M365 Roundup, May 2024: Copilot Becomes an Agent
TL;DR
- In May 2024 Microsoft announced Copilot Studio agents and Team Copilot, moving Copilot from personal assistant toward autonomous business-process automation arriving later in 2024.
- Starting July 2024, Microsoft requires multifactor authentication for all Azure users.
- External authentication methods in Entra ID entered public preview in May 2024, replacing custom controls and letting third-party MFA satisfy Conditional Access and PIM requirements.
- Intune's Platform SSO public preview brings phishing-resistant, hardware-bound passwordless authentication to macOS via Apple's Secure Enclave.
- The AI hub in Microsoft Purview entered public preview in May 2024 to secure data flowing into both Microsoft and non-Microsoft AI applications.
May 2024 is the month Copilot stopped being a sidekick. Microsoft announced agents in Copilot Studio that run business processes on their own, a Team Copilot that participates in meetings like a colleague, and Copilot+ PCs with the silicon to match. Meanwhile the security desk got real news of its own: MFA becomes mandatory for all Azure users in July 2024, external authentication methods landed in Entra preview, and macOS picked up phishing-resistant Platform SSO through Intune. The full month, grouped by product.
Copilot: agents, dashboards, and new hardware
Team Copilot joins the meeting
Team Copilot expands Copilot beyond a personal assistant to act as a team member, participating and contributing alongside the team. You stay in control, assigning tasks or responsibilities to Copilot so the whole group can be more productive, collaborative, and creative together. It shows up where collaboration happens: Microsoft Teams (opens in new tab), Microsoft Loop, Microsoft Planner, and more. Watch the Team Copilot demo (opens in new tab). Full announcement: New agent capabilities in Microsoft Copilot unlock business value (opens in new tab). Timing: later in 2024.
Copilot Studio agents automate whole processes
New capabilities in Microsoft Copilot Studio (opens in new tab) let you build custom copilots that act as agents working independently under your direction. They can:
- Automate long-running business processes
- Reason over actions and user inputs
- Use memory to bring in context
- Learn from user feedback
- Record exception requests and ask for help
Watch the agents demo (opens in new tab). Same announcement as above; timing is later in 2024.
Copilot chat reaches classic Outlook
The Copilot for Microsoft 365 chat experience comes to classic Outlook for Windows. Licensed users see the Copilot icon on the left app bar, and the chat is Graph-grounded, meaning it can answer from organizational information and documents stored in the Microsoft cloud. The rollout also covers new Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web. Timing: classic Outlook mid-June 2024 to Current Channel, finishing late June 2024; new Outlook early May 2024, completing mid-May 2024.
The Copilot Dashboard goes license-free
In the coming months the Microsoft Copilot Dashboard (opens in new tab) becomes available to all Copilot for Microsoft 365 customers at no additional cost, with no Viva or Viva Insights license required. Rollout: early July 2024, completing by late September 2024.
Copilot assisted hours get a breakdown
For customers with a Viva or Viva Insights subscription, the Copilot Dashboard adds a breakdown of the employee actions contributing to total Copilot assisted hours (opens in new tab). The metric calculation itself is unchanged. Rollout: early May 2024, completing by mid-May 2024.
Draft with Copilot from selections in Word
Selecting text, a list, or a table in Word surfaces the on-canvas Copilot menu to generate new content from the selection. Rollout: late April 2024 on web, early June 2024 on Win32 and Mac, early July 2024 on iPad, completing by early August 2024.
Shifts plugin in Copilot for Microsoft 365
Within Teams, Copilot users can query the Shifts plugin for their teams' open shifts, shifts, and scheduled time off. Admin detail: Manage plugins for Copilot in Integrated Apps (opens in new tab). Rollout: early June 2024, completing by late June 2024.
The AI hub arrives in Purview
AI fuels productivity and poses risks in equal measure, and organizations worry about risky AI use and sensitive data leaking through AI apps. The AI hub is a central location in Microsoft Purview for securing data in AI, covering Microsoft AI applications such as Copilot for Microsoft 365 as well as non-Microsoft AI apps, so adoption does not force a choice between productivity and protection. Public preview: early May 2024. General availability worldwide: mid-November 2024, completing by late November 2024.
Copilot+ PCs announced
Microsoft announced the Copilot+ PC (opens in new tab): business-ready devices with a neural processing unit capable of more than 40 trillion operations per second. They ship as Secured-core PCs with the Microsoft Pluton security processor and are designed secure by default. Headline features include Recall for finding information faster, live captions with real-time translation for calls and streamed content, and Windows Studio Effects for video calls. Watch the announcement video (opens in new tab). Timing: later in 2024.
Security and admin: the items to action first
MFA becomes mandatory for Azure
Starting July 2024, Microsoft requires multifactor authentication for all Azure users. If any customer admin or automation account reaches the Azure portal without MFA today, the clock is running. Announcement: Partner Center, May 2024 (opens in new tab).
External authentication methods in Entra ID (public preview)
External authentication methods can satisfy MFA requirements from Conditional Access policies, Privileged Identity Management role activation, Identity Protection risk-based policies, and Intune device registration. They are created and managed in the Entra ID authentication methods policy, giving the same manageability and experience as built-in methods, via the new Add external method button in the Entra admin center.
These replace custom controls (opens in new tab), with several advantages over that approach (opens in new tab):
- Integration uses industry standards and supports an open model
- External methods are managed the same way as Entra methods
- They are supported across a wide range of Entra ID use cases, including PIM activation
Full announcement: Public preview: external authentication methods in Microsoft Entra ID (opens in new tab).
A newer Security Alert API for CSP partners
As a CSP partner you are responsible for your customers' Azure consumption, which makes anomalous usage your problem. The Microsoft Graph partner security alert API detects patterns of fraudulent activity and misuse in Azure resources; mitigating alerts within 24 hours can significantly cut the financial loss customers incur during a compromise. Docs: partner security alert API in Microsoft Graph (preview) (opens in new tab). Announcement: Partner Center, May 2024 (opens in new tab).
Organizational messages (preview)
Create and deliver short-form communications to people in your organization through the Microsoft products they already use, like Windows 11 and Microsoft 365 apps. Rollout: early May 2024, completing by late May 2024.
Intune: passwordless Macs and a smarter Autopilot
Platform SSO for macOS (public preview)
Platform SSO integrates with Apple's Secure Enclave, which means organizations can enable phishing-resistant, hardware-bound, passwordless authentication on Mac through Intune, a meaningful win for zero trust programs, especially cloud-native ones. End users get a cleaner out-of-box experience too, setting up the device with a single set of credentials, their Entra ID password. Watch the overview video (opens in new tab). Full announcement: What's new in Microsoft Intune May 2024 (opens in new tab). Status: public preview as of May 2024.
Windows Autopilot device preparation
The next generation of Autopilot brings combined profiles for device preparation, revised reporting, and an improved end-user experience. Full announcement: Windows deployment with the next generation of Windows Autopilot (opens in new tab). Status: GA.
Win32 app supersedence
After adding a Win32 app to Intune, you can create supersedence relationships that update or replace existing Win32 apps, either with newer versions of the same app or with an entirely different one. Docs: Add Win32 app supersedence (opens in new tab). Status: GA.
Windows update distribution report
A new report shows which quality updates are running on which devices. Navigate to Reports > Windows updates > Windows Update Distribution Report. Docs: Windows Update for Business reports in Intune (opens in new tab).
Teams: twelve features in one wave
File image previews in messages
The first release in a series of content-consumption improvements: when a file such as a JPG, PNG, PowerPoint file, or PDF is attached to a chat or channel message, users see a small preview image without opening the file. Rollout: mid-June 2024, completing by late June 2024.
Draggable Presenter Toolbar
Presenters sharing content can move the Presenter Toolbar from its default top-of-screen position to anywhere on the shared screen. Rollout: mid-June 2024, completing by late June 2024.
Ask to join a shared channel from a link
In-tenant users who open a shared channel link can now request to join; channel owners receive and approve or deny the request. Previously the link produced a flat "You don't have access" message. Rollout: late June 2024.
Unified settings and policies in the Teams admin center
Search, locate, and manage settings and policies in one place instead of hunting across multiple locations in TAC for user, group, and organization management. Rollout: early June 2024, completing by early July 2024.
Teams Phone Mobile: Call my phone
Teams Phone Mobile users on iOS and Android can transfer an active call from the Teams app to the cell phone dialer on their SIM-enabled device with no interruption, using the user's Audio Conferencing Subscription (opens in new tab) to connect. Applies to one-to-one calls, not group calls. Rollout: early July 2024, completing by late July 2024.
Auto-created Loop workspaces for recurring meetings
Organizers of recurring meetings get a chat prompt to create a Loop workspace after meetings end, gathering shared meeting content into a central, durable workspace. As the series continues, content shared in the meeting chat is added automatically. Rollout: mid-May 2024, completing by early June 2024.
Recommended channels replace Show for members
Team owners can recommend channels rather than force-showing them. New team members see only the General channel plus an onboarding page where owner-tagged Recommended channels can be reviewed and joined by choice. Rollout: mid-July 2024, completing by late July 2024.
Organizers control access to recordings, transcripts, recap, and Copilot
A new meeting option under Recording and transcript, "Who has access to the recording and transcript," offers three settings: Everyone with the meeting link, Organizer and co-organizers only, or Specific people. Rollout: early June 2024, completing by mid-June 2024.
Avatars generated from a photo
Take or upload a photo and AI generates your digital avatar. Public preview rollout: early June 2024 (previously mid-May), completing by late June 2024 (previously mid-June).
Closed captions in Walkie Talkie
Live closed captions arrive for audible transmissions in the Walkie Talkie app, built for loud frontline environments. Rollout: early June 2024, completing by late June 2024.
Speaker recognition in all Teams Rooms on Windows
Teams Rooms on Windows can identify individual speakers during live transcription in shared rooms, feeding accurate attribution into intelligent recap and Copilot. Rollout: mid-June 2024, completing by late June 2024.
Custom emojis and reactions
Users can upload images or GIFs as custom emojis and reactions, visible tenant-wide alongside the standard set, up to 5,000 per tenant. Rollout: early July 2024, completing by late July 2024.
Outlook, SharePoint, and Stream
Mail and Calendar pins hand over to new Outlook
Microsoft is transitioning the default Windows Mail and Calendar apps to the new Outlook for Windows. Two mechanics to know:
- Windows 10 and 11 users with the Mail app pinned to the Taskbar or Start menu see those pins, and Desktop shortcuts, replaced by new Outlook when it is freshly installed on the device.
- Users migrated from Mail and Calendar can still switch back, but the control moves to Settings > General > About Outlook instead of the Ribbon toggle.
Rollout: early June 2024, completing by mid-June 2024.
SharePoint sites can be archived
A new archive feature for inactive SharePoint sites saves on storage costs exceeding the quota limit. Rollout: late April 2024, completing by mid-May 2024.
Smarter version history limits for document libraries
New version controls help admins and content owners cut the storage footprint of low-value file versions. Beyond the existing count-based limits at the library level, automatic version limits now weigh factors like age and restore probability, alongside new manual settings for version expiration and count limits. Docs: version history limits overview (opens in new tab) and end-user versioning configuration (opens in new tab). Rollout: late August 2024, completing by mid-October 2024.
Stream suggests content for Callouts
Stream's Interactivity feature now suggests relevant documents to add to videos, so a presenter can attach a Callout linking their PowerPoint deck or Word document without leaving Stream to hunt for it. Rollout: mid-June 2024, completing by mid-July 2024.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Team Copilot and Copilot Studio agents?
Team Copilot expands Copilot from a personal assistant to a team member that participates in Teams, Loop, and Planner under your direction. Copilot Studio agents are custom copilots built to run business processes independently, reasoning over actions, learning from feedback, and escalating exceptions.
Who does the July 2024 Azure MFA requirement affect?
All Azure users. MSPs should verify MFA coverage on every account that touches the Azure portal across customer tenants before Microsoft begins enforcement in July 2024.
Why do external authentication methods matter for MSPs?
Customers running a third-party MFA product like Duo no longer need custom controls, which are being retired. External methods are managed in the Entra authentication methods policy like built-in methods and satisfy Conditional Access MFA requirements, PIM activation, Identity Protection risk policies, and Intune device registration.
A month of changes, verified in a minute
Every update wave moves settings and defaults across your tenants, and May moved more than most. CloudCapsule runs a CIS-mapped assessment of 250+ controls per Microsoft 365 tenant in about 60 seconds, so this month's changes never become next quarter's findings.
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Written by
Nick Ross
CEO · Microsoft MVP · Founder, T-Minus 365
Nick is not just a CEO, he's a respected thought leader and influencer in the MSP space. Tens of thousands of MSPs learn through his YouTube channel, T-Minus365. Nick has been honored as a three-time Microsoft MVP for his educational content; his expertise and influence are the backbone of our mission, ensuring that you are in the best hands when it comes to security.
Nick joined Pax8 in 2017, where he would ultimately oversee product management for PSA and Microsoft integrations. Following his tenure at Pax8, Nick has continued to demonstrate his leadership prowess as an executive at various MSPs, culminating in his most recent role at Sourcepass.
Nick holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management from Florida State University, as well as a Minor Degree in Entrepreneurship. In his free time, Nick is an avid hiker, reader, and fitness-junkie.
