KNOWLEDGE AGENT FUTURE ROADMAP

Knowledge Agent for SharePoint Online

Future Features & Functionality Roadmap

An overview of announced and upcoming capabilities for the AI-powered knowledge experience in SharePoint Online sites

1. Introduction and Evolution of the Feature

Microsoft introduced the Knowledge Agent in SharePoint as a public preview in September 2025. Its purpose is to help organizations prepare SharePoint content for AI at scale—making content more discoverable, governed, and ready for Microsoft 365 Copilot and custom agents.

The feature has undergone rapid evolution and rebranding:

  • September 2025 – Knowledge Agent: Initial public preview focused on content cleanup, metadata enrichment, library organization, page health, and scoped Q&A grounded in SharePoint content.
  • March 2026 – AI in SharePoint: Capabilities were integrated natively into the platform. The experience expanded from answering questions to multi-turn, agentic planning and execution across sites, pages, lists, and libraries.
  • Mid-June 2026 onward – Copilot in SharePoint: The official name for the broader rollout. The capability shifts from opt-in to opt-out preview and becomes available by default to Microsoft 365 Copilot–licensed users.

Throughout these name changes, the core experience remains the same: high-value, context-aware AI available via a floating action button in SharePoint,

2. Current Capabilities (Public Preview)

The following capabilities are available today in the public preview for opted-in tenants (or sites) with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses:

Content Health & Governance

  • Identify and recommend retirement of inactive or outdated pages
  • Detect and help fix broken links across a site
  • Surface content gaps based on search behavior and unmet user needs
  • Improve overall site health through guided actions

Metadata & Library Organization

  • AI-powered analysis of document libraries to propose new columns and metadata
  • Automatic extraction and application of metadata as content changes
  • Create AI-generated views grounded in metadata
  • Set up rules and automate everyday library workflows

Content Creation & Editing

  • Draft, refine, and reorganize page content directly on the canvas using natural language
  • Create pages, sections, and FAQ web parts from prompts
  • Adjust tone, generate summaries, or reshape sections
  • Design Ideas and AI-assisted page authoring

Q&A and Content Insights

  • Ask questions grounded in the current site, library, folder, or selected files
  • Summarize files or pages
  • Compare documents
  • Generate FAQs from content
  • Create audio overviews of files or news posts

3. Expanded Agentic Building Capabilities (Rolling Out 2026)

Beginning March 2026, Microsoft significantly expanded the feature beyond content curation into full multi-turn, agentic solution building. Users describe intent in natural language; SharePoint plans, clarifies, and executes.

Sites

Describe the business solution needed. SharePoint generates a structured plan covering sites, pages, lists, libraries, and starter content. Users iterate conversationally—like collaborating with a teammate—before and during creation.

Status: Available via AI in SharePoint public preview (end of March 2026 onward).

Pages

Draft, refine, and reorganize content directly on the page canvas. Request tone changes, summaries, section reshaping, or generation of infographics and other visual elements using natural language.

Status: Available in the AI in SharePoint public preview.

Libraries

Describe how information should be managed. AI automatically extracts and applies metadata, adds or refines columns, and organizes files as content evolves. Metadata then powers native SharePoint workflows without leaving the library context.

Status: Available in the AI in SharePoint public preview.

Lists

Fully create, read, update, and manage list data through natural language. Populate lists from files, evolve schemas, edit items, format views, create forms, and ask questions grounded in list data.

Status: Rolling out to the AI in SharePoint public preview.

Structured Documents

AI detects fields automatically from a Word document that can serve as a template. Users fill out a form; SharePoint converts responses into consistent, compliant, structured documents aligned with organizational standards.

Status: Available in the AI in SharePoint public preview (from March 2026).

4. Custom Skills – Extending AI Behavior

One of the most significant upcoming/expanding capabilities is SharePoint Skills (also called custom skills or AI skills). Skills turn repeatable, multi-step workflows into reusable assets that encode organizational standards.

What Skills Are

  • Reusable multi-step workflows authored from natural-language chat prompts (no code required)
  • Stored as Markdown (.md) files in the site’s Agent Assets library (/Agent Assets/Skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md)
  • Governed by existing SharePoint permissions and compliance policies
  • Can be automatically selected by AI based on user query or invoked by name
  • Act as active guardrails during execution (not just after-the-fact checks)

What Skills Can Do

  • Chain built-in AI in SharePoint capabilities (content understanding, summarization, list manipulation, folder organization, etc.)
  • Encode organization-specific rules: document standards, review checklists, naming conventions, taxonomy, governance logic
  • Ensure consistent, repeatable outcomes across teams and sites

Limitations

  • Cannot connect to external systems outside SharePoint
  • Cannot execute arbitrary custom code
  • Operate within the boundaries of native SharePoint AI capabilities

Rollout: Public Preview began mid-April 2026; General Availability targeted late May through early July 2026. Available to users with edit permissions on opted-in sites; no separate tenant-level activation required beyond the main AI in SharePoint / Copilot in SharePoint enablement.

5. Availability, Licensing, and Prerequisites

Licensing

Included with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license during public preview and at General Availability.

Enablement Model

  • Early preview (2025–mid-2026): Opt-in via PowerShell (tenant-wide or selected sites). Admins could also exclude specific sites.
  • From mid-June 2026: Shifts to opt-out preview. Capabilities become available by default to Copilot-licensed users; admins can still control availability tenant-wide or per site using the same PowerShell parameters (KnowledgeAgent scope settings).
  • Government & restricted clouds: Not currently supported in Microsoft 365 Government (GCC, GCC High, DoD), air-gapped, or 21Vianet environments.

Model Requirements (Preview)

The advanced multi-step planning and execution capabilities initially rely on Anthropic’s Claude reasoning model. In some regions, tenant administrators must allow Anthropic as an AI sub-processor in the Microsoft Admin Center for the full experience to function. Microsoft has indicated this dependency will be addressed before full General Availability.

6. Related and Supporting Roadmap Items

Several complementary capabilities enhance the overall knowledge and agent experience in SharePoint:

  • Lists as knowledge sources for agents: Custom agents in SharePoint and OneDrive can ground responses on a single Microsoft List (up to ~20,000 items). Rolling out late March–early May 2026.
  • Enterprise store plugins in Copilot in SharePoint: Support for plugins that bundle skills, MCP servers, and other capabilities (targeted later in 2026).
  • Personal Skills: User-owned skills stored in OneDrive that travel with the individual across sites (roadmap item).
  • SharePoint Admin Agent: A separate but complementary AI assistant for SharePoint administrators focused on governance, oversharing, lifecycle, and storage insights, with expanding skills through 2026.
  • New SharePoint experience: Visual and navigation refresh (Discover / Publish / Build destinations) that provides a stronger foundation for agentic experiences.

7. High-Level Timeline Summary

Timeframe

Key Milestones

Sep 2025

  • Knowledge Agent public preview launches (content health, metadata, Q&A).

Nov 2025

  • Site-level opt-in becomes available.

Mar 2026

  • Rebrand to AI in SharePoint; major expansion of agentic building (sites, pages, libraries, lists, structured documents).

Apr–Jul 2026

  • Custom Skills public preview → GA.

Mid-Jun 2026

  • Shift to opt-out preview under the name Copilot in SharePoint; broader automatic availability.

Later 2026+

  • Continued expansion of skills, personal skills, enterprise plugins, deeper governance integration, and refinements toward full GA maturity.

8. Recommendations for Organizations

  1. Review and, if desired, opt into (or prepare for opt-out of) the preview so teams can evaluate the experience early.
  2. Ensure Microsoft 365 Copilot licensing is in place for the intended user population.
  3. Evaluate Anthropic sub-processor settings if advanced multi-step capabilities are required in the current preview.
  4. Identify pilot sites with strong content ownership and clear metadata needs.
  5. Begin defining organizational standards (naming, taxonomy, document templates, review checklists) that can later be encoded as Skills.
  6. Align information architecture and content hygiene efforts with the goal of making SharePoint content AI-ready.
  7. Monitor the Microsoft 365 Roadmap and Message Center for updates on GA timing, model changes, and additional capabilities.

Note: This document summarizes publicly announced plans and roadmap information as of August 2026. Microsoft may adjust timelines, feature scope, licensing, or naming. Always consult the official Microsoft 365 Roadmap, Message Center posts, and Microsoft Learn documentation for the most current guidance.

«