(Updated) Enhanced Copilot and AI controls for meetings

Updated November 3, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.  What and Why: Microsoft Teams is updating how administrators and meeting organizers configure AI for Teams meetings. The existing Copilot meeting policy is being replaced by two more specific policies: MeetingAI - controls whether Copilot, Facilitator, Intelligent Recap, and other AI features are available in meetings. TranscriptionWithMeetingAI - controls whether transcription starts automatically when meeting AI is turned on. This gives administrators clearer, more predictable control over whether AI is available and whether it requires (or works without) transcription, including the ability to enforce Copilot off. Organizers also gain more visibility into, and in some cases control over, these settings directly from the meeting options. Meeting options are also being updated to make AI controls easier to understand and to provide more granular control over who can enable, manage, and use AI capabilities, including a new who can manage option that replaces the existing Allow Copilot and Facilitator meeting option: Who can manage AI - replaces the existing Allow Copilot and Facilitator option and determines who can turn Copilot and other AI features on or off during a meeting. If an admin turns Meeting AI off, this option is set to No one. Who can use AI - provides more granular control over which meeting participants can use Copilot and other AI capabilities. Start Transcription with AI - lets organizers choose whether transcription starts with AI. Administrators can also control this option through Teams admin center. Intelligent Recap controls - lets organizers decide whether an Intelligent Recap is created when Copilot is turned on, including for meetings where a transcript is not created. Rollout Schedule: Targeted Release (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in early December 2026 (previously mid-November) and expect to complete by mid-December 2026 (previously early December). General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in early January 2027 (previously late November 2026) and expect to complete by mid-January 2027 (previously early December 2026). Impact on Your Organization: Today, the Copilot policy combines whether AI is available in a meeting with whether a saved transcript is required. After this update, these behaviors are represented by two separate settings: Allow AI in meetings: On / Off, but organizers can change / Off, and organizers cannot change Start transcription when AI is turned on: On, but organizers can change / On, and organizers cannot change / Off To keep the experience predictable and avoid invalid combinations: if MeetingAI is set to enforced off, transcription will also be turned off; if transcription is then turned back on, MeetingAI will no longer be enforced off. In PowerShell, administrators will use MeetingAI and TranscriptionWithMeetingAI instead of the existing Copilot policy. Once the new controls are enabled, the Copilot policy can no longer be updated directly - attempts will return guidance to use the new policies. What happens to existing configurations: Microsoft will perform a one-time update mapping each existing Copilot value to the corresponding MeetingAI and TranscriptionWithMeetingAI values, preserving the current effective behavior for your organization. Administrators do not need to recreate their policies. Examples include: Copilot is on and uses a saved transcript by default On On, but organizers can change Copilot is on and a saved transcript is required On On, and organizers cannot change Copilot is available without transcription On Off Copilot is off, but organizers can enable it Off, but organizers can change Based on the existing transcription configuration Copilot is enforced off Off, and organizers cannot change Off Existing configuration MeetingAI TranscriptionWithMeetingAI The Transcription policy remains available and continues to control whether transcription is allowed. The new TranscriptionWithMeetingAI policy controls whether transcription starts when meeting AI is turned on. The new settings will appear in the Teams admin center meeting policy under Recording and transcription and Copilot and other AI. Insert provided Teams admin center screenshot here The screenshot shows the new Start transcription when AI is turned on control and Allow AI in all meetings control, including the options administrators can use to set defaults or prevent organizers from changing the configured behavior. Action Required/Recommendations: No admin action is required to migrate existing configurations. Before rollout, we recommend admins: Review any automation or scripts that read or update the Copilot meeting policy, and update them to use MeetingAI and TranscriptionWithMeetingAI. Review custom tooling, runbooks, or documentation referencing the Copilot policy. Inform Teams administrators that existing behavior will now be represented by two settings in Teams admin center. Confirm the mapped configuration reflects intended behavior once the new controls are available. If you do not use PowerShell or custom automation to manage Teams meeting policies, no action is required. Existing configurations will be mapped automatically. Compliance considerations: This change affects administrative controls over AI and transcription availability in meetings but does not alter how existing customer data is processed or stored. Review AI and transcription governance policies for your organization as appropriate.