SharePoint agents are changing – .agent files stop working in spring 2027 – Vesa Nopanen – Future Work today

SharePoint brokers aren’t going away, however the best way they’re constructed is altering. Microsoft introduced in MC1511052 that brokers in SharePoint and OneDrive are transferring from the .agent file format to the broader Copilot agent and plugin platform. Any .agent file in your tenant at present has an expiry date.

Let’s take a more in-depth have a look at what occurs, who it impacts and when.

What occurs

New brokers gained’t be .agent information anymore. “Create an agent” in SharePoint and OneDrive will open the Microsoft Copilot Agent Builder, and new brokers will land within the Plugin retailer. That’s the shared catalog used throughout Copilot Chat, Cowork, Autopilot, the Workplace apps and SharePoint.

Current brokers want to maneuver to one in every of three locations, relying on what they do at present:

• Web site questions and solutions solely – Copilot in SharePoint already covers this, so a separate agent might not be wanted.
• A targeted activity for one website – convert the agent right into a ability for Copilot in SharePoint.
• Content material-based chat throughout Microsoft 365 – improve it to a declarative agent, or replace the customized engine agent.

Two instruments assist with the transfer: an Improve to M365 Agent button within the SharePoint agent builder, and a convert-agent-file-to-skill ability in Copilot in SharePoint.

Timeline

• Mid-November to early December 2026 – agent creation strikes to Agent Builder, and the improve instruments roll out. You’ll be able to nonetheless edit present .agent information.
• November 2026 to January 2027 – the brand new Agent Chat net half (Roadmap 575298) is deliberate for preview in November and normal availability in January. It lets web page authors add any agent from the Plugin retailer to a SharePoint web page.
• Finish of March 2027 – .agent assist ends.
• Early to mid-April 2027 – .agent brokers cease working in SharePoint, Groups and the Copilot app. This contains the Agent Hyperlink net half, the full-screen view and the SharePoint chat pane.

The shutdown rolls out over a couple of weeks in April, however 31 March 2027 is the date to plan round.

The way it impacts organizations

The transition window is about 4 months, which is brief. A couple of issues are simple to overlook:

• Groups wants handbook work. Upgraded brokers should be re-added to Groups chats and channels. Nothing does this routinely, so you could know the place every agent was added.
• SharePoint pages want updating. Pages utilizing the Agent Hyperlink net half want to change to the Agent Chat net half. That net half solely reaches normal availability in January, so there may be little time to make the swap.
• Governance strikes. Upgraded and new brokers are managed in Agent Builder, the Microsoft 365 admin heart and Agent 365. Admin controls, reporting and compliance processes ought to be up to date to match.
• Licensing isn’t lined within the discover. Verify what every improve path means for licensing and Copilot credit earlier than selecting it.

What to do now

1. Discover each .agent file and determine who owns each.
2. Type every agent into one of many three paths. Not each agent must turn into a full agent.
3. Listing the place every agent is used: Groups chats and channels, Agent Hyperlink net components and SharePoint pages.
4. Inform website and agent house owners in regards to the deadline early.
5. Check the improve button and the ability conversion as quickly as they attain your tenant in mid-November.

Closing ideas

This alteration is smart. SharePoint brokers have been a separate format, and bringing them into the identical platform, catalog and governance as different Copilot brokers ought to simplify issues over time. It additionally means extra of the agent work occurs in Copilot in SharePoint itself.

The deadline is shut, although, so it’s value beginning the stock now fairly than in March.

Learn the total discover within the Message Middle: MC1511052 – Upcoming modifications to Brokers in SharePoint and OneDrive.