MC1240699 - Introducing the new SharePoint experience

Updated June 11, 2026: We have updated this post as a reminder. We’re ready to begin the General Availability (GA) rollout of the new SharePoint experience on June 15, with deployment continuing over the subsequent weeks. Based on feedback from users in the preview program, we are simplifying item-keeping experiences across SharePoint and aligning on a single Favorites gesture that is consistent with the rest of Microsoft 365.

As part of this change:

• Followed Sites will become Favorite Sites.
• Saved for Later for pages and news posts will become Favorites.

This is a naming and experience update that will be reflected across all SharePoint surfaces where these experiences appear, providing a more consistent and streamlined experience for users across Microsoft 365. Existing followed sites and saved content will be preserved and automatically transition to the Favorites experience.

Additionally, as previously communicated, we are retiring Featured Links and encouraging customers to use modern alternatives such as Global Navigation, which can be configured to surface important organizational resources and destinations.

Introduction

We are introducing a newreimagined SharePoint experience that includes a redesigned SharePoint app bar, a refreshed SharePoint start page for finding sites,simplifies how users discover knowledge, publish content, and news,build solutions. This update delivers an intuitive design, a streamlined information architecture, and foundational support for AI-future AI‑assisted creation, management, and discovery features. The new experience appliescreation scenarios in SharePoint Online. A Microsoft 365 Copilot license is required to all SharePoint users. Someaccess the AI capabilities in this experience use AI. Access to those capabilities requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.update.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 547732.

Before the new experience rolls out broadly, it will be available as a public preview. During the preview period, administrators can enable the experience for their tenant to evaluate the changes and prepare users. When enabled during preview, the experience applies to all users in the tenant. Users may opt out of the new experience during the preview period.

When the public preview ends, Targeted Release rollout will begin, followed by General Availability (GA). Starting with Targeted Release, the new SharePoint experience will automatically apply to all tenants and users. Any tenant-level preview settings or individual user opt-outs from the preview period will be overridden, and no controls will remain. We recommend customers try the experience ahead of TR to be better prepared.

When this will happen

• Public Preview: Rolling out in early March 2026; expected completion by late April 2026.
• Targeted Release: Rolling out in early Maylate April 2026(previously late April); expected completion by mid-early May 2026 (previously June).
• General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD): Rolling out in mid-Juneearly May 2026(previously early May); expected completion by mid-Julylate May 2026(previously end of July).

How this affects your organization

Who is affected

• All SharePointOrganizations with users
• Users with who have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license will have accesslicense.
• Organizations that choose to AI capabilities includedenable the new SharePoint experience in this experience.
  the SharePoint admin center.

What will happen

WhenIf your organization enables the new SharePoint experience is enabled—either during preview or as part ofin theTargeted Release and General Availability (GA) rollout— SharePoint admin center, licensed users will see an updated see:

• A redesigned SharePoint app bar that introduces entry points for discovering content, publishing communications, and building SharePoint solutions.

  The updated app bar includes:

  , including:

  • Discover

    A– a refreshed start experience to quickly find relevant sites, content, and news.

    news:

     
    

  • Publish

    – A unified publishing hub in SharePointthat brings together pages, news,news and campaign-style communications powered by Amplify.

    Amplify:

    
    

  • Build

    – A centralized place where makers can createexperience to create, manage, and manage SharePoint sites, lists, libraries,scale Sites, Lists, Libraries, and AI-powered agents fromAgents all with a single surface.

    streamlined surface: 

    
    

    The app bar will also include:

    • OneDrive – Provides quick access to files.
    • Home – AppearsDisplayed when a Home site with global navigation is enabled, with the appropriate logo and name as configured in the tenant.global navigation.

    Additional updates include:

  • Updated page, news, library, and list experiences with improved content visibilityelevation
  • Neutral theming applied across SharePointcore product surfaces (site-(site‑level branding remains unchanged)

  If you do not enable the preview, there is no impact to your users or admin experience.

  What you can do to prepare

  If you plan to enable the previewnew experience:

  • Verify that users who need access have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license assigned to access the AI capabilities in this update.
  • Enable the settingexperience in the SharePoint admin center:center: Settings → SharePoint → New SharePoint Experience
  • Review documentation:instructions for enabling the experience: Enable the new SharePoint experience (preview) | SharePoint in Microsoft 365 | SharePoint | Microsoft Learn
  • Review changes to the SharePoint navigation experience, including the new app bar: SharePoint App Bar
  • Communicate expected UI changes to helpdesk and affected teams and users before enabling the preview.enabling.
  • Update internal documentation that referencesif you describe SharePoint navigation or app bar elements.

  Compliance considerations

  No compliance considerations identified. Review as appropriate for your organization.