherited from Microsoft Lists updates). Notably: performance was improved for large libraries, and Edit in grid view got better with enhanced support for choice, person, and image fields (with new dropdowns or people pickers in the grid). The property pane was redesigned to appear as a modal dialog, and right-click menus in a library now show common actions (Open, Edit, Share, etc.) for quicker file management. Together, these changes make working in libraries faster and more intuitive, especially when bulk-editing metadata or navigating large lists.	3
Lists Forms v2 (GA)	The overhauled Microsoft Lists form experience (initially previewed in 2024) reached general availability. New form capabilities include: direct form creation from Lists home or Teams (auto-creating the underlying list), conditional branching in forms (show/hide questions based on prior answers), support for more field types (image, location, lookup, etc.) in forms, the ability to add a custom logo to a form, and options to schedule form availability and get notified on submissions. These features bring Lists forms closer to InfoPath/Forms replacement, empowering business users to build richer forms for data collection.	4
Loop Personal Workspace	The Microsoft Loop app introduced a personal workspace for each user. This is essentially a user-specific SharePoint (OneDrive-like) container where all your private Loop pages and components live (separate from the shared “Ideas” workspace which becomes organizational). It is governed like OneDrive (same lifecycle and compliance). This means users can now ideate privately with Copilot in their personal Loop space and then share/collaborate via the existing Loop sharing model. For SharePoint admins, the personal Loop workspace appears as a special site per user (managed similarly to OneDrive for compliance). This update makes Loop more versatile and user-friendly for personal productivity.	3
SharePoint Quick Steps (Automate)	A new SharePoint Quick Steps feature was announced, which allows site owners or admins to create one-click buttons in libraries or lists to execute common multi-step tasks (like a mini workflow). For example, a “Archive Document” quick step might move a file to a records library and tag it with an archive metadata, all in one click. This is analogous to Outlook’s Quick Steps but for SharePoint, aimed at automating routine content management tasks without requiring Power Automate. 【Mentioned in April 2025 release notes: introduced to automate common tasks】.	3
eSignature for Word	SharePoint eSignature (native) expanded to support sending Word documents for signature (not just PDFs). Now users can initiate an e-sign request on a Word file directly from SharePoint, and the system will handle the signing process without needing to convert the file to PDF. This simplifies scenarios like getting approval signatures on DOCX contracts. It further integrates the signing experience into everyday document workflows and will update the document with signature details upon completion.	3
Resume Repository Template	A new library template, “Resume repository,” was added to SharePoint. This is a pre-configured document library designed for HR teams or communities to store and manage resumes/CVs. It likely comes with custom columns (e.g., Candidate Name, Position, Status) and maybe a Power Automate to extract basic info (if Syntex is enabled). While a niche template, it shows Microsoft providing more industry-specific content templates. Organizations can use it as a starting point for building a resumes database or talent pool library.	1

Collaboration & Integration

Feature	Summary	Impact
OneDrive: Copilot for Meeting Recordings	Copilot capabilities were extended to Teams meeting recordings stored in OneDrive/SharePoint. Users can now ask Copilot questions about a meeting recording (e.g., “What decisions were made in this meeting?”) and Copilot will analyze the transcript to answer. This feature, accessible via the OneDrive interface (“Ask Copilot” on a video), helps users quickly get insights from meetings without watching the whole recording. It leverages AI to summarize and highlight key points, boosting productivity in collaboration-heavy environments.	4
Viva Connections Cards in SharePoint Agents	SharePoint AI agents can now surface Viva Connections dashboard cards in chat when relevant. For instance, if a user asks the SharePoint agent about time off, the agent could display the HR vacation request card (Power App) right in the conversation for interaction. This convergence means the AI agent not only answers with text, but can bring up actionable intranet widgets. It keeps users in context and “in flow,” improving productivity by connecting Q&A with immediate actions (via dashboard cards).	3
Yammer Communities to Teams	Microsoft completed the migration of Yammer communities into Teams as Viva Engage. In Q1 2025, many organizations saw their Yammer networks fully available in Teams and SharePoint (via Viva Engage web part). Features like storyline posts and leadership corner went live. This integration means users collaborate in one fewer silo – community discussions are now part of the broader Teams/SharePoint experience. (Admins had to manage final Yammer data exports and adjust to new licensing.)	3
Cross-Tenant Content Migration	A Cross-Tenant User Data Migration add-on became widely used by Q1 2025 for M&A scenarios. This allows migrating a user’s SharePoint sites, OneDrives, etc., from one Microsoft 365 tenant to another (with an add-on license) without third-party tools. It’s an admin-focused feature that eases collaboration in cases of organizational changes. For everyday users, it’s invisible, but for IT it significantly simplifies collaboration across merged organizations.	2

Admin & Compliance

Feature	Summary	Impact
SharePoint Agents – Pay-as-You-Go	Microsoft introduced a pay-as-you-go billing model for SharePoint AI Agents (Copilot). This means organizations can enable Copilot-powered SharePoint agents for users who don’t have a Copilot license, and pay per AI use via an Azure subscription. Essentially, it provides flexibility in licensing: if an org wants to light up SharePoint’s AI Q&A for a whole site (including users not licensed for Copilot), they can opt to cover the costs per query. Admins must set up an Azure meter and resource, and any Copilot usage by unlicensed users will accrue charges. This was offered with a promotional period to encourage adoption. It’s a significant change as it lowers the barrier to deploying AI features broadly in the intranet without assigning expensive licenses to every user.	4
SharePoint Agent Analytics	New usage reports for SharePoint agents became available in the SharePoint admin center. These reports show metrics like number of questions asked, resolved queries, and active agents per site. This helps admins or site owners monitor the effectiveness of Copilot agents (e.g., see which departments use them heavily, or identify if an agent isn’t being used). It also supports governance – ensuring no sensitive content is being accessed inappropriately via agents (since admins can see agent usage patterns).	2
Entra ID (Azure AD) Content Scoping	With the rebranding of Azure AD to Entra ID, SharePoint’s audience targeting and People Picker continued to function but admin documentation and some labels were updated. In Q1 2025, Microsoft ensured all SharePoint audience targeting features recognized Entra ID dynamic groups properly (as seen in Viva Amplify’s use of dynamic groups for news targeting). Admins were advised to review any custom scripts or APIs for the naming changes.	1
Teams 2.0 and SharePoint	Microsoft deployed the new Teams client (“Teams 2.0”) broadly by early 2025. Admins noted improved performance and some differences in file integration. SharePoint admins in charge of governance observed that the new Teams keeps using SharePoint for files, but with a new URL pattern for channels (reflecting Teams channel folders). Compliance policies for SharePoint content had to be double-checked to ensure they still applied under the new Teams experience. In short, the Teams client change was mostly transparent, but behind the scenes it impacted how SharePoint content is cached and delivered.	1
Service Deprecations (InfoPath, etc.)	Microsoft reminded tenants of upcoming retirements: InfoPath Forms and SharePoint 2013 workflow support in SharePoint Online will end by July 2026 (announced earlier). While a bit in the future, Q1 2025 communications urged admins to start planning migrations to Power Apps/Power Automate. For collaboration, this means any legacy forms/workflows need modern replacements, an important admin consideration to avoid user impact.	2

Q1 2025 continued the AI momentum – SharePoint’s Copilot capabilities became more accessible (with pay-as-you-go and wider rollout). Intranet integration deepened with Viva (Connections on the app bar, Engage feeds on pages). Admins had to balance enabling these new features with monitoring their usage and cost. SharePoint’s core remained strong with incremental improvements to libraries and lists, while older features (Spaces, InfoPath) were phased out to make way for the modern ecosystem.

Q2 2025 (April – May 2025)

(Quarter in progress – includes April 2025 updates):

Intranet & Employee Experience

Feature	Summary	Impact
Viva Cards in SharePoint AI Chat	SharePoint’s Copilot Agents became more interactive by pulling in Viva Connections dashboard cards during chats. When a user’s question or context in the AI chat is related to an available dashboard card (like an HR form, or a Power App), the agent will present that card directly in the chat for the user to view or use. This makes the AI assistance more actionable – e.g., if you ask “How do I file expenses?”, the agent might surface the Expense Report card for you. It tightly knits together the intranet’s interactive content with conversational AI, improving productivity.	4
SharePoint eSignature for Word	SharePoint’s built-in eSignature now supports Word docs (not just PDFs). Users can initiate signature requests on a .docx file in a document library and recipients can sign without a PDF conversion. This reduces steps in document approval workflows and expands the native e-sign tool’s usefulness (many contracts or forms are authored in Word). It also keeps the signed Word document in place with an audit trail, simplifying content management for signed agreements.	3
“Quick Steps” for Common Tasks	A new SharePoint Quick Steps feature allows automating common multi-step tasks in libraries/lists via one-click buttons. For example, a Quick Step could combine actions like moving a document, tagging it with a metadata value, and notifying a person – all triggered by a custom button in the library command bar. This empowers site owners to create simple workflows for users without writing Power Automate flows. It addresses frequent intranet content management needs (like publishing content, archiving items, etc.) in a user-friendly way.	3
“Resume Repository” Template	SharePoint added a Resume repository library template (targeting HR scenarios). This provides a ready-made document library configured for storing resumes, with appropriate metadata (e.g., candidate name, position, status) and possibly integrated search or Syntex model for extracting resume info. It showcases Microsoft’s push for industry-specific solutions. While niche, it can save HR teams time in setting up a space for managing incoming resumes or CVs.	1

Document Management & Content

Feature	Summary	Impact
Syntex: Content Assembly (Preview)	(Preview in April 2025) Microsoft Syntex introduced Content Assembly enhancements, allowing generation of documents (like letters or contracts) from AI-backed templates. Users can create a template in Word with placeholders, and Syntex can populate it with SharePoint list or AI-extracted data. This update, while in preview, gives a glimpse of automating document creation as part of SharePoint content services. It can significantly reduce manual effort in producing standard documents (NDAs, invoices, etc.) by using stored data.	3
OneDrive Copilot for Videos	(See Collaboration) The Copilot Q&A for meeting recordings (and videos) went live in April. From a document management perspective, this means video files in SharePoint now have an intelligent layer: their transcripts can be queried. It effectively turns video content into an accessible knowledge source. For example, a training video stored in SharePoint can be queried for specific segments, making the content more usable.	4
Microsoft Lists – Minor Tweaks	Lists received some minor tweaks: e.g., the ability to recover deleted lists from the recycle bin (previously one had to restore at site level) became more straightforward. Also, Lists integrated link preview in Teams chat (so sharing a list item in Teams shows a preview card) – a feature that actually rolled out in Feb 2025. These small updates improve the overall content management experience by reducing accidental loss and improving sharing context.	2
SharePoint Spaces Retirement	Continuing from Q1, SharePoint Spaces feature is now fully turned off for most tenants by Q2 2025. Admin centers no longer show the option to create a Space, and any existing Spaces site is read-only. Content from Spaces (like 360° images or 3D models) needs to be downloaded; otherwise, it will be inaccessible after August. This final phase has minimal user-facing impact since usage was low, but it clears out the deprecated feature from the product.	1

Collaboration & Integration

Feature	Summary	Impact
OneDrive: Copilot for Videos	(As noted above) Copilot for meeting recordings rolled out – users can engage with a meeting video via a Copilot chat interface to get summaries or answers. This greatly enhances collaboration because team members who missed a meeting can quickly query the recording instead of watching it fully. It reduces information silos by turning recordings into searchable knowledge. This feature leverages both SharePoint (which stores the video + transcript) and Teams AI.	4
Teams Channel SharePoint Integration	After Teams introduced channel folders with enhanced metadata (for the new channels experience), SharePoint’s document library views for Teams channels were refined. By Q2 2025, when viewing a Teams-connected SharePoint library, the channel folders might show channel icons or allow channel-specific filtering. This integration polish makes it clearer which files belong to which Teams channel and supports users working in either interface.	2
Loop Workspaces – IT Controls	Admins got new policies to control Loop workspace creation (user-owned vs. org-wide). By April 2025, documentation was published on how to disable Loop workspaces if desired. This allowed organizations that aren’t ready for Loop to turn off personal or shared Loop spaces. It’s a pure admin integration point, giving IT say in how these new collaboration spaces are used.	2
Planner in Teams GA	The new Planner experience (mentioned in 2024) reached full GA in early 2025. With that, the Planner web app and Teams app were unified. While not directly SharePoint, Planner tasks often link to SharePoint (and Planner itself uses SharePoint under the hood for file attachments). This GA means users enjoy a more coherent task management interface, indirectly improving how tasks and documents come together (e.g., easier to attach SharePoint files to tasks).	2

Admin & Compliance

Feature	Summary	Impact
Copilot Admin Controls	By April 2025, Microsoft 365 Copilot had broad availability, and new admin controls were live. Admins can configure which SharePoint sites are indexed by Copilot (e.g., exclude confidential sites from AI responses), adjust Copilot’s ability to use content based on sensitivity labels, and review audit logs of Copilot Q&A activity. These controls ensure that as AI is integrated into collaboration, it’s done in compliance with company policies. For example, an admin could prevent Copilot from answering based on content in a Top-Secret site.	5
Pay-as-You-Go Copilot Offer	Microsoft launched a promotional offer for the SharePoint agents pay-as-you-go model – effectively giving some free AI credits or discounted rates for early adopters. Admins were informed of how to opt-in via the Azure billing setup. This was an incentive to encourage using Copilot agents without full licenses. It’s an admin-side note, but it reduces cost concerns (temporarily), possibly boosting adoption of these collaboration features.	2
Security: Conditional Access for SharePoint	Azure AD (Entra ID) Conditional Access got more granularity for SharePoint/OneDrive. By Q2 2025, admins could enforce session policies like requiring reauthentication for certain SharePoint sites or blocking download on unmanaged devices for specific sensitive libraries (via sensitivity labels integration). These policies help secure collaboration by ensuring high-value content is only accessed under compliant conditions. It’s a quiet but crucial compliance improvement for many IT departments.	4
Advanced Data Residency (ADR) Reports	After expanding data residency, Microsoft provided ADR status reports in the compliance center. Admins in multi-geo tenants can now easily see which users’ SharePoint/OneDrive data is in which region and verify that, for example, all NZ users’ data is indeed in New Zealand. This transparency helps demonstrate compliance to regulators.	1

Q2 2025 (so far) continues to blur the line between “working with content” and “talking to an AI about content.” SharePoint’s AI agents became more capable by integrating Viva cards, and Copilot’s reach extended to video content. We see Microsoft refining new features (Quick Steps, personal Loop spaces) and giving admins more levers to manage these capabilities (cost control, security scopes). As the quarter progresses, we expect further announcements (e.g., Build 2025 might bring developer updates or integration enhancements) that will round out the picture for H1 2025.