May 2026 updates for Microsoft Office Table of Contents Toggle May 2026 updates for Microsoft OfficeMicrosoft Teams Updates1. Test your microphone and speaker before joining a meeting2. Auto-detect spoken language in multilingual meetings3. Teams will now honour Windows “Do Not Disturb”4. New chat sections for muted and meeting chats5. Quick access to read items in unread-only mode6. Queues app coming to Teams mobile7. New minimised meeting experience8. Automatic transcription without recording9. Delete meeting-generated content from recap10. Teams Phone call transfer improvements11. Sharing recap access (Requires Copilot licence)Microsoft Outlook Updates1. Decline and propose a new time — now on Outlook MobileMicrosoft 365 Apps Updates1. OneDrive: Cloud-deleted files won’t appear in local Recycle Bin2. Semi-Annual and Monthly Enterprise Channels will unify3. Cloud Update adds update health reportingMicrosoft Intune Updates1. Multiple Managed Accounts in MAM-enabled apps2. New IT admin policy: Remove Microsoft Copilot app3. Enterprise State Roaming moving to Windows Backup for Organisations4. Windows Autopatch expanding to Microsoft 365 GCCMicrosoft Purview Updates1. AI observability and insider risk management now generally availableMicrosoft Copilot Updates1. Copilot Cowork now available in Frontier2. Create charts on SharePoint pages with AI3. Modernised Change Management for Microsoft 3654. Anthropic AI models available when editing Word documents5. Calendar Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot6. Legal Agent for Word7. Comprehensive Copilot metrics in Copilot AnalyticsNeed help managing these updates? Microsoft is rolling out a significant wave of updates across Teams, Outlook, Microsoft 365 Apps, Intune, Purview, and Copilot over the coming months. Here’s everything you need to know about what’s changing and when. Microsoft Teams Updates 1. Test your microphone and speaker before joining a meeting Teams will soon let users test their audio devices before entering a meeting — a simple but long-overdue quality-of-life improvement that should reduce those familiar “can everyone hear me?” moments. When: Mid-May 2026, completing by late May 2026. 2. Auto-detect spoken language in multilingual meetings Teams will automatically detect which language is being spoken in a meeting and update captions and transcripts in real time — no more manual language selection for multilingual teams. When: Mid-April 2026, completing mid-April 2026. 3. Teams will now honour Windows “Do Not Disturb” On Windows 11 devices, Teams will respect the operating system’s Do Not Disturb setting. When DND is active, Teams toast notifications will be automatically suppressed — better focus, fewer interruptions. When: Mid-May 2026, completing by late May 2026. 4. New chat sections for muted and meeting chats Teams is adding two new system sections to the chat and channels list: Muted chats and Meeting chats. Users can toggle these on or off to keep their inbox organised. When: Early May 2026, completing by mid-May 2026. 5. Quick access to read items in unread-only mode An eye icon will appear in unread-only mode, letting users quickly view read chats and channels without changing their filter settings. When: Early May 2026, completing by mid-May 2026. 6. Queues app coming to Teams mobile The Queues app is coming to iOS and Android, allowing calling representatives and supervisors to manage call queues and handle customer calls away from their desks. When: Mid-May 2026, completing by late May 2026. 7. New minimised meeting experience When users minimise a Teams meeting window, they’ll now be able to raise their hand and send reactions directly — without needing to reopen the full window. When: Mid-May 2026 (previously late April), completing by late May 2026. 8. Automatic transcription without recording Meeting organisers can now select Transcribe only as an automatic meeting option. This starts transcription when the meeting begins without creating a recording — useful where recording is restricted for compliance or privacy reasons, while still supporting Copilot and Intelligent Recap. When: Early May 2026, completing by mid-May 2026. 9. Delete meeting-generated content from recap Meeting organisers will be able to delete recordings, transcripts, AI summaries, and notes directly from the meeting recap. When: Late May 2026, completing by early June 2026. 10. Teams Phone call transfer improvements Desktop call transfers are getting an upgrade: Transfer and Consult transfer will become separate single-click buttons, suggested transfer targets will be surfaced, and blind transfer will become the default. When: Late June 2026, completing by late June 2026. 11. Sharing recap access (Requires Copilot licence) Meeting organisers will be able to grant access to recordings, transcripts, AI summaries, and notes when sharing recap links. When: Early June 2026, completing by late June 2026. Microsoft Outlook Updates 1. Decline and propose a new time — now on Outlook Mobile Outlook Mobile is adding a “Decline and Propose a New Time” option for meeting responses, so users can decline and suggest an alternative without switching to desktop. When: Mid-April 2026, completing by mid-May 2026. Microsoft 365 Apps Updates 1. OneDrive: Cloud-deleted files won’t appear in local Recycle Bin Files deleted from OneDrive in the cloud will no longer appear in your local Recycle Bin or Trash. They can still be recovered from the OneDrive or SharePoint web recycle bin. Local deletes are unaffected. When: Early May 2026, completing by late May 2026. 2. Semi-Annual and Monthly Enterprise Channels will unify Microsoft is merging the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel (SAEC) and Monthly Enterprise Channel (MEC) into a single enterprise update channel. Existing policies and user workflows won’t change. When: 14 July 2026 (Patch Tuesday). 3. Cloud Update adds update health reporting Admins will get detailed, aggregated diagnostics and error messages for update failures across managed devices through Microsoft 365 Apps Cloud Update. When: Late May 2026. Microsoft Intune Updates 1. Multiple Managed Accounts in MAM-enabled apps Intune will roll out Multiple Managed Accounts (MMA) support in apps like Teams and Outlook for iOS. Users will be able to sign in with multiple managed accounts, with app protection policies applied per account. When: Early June 2026, completing by early July 2026. 2. New IT admin policy: Remove Microsoft Copilot app A new RemoveMicrosoftCopilotApp policy setting lets admins uninstall the Copilot app from devices in a non-disruptive way. 3. Enterprise State Roaming moving to Windows Backup for Organisations Starting May 2026, Enterprise State Roaming (ESR) management transitions to Windows Backup for Organisations — Microsoft’s enterprise-grade solution for backing up and restoring Windows user settings and Microsoft Store app lists. 4. Windows Autopatch expanding to Microsoft 365 GCC Windows Autopatch is becoming more broadly available in Government Community Cloud (GCC), including Microsoft 365 G3 and G5 SKUs which were previously excluded. When: 13 May 2026. Microsoft Purview Updates 1. AI observability and insider risk management now generally available Microsoft Purview for agents enables Microsoft 365 E7 or Agent 365 admins to monitor AI agent activity, assess risks, enforce governance, and manage insider risks with privacy controls — supporting compliance and security across AI-driven workflows. When: Early May 2026, completing by late May 2026. Microsoft Copilot Updates 1. Copilot Cowork now available in Frontier Copilot Cowork is now available in Frontier for Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) users, enabling multi-step task orchestration across apps with user approval and progress tracking. 2. Create charts on SharePoint pages with AI SharePoint is introducing an AI-assisted Charts web part that lets page authors create interactive charts using plain-language prompts. When: Mid-May 2026, completing by late May 2026. 3. Modernised Change Management for Microsoft 365 Microsoft is introducing a new change management model giving IT teams greater control over the pace of feature rollouts. Organisations can now choose their release audience: Frontier program — early experimentation and feedback Standard release (default) — immediate access at general availability Deferred release — delay rollout by 30 days for eligible major features, for additional security or compliance review When: Mid-April 2026, completing by late April 2026. 4. Anthropic AI models available when editing Word documents Microsoft 365 Copilot will add Anthropic AI models as an editing option in Word. This is enabled by default outside the EU, EFTA, and UK, and disabled by default within these regions. Admins can control the setting while existing security and compliance standards remain in place. When: Completing by late May 2026. 5. Calendar Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot Copilot is gaining Calendar Agent capabilities to help users reduce meeting overload. Using natural-language instructions, users can allow Copilot to automatically accept, follow, decline, or remove cancelled meetings based on rules they define. When: Early May 2026. 6. Legal Agent for Word A new Copilot feature for US legal professionals in the Frontier Public Preview (April 2026). Legal Agent helps review contracts, identify risks, compare clauses to playbooks, and generate tracked-change edits within Word. 7. Comprehensive Copilot metrics in Copilot Analytics New Copilot usage metrics are being added across Microsoft 365 apps, including actions taken in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app, Microsoft Edge, and OneNote, plus intent-based usage across Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. When: Late April 2026, completing by late May 2026. Need help managing these updates? Keeping on top of Microsoft 365 changes can be a challenge, especially when you’re running a business. At Speedster IT, we proactively monitor updates like these on behalf of our clients and advise on anything that needs action. Get in touch to find out how we can help. 0204 511 9111 LouiseWith over 15 years at Speedster IT, I’ve built a career around helping businesses navigate the evolving world of technology. I publish all the content for the IT Support London Blog and Cyber Security Blog, where I share practical insights on infrastructure upgrades, cybersecurity trends, and smart IT strategies for growing companies.