Retirement of Turnitin Similarity integration in Microsoft Teams Assignments

[What and Why:]

Microsoft is retiring the Turnitin Similarity integration in Microsoft Teams Assignments and encouraging institutions to transition to Turnitin Feedback Studio for Microsoft Teams. Turnitin Feedback Studio provides similarity checking, grading, feedback, and assignment management within Teams. For sustainability and fairness in its partner ecosystem, Microsoft Education is phasing out non-standard integrations with third party products such as the Similarity integration in Teams Assignments. Turnitin's Feedback Studio integration is built for the long-term, using standard platform extensibility features.

[Rollout Schedule:]

Retirement date: December 31, 2026

[Impact on Your Organization:]

Who is affected:

• Organizations currently using the Turnitin Similarity integration in Microsoft Teams Assignments
• Educators and administrators managing assignments with Turnitin

Platforms/Services:

• Microsoft Teams (Assignments feature)
• Turnitin integrations (Similarity and Feedback Studio)

What will happen:

• The legacy Turnitin Similarity integration will be removed from Teams Assignments on December 31, 2026.
• Organizations that want to continue using Turnitin capabilities in Teams Assignments should transition to Turnitin Feedback Studio for Microsoft Teams.
• Microsoft is encouraging customers to complete this transition before the retirement date to avoid interruptions to similarity-checking and related assignment workflows.
• Customers that do not migrate before December 31, 2026, could experience disruption to plagiarism-checking and other assignment-related processes that depend on the legacy integration.
• The Turnitin team will contact customers directly from msteamsmigration@turnitin.com with migration details, training, and support resources.

[Action Required / Recommendations:]

• Review whether your institution is currently using the legacy Turnitin Similarity integration in Teams Assignments.
• Plan and complete your transition to Turnitin Feedback Studio for Microsoft Teams before December 31, 2026.
• Watch for migration guidance from msteamsmigration@turnitin.com and review the training and support resources that Turnitin provides.
• Inform educators, support staff, and administrators about the retirement of the legacy integration and the required migration timeline.
• Update any internal documentation, training materials, or help desk guidance that references the legacy Turnitin Similarity integration.

[Compliance considerations:]

This change adds or modifies a third-party integration because it retires the legacy Turnitin Similarity integration and directs customers to Turnitin Feedback Studio for Microsoft Teams.