MC1540513 - Microsoft SharePoint Online and OneDrive for the web: Updated search experience with Copilot Search
Microsoft 365 Message Center announcement MC1540513.
MS Message Center's Summary
Microsoft is rolling out a unified Copilot Search experience for SharePoint Online and OneDrive on the web, bringing natural language prompts, AI summaries, and filters. Preview rollout runs from October 2026 to January 2027, followed by general availability from January to April 2027. Administrators should review custom search implementations and communicate the upcoming interface changes to users.
- Administrator impact
- Review custom search integrations and prepare support teams for user queries regarding the new interface.
- End user impact
- Users will experience a modernized web search interface featuring natural language prompts and artificial intelligence generated summaries.
- Importance
- 4/10: This is a standard feature update introducing a new search interface with potential impacts on custom search integrations.
Microsoft Summary
SharePoint Online and OneDrive on the web are updating to a unified Copilot Search experience with natural-language prompts, AI summaries, and filters. Rollout starts mid-October 2026 (preview) and mid-January 2027 (general). Users can opt out during preview; minimal action required from organizations.
- Message Center ID
- MC1540513
- Category
- plan For Change
- Severity
- normal
- Services
- SharePoint Online, Microsoft OneDrive
- Tags
- New feature, Feature update, User impact, Admin impact
- Roadmap ID
- 573696
- Platforms
- Web
- Published
- 2026-11-05
- Last updated
- 2026-11-05
- Expires
- 2027-05-21
- Action required by
- 2027-01-18
[What and why] We are updating the search experience in SharePoint Online and OneDrive on the web to align with the Copilot Search experience across Microsoft 365. This updated experience allows users to search using natural-language prompts and combines relevant search results, AI-generated summaries with source references, and filters. By bringing SharePoint and OneDrive onto a common search interface, we are providing a more consistent and familiar search experience across Microsoft 365. [Rollout schedule] Frontier Preview (Worldwide): Rollout began in mid-October 2026 and is expected to complete by mid-January 2027. General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins in mid-January 2027 and is expected to complete by mid-April 2027. [Impact on your organization] Who is affected Users who search for content in SharePoint Online and OneDrive on the web Platforms and services SharePoint Online OneDrive on the web What will happen Users will see a modernized search experience aligned with Copilot Search across Microsoft 365. Please note that, while the core experience is shared, some AI-powered capabilities are available based on licensing. SharePoint Online and OneDrive on the web will use a common search interface, providing a more consistent experience regardless of where users begin their search. During the Frontier Preview period, SharePoint Online and OneDrive on the web will provide an opt-out option if users determine a critical search feature they rely on is unavailable. Modernized search experiences in SharePoint and OneDrive [Action required and recommendations] No significant deployment work is required. We recommend that you test any custom search experiences or integrations that may be affected by the updated search experience. If your organization needs more time to prepare for this change, options are available to defer the new experience at the tenant and individual site level. [Learn more] We will publish new documentation prior to General Availability release. [Compliance considerations] No compliance considerations identified. Review as appropriate for your organization.