MC1188234 – M365 Change Digest

One-line summary

Federated Copilot connectors let users securely connect external apps to Copilot in real-time; admins control rollout, with a 7-day review before end-user access starts Feb 16, 2026.

Similar updates

Details

RoadmapIds

501585

Summary

Microsoft 365 Copilot introduces federated connectors enabling real-time access to external apps like Notion and Canva within Copilot. Admins control connector visibility, compliance, and staged rollout via the Microsoft 365 admin center. The feature requires a Copilot license and will roll out starting February 9, 2026.

Platforms

Web

Body (from Message Center)

Updated April 2, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.

We’re introducing federated Copilot connectors in Microsoft 365 Copilot, enabling users to securely connect external apps such as Notion, Canva, or Hubspot directly within Copilot experiences like Researcher. Unlike traditional indexed connectors, federated connectors use the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to access data in real time. This allows users to fetch and read information from connected sources using their own credentials, while maintaining admin-level visibility, control, and governance in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

This feature will be available on the web platform.

A Microsoft 365 Copilot license is required to use this feature.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 501585.

When this will happen:

Public Preview: Rollout will begin February 9, 2026 (previously January 12).

Targeted Release: Rollout began mid-February 2026 and completed end of March 2026.

Date	Activity
Feb 9th onwards	Admin Experience get rolled out. As soon as Admins see federated Copilot connectors they review them. These will be toggled on but not yet visible to end-users. Admins can leave them as it or stage them or disable them.
Feb 16th onwards	User Experience rollout starts, honoring Admin actions taken.

How this affects your organization:

Who is affected: All tenants using Microsoft 365 Copilot with access to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
What will happen:
- End users will be able to connect to Microsoft-published federated connectors (such as Canva, HubSpot, Linear, Intercom, Google calendar, Google contacts, Notion) directly within Copilot experiences to search or fetch live data.
- Admins will have visibility and control from the Copilot > Connectors section, where they can
  - View all default Federated copilot connectors enabled by Microsoft.
  - Disable any connectors that are not relevant or compliant for their organization.
  - Use staged rollout to enable these connectors for a limited group of users
- Admin can also create and manage custom MCP based federated copilot connectors for internal or specialized data sources using an MCP endpoint.

Screenshot 1 - Admin experience:

user settings

Screenshot 2 - User experience:

user settings

What you can do to prepare:

When a Microsoft-published federated Copilot connector first appears in the Microsoft 365 admin center (Copilot > Connectors> Your connections), it will remain admin-only for 7 days before it can be used by end users.

During this seven-day review window, admins can:

Review newly available federated connectors
Disable connectors that are not relevant or compliant for their organization
Use staged rollout to limit availability to specific Entra ID groups
Any connector disabled during this window will not be rolled out to end users.

Additional steps:

Review the list of default connectors that will appear in your tenant under Copilot > Connectors > Your Connections. List includes: Canva, HubSpot, Linear, Intercom, Google calendar, Google contacts, Notion and more. You can find them with type ‘MCP’
Ensure all available connectors align with your organization’s data and compliance policies. Disable any that do not meet requirements directly from the admin center.
For custom connectors, configure your MCP endpoints with the required tools (search and fetch) and proper authentication (OAuth2).
Communicate this change to helpdesk staff and update internal documentation as needed.

Compliance considerations:

Question	Answer
Does the change introduce or significantly modify AI/ML or agent capabilities that interact with or provide access to customer data?	Yes. Federated connectors allow Copilot to fetch live data using user credentials, introducing new real-time AI interactions.
Does the change add any integration to 3rd party software products, and if so what?	Yes. It enables connections to external apps such as Canva, HubSpot, Linear, Intercom, Google calendar, Google contacts.
Does the change include an admin control and can it be controlled through Entra ID group membership?	Yes. Admins can manage connector availability and rollout via the Microsoft 365 admin center, and staged rollout can be configured using Entra ID group membership.
Does the change allow a user to enable and disable the feature themselves?	Yes. Users can connect or disconnect federated connectors within Copilot experiences.

Raw JSON (for debugging)

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