Why SharePoint health is crucial for Copilot success

Your SharePoint isn’t broken. But it’s not AI-ready either. If you’re a Knowledge Manager in an enterprise, you already know the pain: - SOPs scattered across disconnected sites - Duplicate documents with no clear source of truth - Search that returns everything—and nothing useful - Compliance risk from outdated content - KM tools that never got full adoption Altuent’s new AI-ready data for SharePoint service is built to fix that—without replacing what works. We unify your content layer across SharePoint, and other content repositories. We enrich metadata, automate governance, and make knowledge discoverable, compliant, and ready for Copilot agents. ✅ No rip-and-replace ✅ Fast deployment with minimal IT lift ✅ Built on your existing SharePoint repositories This is the foundation for AI that actually works in the enterprise. 📅 Join us on Sept 17 for a live session with Toni Ressaire and Helmut Nagy to see how SharePoint powered Copilot agents work in action. Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/gtUBB-hQ

Wednesday Webinar—Help your Copilot agents understand your business language and surface insights from SharePoint. In this webinar, Helmut and I will talk about the challenges and impact of document chaos in SharePoint, and then we’ll show you an example of what happens when Copilot agents—empowered with your business terminology—find exactly what you’re looking for. But it’s so much more than better search. You can gain insights, surface critical processes, generate reports, and automate tasks that eat up your valuable time. We recently uncovered an automated use case that would allow a client to extract and submit compliance information scattered across a vast document repository. That’s just one use case. In the webinar we will talk about a few others, and we’re going to give you an ebook with 30 more use cases. We’ll show you how it works using a very simple show and tell: From a SharePoint blunder to a trusted response from a Copilot agent we built. The beauty of SharePoint—you’re already using it. Now get more value from it with Copilot agents. So, what’s in your SharePoint library?

Trying to build an Agent with Sharepoint knowledge without a single Copilot license? Here is how. There are 3 main ways in which SharePoint knowledge can be added to an agent: 1️⃣ Microsoft Copilot SharePoint agent (in M365): - Requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license for users 2️⃣ Azure AI Agent with the SharePoint knowledge (in AI Foundry): - Requires Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses for developers AND - end users because it calls the Microsoft 365 Copilot Retrieval API 3️⃣ Azure AI Agent with a SharePoint index (in Azure AI Search): - No Copilot licenses needed - The prerequisites are Azure AI Search (Basic or higher) and SharePoint Online; auth is via app or delegated permissions ⚠️ So what is the crux? The SharePoint Online indexer (preview) doesn’t bring over SharePoint’s per-user permissions. Anything in the index is visible to anyone who can query the index unless you implement document-level security trimming (store ACLs/group IDs in fields and apply filters at query time). That’s extra design & plumbing work and easy to get wrong. ✅ TL;DR: If you don't have Copilot licenses, the Azure AI Search route works. Just plan for security compliance from day one. 🔗 The link to this 3rd method: https://lnkd.in/dcW-H_Tb #Azure #SharePoint #Microsoft365 #AzureAISearch #AI #GenerativeAI #RAG #Security #Copilot #AI #EnterpriseSearch #VectorSearch #SemanticSearch #KnowledgeManagement

If you’ve been hoping Copilot’s new “SharePoint skills” would lighten the admin load, temper those expectations. In testing, the feature handled simple, surface-level questions—like filtering sites by storage and missing sensitivity labels—but stumbled on basic, real-world asks, such as “Which sites have the most files?” That gap matters: admins are drowning in more sites than ever thanks to Teams growth, and answers that help enforce lifecycle policies or spot risk need deeper signals than today’s UI exposes. The short version: AI can only help with what it can see. The SharePoint admin center doesn’t surface certain data (like per-site file counts) in a way Copilot can reason over, so the “assistant” feels more like guided click-through than true insight. That’s fine for newcomers, but seasoned admins won’t be impressed. The promise here is still compelling: stitch together audit logs, site properties, change history, and labels to answer fleet-wide questions in seconds. Today’s release is a first step, not the finish line. What would actually move the needle? Ask-and-answer tasks that span data sources: “Show sites with label changes last month that now conflict with document labels,” or “Flag shared sites over 1 GB with no sensitivity label and active external users.” Until Copilot can join data across SharePoint, Graph, and audit trails—and return clear, actionable results—admins should treat it as training wheels, not autopilot. Keep your governance playbook sharp and your reporting pipelines handy; the real Copilot moment will arrive when the data finally does. #Microsoft365 #SharePoint #Copilot #ChangeYourPassword Follow me for practical Microsoft 365 and Copilot updates that actually help admins ship.

I spent the weekend testing Microsoft’s new Knowledge Agent. Results: 👉Impressive, if you have good source content, and some structure helps. 👉Better if you have a taxonomy and update the extracted metadata according to your taxonomy. Keep reading for more detail 👇 One week following the release of our new service from Altuent—AI-ready data for SharePoint—and one day following our webinar on how Copilot agents bridge SharePoint silos, Microsoft releases Knowledge Agent. I was already excited about SharePoint as a viable knowledge hub using Copilot agents. We’ve improved reliability of agents by adding an information architecture and connecting metadata. Knowledge Agent works based on automated metadata extraction, natively. After initial tests (and reading the documentation), I’m impressed. No, it didn’t respond correctly to every query, but it did find documents native Copilot agents missed and generated some good responses. I asked Knowledge Agent the same questions (from the same SharePoint library) that I used in the webinar. These queries came from controlled testing we had done with Copilot agents, with and without metadata. Knowledge Agent performed better than our Copilot agent without metadata, but missed on natural language queries that used terminology NOT FOUND in the source document. This tells me what I suspected: you still need taxonomy (and taxonomy management) and a robust information architecture for your SharePoint library. [Note, I have not tested the stored prompts feature new for autofill.] But don’t misunderstand me—Knowledge Agent is most definitely a game changer!! I’ll post a more detailed analysis this week, along with some info on how to improve the reliability of Knowledge Agent (and custom Copilot agents). Meanwhile, there are some clues on our service page. 😉 https://lnkd.in/ejKnzF4K

REAL WORLD USAGE - Exploring Microsoft’s new Knowledge Agent in SharePoint I’ve just enabled the Knowledge Agent in my own tenancy (well i did at 7AM this morning) to see how it performs in practice - and it’s clear this could be a quite useful for content-heavy organisations. What does it bring? ✔️ Contextual Copilot assistance right inside SharePoint pages ✔️ Summarize highlights, auto-generate FAQs, and guide users on how to use resources ✔️ Smart metadata & tagging - it automatically suggests columns and fills values based on document content ✔️ Workflow automation in plain English (no Power Automate skills needed) ✔️ Content freshness & hygiene - flagging stale pages, broken links, and outdated docs (Tho, I am worried if, that a user, may, unknowingly do this in production systems with 100s if not 1000s of files in it - Lets cross that bridge shortly!) 💡 What struck me most: it’s metadata capable. In my own testing, the Knowledge Agent analysed a document library and suggested adding new columns like “Business contact email” and “Business identifier number,” then populated them across multiple file types (Word, Excel, PDF, MSG, etc). That’s a massive boost for content organisation, search, and governance without manual tagging (Now Copilot needs to take it into account!) Why it matters: This isn’t just another Copilot feature - it’s a step toward automated QUALITY knowledge management. It helps keep content discoverable, compliant, and current without drowning in manual upkeep. 📸 Check out the screenshots below from my own Archon Gnosis tenancy with the Knowledge Agent live (The Knowledge Agent is a preview feature currently and not fully released by Microsoft) 👉 Read the official Microsoft announcement here: https://lnkd.in/gTGv7aAB #Microsoft365 #SharePoint #Copilot #KnowledgeManagement #MVPBuzz #ModernWork #AIAgents #KnowledgeAgent #LearningFriday

For years, organizations have invested heavily in knowledge management - yet most employees still say: “𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥.” Microsoft's latest update might finally bridge that gap - You can now 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦 𝐂𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬. What does that mean in real life? Instead of digging through pages of content, your SharePoint site can now have its own smart assistant, trained on your org’s knowledge, ready to answer questions, surface insights, and guide people right where they work. This shifts the model from: 📂 “𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉” ➝ 🤖 “𝑨𝒔𝒌 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆” Here’s why I think this is a huge step forward: ✅ Faster answers - No more switching apps or searching endlessly. ✅ Built-in security - The agent respects SharePoint permissions and M365 compliance. ✅ Low-code friendly - You can build and publish these agents from Copilot Studio without heavy dev work.   For anyone building intranets or knowledge hubs, this shift enables SharePoint to transition from being just a content repository to becoming an interactive knowledge hub powered by AI.   Official Microsoft update: https://lnkd.in/eEJdM2Vy   #Copilot #SharePoint #ModernWork #AIAgents #PowerPlatform #AVASOFT #msftadvocate

✨ Game-Changer Alert: SharePoint + AI Just Leveled Up! ✨ Microsoft has officially rolled out the Agent Link WebPart 🌐🤖 — part of the August 2025 update — and it’s transforming how we work with SharePoint. Imagine this: instead of jumping between apps or tabs, you can now launch AI agents directly inside SharePoint — in a sleek sidebar experience. No distractions, no context-switching. 💡 🔥 Why This Matters: ✅ Zero Workflow Disruption – Agents open in a sidebar, no navigation lost ✅ Flexible Placement – Drop links anywhere on your page 🌍 ✅ Smart Discovery – Now under the new “AI” toolbox category ✅ Scalable Design – Choose small, medium, or large link styles with titles 🔧 From a Developer’s Perspective: This unlocks huge potential for… ⚡ Workflow Automation – Context-aware agents tailored to your content 🎯 Better User Experience – No more bouncing between tools 🚀 Scalable AI Solutions – Especially powerful for SMBs 📌 Key Details You Should Know: 💳 Requires Microsoft 365 Copilot license or PAYG setup 📵 Not (yet) supported on mobile or email 🌍 Rolling out worldwide mid–late August 2025 This isn’t just another webpart — it’s a step toward the AI-first SharePoint experience we’ve been waiting for. Combined with SPFx v1.21 (Node.js 22 + TypeScript 5.x), Microsoft is clearly doubling down on modern, AI-driven development. 👉 What excites me most? It’s perfectly aligned with the “AI where you work” movement — embedding intelligent assistance exactly when and where it’s needed. 💬 Fellow SharePoint devs & IT pros: Have you tested AI agents in SharePoint yet? Curious how you see this shaping workflows in your orgs. #SharePoint #MicrosoftAI #SPFx #Microsoft365 #AIIntegration #WorkflowAutomation #FutureOfWork

Your organization can integrate their Microsoft SharePoint with TextCortex and unlock intelligent document discovery. 1. Create a unified knowledge base connecting all your SharePoint sites, pages and documents in one centralized AI system. 2. Ask complex questions spanning multiple sites and get comprehensive answers pulled from your entire SharePoint environment. Set up daily automatic sync or manually sync anytime in the "Integrations" tab to ensure your AI always works with the latest information. Tag someone still searching through SharePoint manually 👀 #Microsoft #SharePoint #enterprise #AI