Microsoft last week outlined a range of new AI functionality for SharePoint as it marked the document management and collaboration platform’s 25th year. New AI features will make it easier for users to organize their information, publish content, and build solutions.
The enhancements – some announced previously and some reflecting new positioning of existing functions – are rolling out over the next several weeks, with a major emphasis on the ability to use natural language inputs to get work done.
According to Microsoft, SharePoint AI will act as a partner asking clarifying questions and proposing plans that encompass site structure, pages, libraries, lists, and starter content to ensure the solution that’s developed aligns with user intent.
As it initiates a plan, AI in SharePoint orchestrates tools using an iterative, reasoning-driven process. A single prompt will trigger a sequence of planning, evaluation, and adjustment.
In the future, customers will be able to define their own “custom skills” and apply them to SharePoint’s AI, with these skills acting as guardrails while tasks execute. Skills define an organization’s standards for site structure, libraries, metadata, and document creation, ensuring everything built is accurate and repeatable by design.
These SharePoint AI enhancements include an important tie-in to Microsoft Copilot and AI agents: SharePoint works to structure content, and enrich it with metadata, so the content powers accurate, grounded Copilot and agent experiences in Microsoft 365.
Knowledge Agent Evolution
Microsoft said the previously introduced Knowedge Agent (which organizes content and performs metadata enrichment) is being rebranded as AI in SharePoint; it’s available through the floating action button in SharePoint.
The company said the initial rollout of AI in SharePoint is based on Anthropic Claude – a point that reinforces Microsoft’s stated commitment to offer model choice and flexibility to customers. In this instance, use of the Claude model may require customers to opt in to allow Anthropic as a subprocessor for Microsoft Online Services. AI in SharePoint is in public preview.
Here’s additional detail on how new AI functionality enhances five content types in SharePoint:
Sites: Customers can describe the required solution and SharePoint creates a structured plan covering pages, lists, and included libraries, then customers can iterate on that plan as needed. This functionality will be available in public preview by end of March.
Pages: Customers can draft, refine, and organize content directly on the SharePoint canvas; they can ask SharePoint to adjust tone, generate summaries, or reshape sections. This functionality is available in public preview.
Libraries: Customers can organize intelligent libraries by describing how they want information to be managed; SharePoint, in turn, will use AI-powered skills to extract and apply metadata, add or refine columns, and organize files as content changes. AI-generated metadata powers SharePoint workflows and automates tasks. This is functionality is available in public preview.
Lists: Customers can create, read, and manage lists through natural language. This functionality is currently rolling out in public preview.
Structured Documents: AI detects fields automatically from a Word document, which can then be used as a template so users can simply fill out a form; SharePoint will then convert the responses into a structured document. This functionality is available in public preview this month.
Design/Structure Updates
Microsoft is also launching a visual update to SharePoint, built around the core functions of content discovery, publishing and sharing, and building and managing content. The UX update is built around a new app bar that streamlines movement between SharePoint destinations.
Discover is referred to as SharePoint’s new front door, replacing SharePoint Start and featuring built-in AI actions so users can go directly to conversations. It’s personalized by AI to surface the most relevant sites, files and updates. The new Discover is available in public preview.
Publish brings communications workflow into a central workspace for creating, managing, and tracking content.
Build is the centralized launchpad for creating and managing solutions in SharePoint. The latest iteration of Build allows users to work with Sites, Lists, Libraries, and Agents from a single surface.
The new user experience is now available in public preview.
SharePoint Governance
Finally, newly enhanced content governance features, powered by the SharePoint Admin Agent announced at Ignite in November, introduce agentic AI capabilities including:
- Site permissions skills for flagging oversharing risks, explaining root causes, and providing remediation steps
- Site lifecycle management skills to surface inactive, ownerless, and high-risk sites
- Storage management skills with Copilot-powered insights into tenant and site storage trends, as well as flagging of risks
More Microsoft AI Insights:
- Microsoft Advances Enterprise-Level Control for AI Agent Estates
- Microsoft Embraces Latest Anthropic Claude AI Innovations
- Copilot Studio Tools Upgraded To Bring AI Tests Into Alignment With Human Evaluations
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