Microsoft continues to aggressively integrate AI and streamline its ecosystem across the Power Platform and Microsoft 365. Key developments include the planned retirement of legacy technologies like InfoPath Forms Services and SharePoint Alerts, actively pushing users toward modern Power Automate and SharePoint Online solutions. Microsoft 365 and Office 365 have implemented notable pricing and packaging updates effective July 1, 2026, alongside major update channel unification. Power BI’s July 2026 update introduces enhanced reporting, modeling, and a highly requested report tab scroll feature, while Copilot Studio and Copilot Chat see expanded agent-building capabilities and recent bug resolutions in Classic Outlook. Microsoft Teams continues to roll out efficiency and collaboration features, and Power Pages is advancing with AI-driven security agents, solidifying the Power Platform’s role as the core of Microsoft’s low-code and AI strategy.
Top News Stories by Technology (July 2026)
- SharePoint Online
- InfoPath Forms Services in SharePoint Online is officially retired as of July 14, 2026, disabling the ability to publish or republish legacy forms
- Microsoft is retiring legacy SharePoint Alerts, officially recommending that users transition to Power Automate for modern, flexible notification scenarios
- Power Automate & Power Apps
- Following the discontinuation of the Power Apps per-app license for new customers, organizations are shifting toward alternative licensing models and leveraging Power Automate for process automation
- Code Apps integration with Power Automate flows is now generally available, significantly enhancing low-code development workflows
- Power BI
- The July 2026 Power BI update introduces new capabilities across reporting, modeling, mobile, and embedded analytics
- A highly anticipated quality-of-life improvement, the “Report Tab scroll” feature, has been added to improve navigation in complex, multi-tab reports
- Microsoft Teams
- Teams is rolling out multiple new features, including a refreshed meeting experience and an “Efficiency Mode” to improve performance on lower-end devices
- Microsoft recently resolved a software bug in Classic Outlook for Windows that caused the Copilot button and Copilot Chat to disappear for some users
- Power Pages
- The platform is introducing an AI-driven Security Agent to help makers configure and improve website security proactively community.
- Continuous monthly updates to the website host infrastructure are being deployed to improve performance and early upgrade options for makers
- Copilot Chat & Copilot Studio
- Copilot Studio is expanding its agent-building experience with enhanced workflows and real-time voice capabilities
- Microsoft is ensuring consistent, high-quality AI interactions in Copilot Chat across Microsoft 365 apps, with new options to move agents into Copilot Studio for advanced publishing
- Microsoft 365 & Office 365
- Effective July 1, 2026, Microsoft implemented pricing and packaging updates for select Microsoft 365 and Office 365 commercial suites, including E3 and E5 plans
- Microsoft is unifying update channels, with the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel receiving streamlined updates starting with the Version 2606 release in July 2026
