Upcoming changes to Agents in SharePoint and OneDrive
AI summary
Copilot Agent Builder replaces previous agent platform
.agent-Format wird durch Copilot Agent Builder ersetzt
Rollout dates
- Standard release (GA): –
Extracted from the announcement text; the Microsoft text is authoritative.
Microsoft announcement
[What and Why:]
We are upgrading the agent experience in SharePoint and OneDrive to better align with the Microsoft Copilot extensibility ecosystem, specifically to ensure that these agents are part of Copilot app home experiences (MC1479277) and the Microsoft plugin registry (MC1484008), the shared catalog for discovering, publishing, and governing organization-approved and custom-built plugins across Microsoft Copilot experiences (Chat, Cowork, Code, Autopilot) and Microsoft 365 apps (Word, PowerPoint, Excel), OneDrive and SharePoint.
Agents using .agent file format will continue to work across SharePoint, Teams, and Copilot app until the end of March 2027. With upcoming updates, agent owners can start upgrading each experience. The right path depends on what each agent helps users accomplish today:
- Use Copilot in SharePoint for site-level questions and answers.
- Convert the .agent file to a skill for Copilot in SharePoint when it supports a focused task or business outcome specific to the site.
- Upgrade to a declarative agent or update your custom engine agent that was published to the SharePoint channel, when users need a content-grounded, conversational experience across Microsoft 365.
Changes to agent creation and building experiences in OneDrive and SharePoint will support this transition:
- Creating agents will use the Microsoft Copilot Agent Builder
- An Upgrade button will appear in the SharePoint builder so you can upgrade the agent to use the Microsoft Copilot Agent Builder.
- A convert-agent-file-to-skill skill will be available in Copilot in SharePoint
Changes to the user experience of the site will support this transition:
- The Agent Chat web part is coming soon to allow any agent from the Plugin store to appear on the SharePoint site with more intention and control for greater reach and impact
- Copilot in SharePoint is already available worldwide and is coming soon to Government clouds.
[Rollout Schedule:]
General Availability (Worldwide and Government clouds): This change consists of two rollouts:
- Agent creation and upgrade: Rollout begins mid-November and is expected to complete by early December 2026
- Agents in SharePoint and OneDrive using .agent file format stop working in SharePoint, Teams and Copilot app: Rollout begins early April and is expected to complete mid-April 2027
[Impact on Your Organization:]
Who is affected:
- Organizations using agents in SharePoint and OneDrive.
- SharePoint site owners and members who create or manage agents in the .agent file format.
- Admins responsible for agent governance, adoption, licensing, and support.
Platforms/Services:
- SharePoint
- OneDrive
- Copilot in SharePoint
- Microsoft 365 agents
- Microsoft Copilot Agent Builder
- Microsoft Plugin store
What will happen:
Beginning mid-November, users no longer create agents in the .agent file format, and features to support upgrading .agent files will be available.
- Creating agents will use the Microsoft Copilot Agent Builder and appear in Plugin store.
- An Upgrade button appears in the SharePoint builder.
- A convert-agent-file-to-skill skill is available in Copilot in SharePoint
- Upgraded agents must be re-added to Teams Chat/Channel
- With Agent Chat web part, site owners/page authors can add any agent from the Plugin store into SharePoint.
After March 2027, agents using .agent file format will stop working in SharePoint, Teams and Copilot app; including Agent Link web part, immersive experience, chat pane in SharePoint.
[Action Required/Recommendations:]
Begin preparing for the transition away from SharePoint and OneDrive .agent files now. Identify the teams that own or manage agents, share the March 2027 deadline, and ensure that site and agent owners understand the upgrade paths. Administrators should become familiar with Copilot in SharePoint, Microsoft Copilot Agent Builder, Agent 365 and the governance and management capabilities that will apply to upgraded experiences.
You don’t need to change any .agent file format agents today, but the following changes will help you transition:
- “Create an agent”/“New agent” in SharePoint/OneDrive open Microsoft Copilot Agent Builder for creation. These agents are added to the Plugin store and will not create .agent files.
- You can continue to edit existing .agent files during the transition period. When you are ready to upgrade, use the Upgrade to M365 Agent button in the SharePoint agent builder or convert-agent-file-to-skill skill in Copilot in SharePoint.
- Use the Agent Chat web part to add the agent to a SharePoint page.
Review the guidance on finding and upgrading existing agents.
[Compliance considerations:]
| Does the change store new customer data, if so, where, and is the data cached or permanently stored? | Yes. Upgraded and new agents managed through the Agent Builder, Plugin store, Agent 365 and Microsoft Admin Center, and may use SharePoint content and site context for conversational experiences. |
| Does the change alter how existing customer data is processed, stored, or accessed? | Yes. .agent file experiences transitioning to Agent Builder continue to use SharePoint content and site context with Microsoft 365 integration and centralized controls. |
| Does the change introduce or significantly modify AI/ML or agent capabilities that interact with or provide access to customer data? | Upgrade path dependent. No changes for upgrading to Agent Builder. Converting to a skill enables it to be used with the capabilities of Copilot in SharePoint. |
| Does the change alter how admins can monitor, report on, or demonstrate compliance activities? | Yes. Agent Builder, Microsoft Admin Center and Agent 365 are the places where governance, management, and usage analysis are available for these new and upgraded agents. |
| Does the change include an admin control and can it be controlled through Entra ID group membership? | Yes. Agent 365 provides centralized controls. Review applicable platform controls for your organization. |
Change history
- 2026-10-16 · Created · All