Decoupling admin controls for agents on/off from Researcher and Analyst
From Microsoft 365 Message Center Archive by Merill Fernando · Microsoft may not have sent this notice to your tenant.Action date
What the notice says
Microsoft’s text, safely structuredUpdated December 4, 2025: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.
Introduction
Researcher and Analyst are part of the core default experience for M365 Copilot Chat and will now continue to be available to all users with a Copilot license—even when the ability to use Copilot agents is disabled for some or all users in the organization. This change reflects customer feedback and ensures uninterrupted access to foundational productivity tools.
Screenshot 1: Agents Settings for who can access agents in the organization
When this will happen
General Availability begins December 15, 2025 and will begin to rollout over the next few weeks.
How this affects your organization
- Who is affected: IT Admins that manage Copilot agent access in M365 Copilot Chat and M365 Copilot licensed users.
- What will happen:
Screenshot 2: Agent inventory
What you can do to prepare
- Review who can access Copilot agents in your organization before December 15, 2025.
- Communicate this change to helpdesk and support teams to reduce confusion.
- Update internal documentation if you reference agent visibility or access controls.
- Refer to updated admin guidance here: Manage Microsoft 365 Copilot Agents - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn
Compliance considerations
No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.
What changed
Between archive captures, newest first- Tags
Admin impact→ Updated message, Admin impact
Updated December 4, 2025: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience. Introduction Researcher and Analyst are part of the core default experience for … in the organization When this will happen: General Availability begins December 15,
2025.2025 and will begin to rollout over the next few weeks. How this affects your organization: Who is affected: IT Admins that manage … happen: Researcher and Analyst will remain accessible in M365 Copilot Chat viatools and @mention,tools, even when Copilot agents are disabled in Agents Settings for some or … not appear in the left navigation of M365 Copilot Chat for thoseusers.users or @mention. Existing admin controls to block Researcher and Analyst agents will continue to function as expected as set by the admin in …- Tags
- · first version seen
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