💡 Our Technical Review in summary
Summary
Microsoft is introducing “Agents” in Viva Engage communities, currently in Public Preview with General Availability (GA) expected by late April 2026. These AI-powered agents help community administrators manage engagement by automatically drafting answers to unanswered questions and providing context to posts. The agents leverage generative AI grounded in community conversations and linked SharePoint sites. Key updates include the ability for admins to specify external SharePoint sites for grounding and a new feature allowing users with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses to @-mention the agent for follow-up inquiries.
Impact
- Community Management: Community admins can reduce manual effort by allowing the agent to draft responses. Admins can choose between “automatic posting” or a “require review” workflow where designated experts must approve responses before they go live.
- Knowledge Grounding: Agents default to using the community’s own SharePoint site and conversations. Admins (who are also site owners) can now expand this knowledge base by adding external SharePoint sites and libraries as grounding sources.
- Member Interaction: Users with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses can actively engage with the AI by tagging it in comments. This allows for real-time, AI-driven deep dives into community content. This feature is enabled by default but can be disabled by community admins.
- Data Privacy and Permissions: The agent strictly adheres to existing permissions. It will only draft answers based on content that community members have “Read” access to. If an external site is added, the admin will be prompted to ensure the community’s Microsoft 365 group has the necessary permissions.
- Licensing: While the agent can be configured by admins, the ability for members to @-mention/tag the agent is restricted to users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
Action Required
- Enable Public Preview: To test these features before GA, Global or Engage admins must opt-in via the Engage admin center > Tenant Settings > Enable Community Agent Public Preview.
- Configure Agent Settings: Community admins should navigate to their community settings to add an agent, select grounding sources, and determine if tagging should be permitted.
- Review Site Ownership: Ensure that community admins who wish to add external SharePoint grounding sources have “Owner” permissions for those specific sites.
- Internal Documentation: Update helpdesk manuals and internal Viva Engage usage guides to reflect the new AI capabilities and the “Require Review” process for experts.
- Prepare for GA: Note that the Public Preview toggle will be retired in late March 2026, at which point the feature will be enabled by default for all eligible communities.
Microsoft Official Update
Service: N/A
Category: planForChange
Severity: normal
Updated January 26, 2026: We have updated the content Thank you for your patience.
[Introduction]
Agent in Viva Engage communities are now available in Public Preview. Community admins can add agents to communities to help draft answers to questions without best or verified answers based on community content and add context to posts by answering follow up questions using the community’s conversations and SharePoint site and library.
We’re now adding the option for community admins to specify additional SharePoint sites outside the community as grounding sources. The agent will only use sites that community admins select, and it drafts answers from items that community members can view (Read).
We are also adding a new capability: tagging by community members. Tagging by community members enables Microsoft 365 copilot-licensed users to @-mention the community agent in the comments and replies of threads with follow up questions and requests to add context to posts. When tagged, the community agent will reply in the post. Tagging by community members will be enabled by default, but can be disabled by community admins in the agent settings.
[When this will happen:]
- Agents in communities Public Preview: available now
- SharePoint Grounding on Community site and library Public Preview (Worldwide): available now
- Grounding on SharePoint sites and libraries outside the community and tagging by community members Public Preview (worldwide): Starting Feb. 16th, expected to complete by mid-March.
- General Availability (Worldwide): Begins late March 2026, expected to complete by late April 2026
[How this affects your organization:]
- Who is affected: Viva Engage community admins and members with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses; Global and Engage admins managing Viva Engage networks
- What will happen:
- During Public Preview:
- Admins can opt their network into the preview via the Engage admin center: Engage admin center > Tenant Settings > Enable Community Agent Public Preview.
Once enabled, admins can add agents to any community they manage.
Figure i. Add agent to community
The agent will proactively draft answers to unanswered questions using past conversations.
By default, the agent posts answers automatically.
Admins can configure whether the agent posts answers automatically or only after approval and if tagging by community members is enabled.
Figure ii. Configure the agent’s capabilities and knowledge sources
[Grounding on SharePoint sites outside the community]
- Community admins can add SharePoint sites and libraries outside the community as additional grounding sources (for sites/libraries they administer).
- When an admin adds a site or library, they’ll be prompted to grant the community’s Microsoft 365 group Read access if it doesn’t already have permission.
- The agent only drafts answers using content that all community members can view (Read).
- By default, the agent uses the community’s SharePoint site and library. Any sites outside the community are optional and add to (not replace) the default grounding.
If Require review is enabled, admins and designated experts will be notified when the agent drafts an answer. They can approve, edit, or dismiss the response.
Figure iii. Community admins and experts can review agent suggestions
If tagging by community members is enabled, then community members can @-mention the agent in messages.
Coming soon (General Availability):
The agent will only use content that all community members can access.
Admins must be owners of the SharePoint sites they wish to configure.
Admins can add additional SharePoint sites to expand the agent’s grounding knowledge.
The agent will be grounded by default on the community’s SharePoint site.
Community members can tag the community agent in community posts.
All Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed users will have access to the Community Agent by default.
The Community Agent Public Preview toggle will be retired.
[What you can do to prepare:]
- If participating in preview:
- Opt your network into the preview via the Engage admin center
- Communicate this change to helpdesk staff.
- Update internal documentation that references Viva Engage Community Agent behavior or setup.
- No action is required at GA; the feature will be on by default.
Learn more: Set up and manage agents in Viva Engage communities | Microsoft Learn
[Compliance considerations:]
| Consideration | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Uses customer data | The agent accesses SharePoint content to generate answers. Only content accessible to all community members is used. |
| Introduces AI/ML agent capabilities | The agent uses generative AI to draft responses based on SharePoint content. |
| Admin control available | (Optional) Community admins can configure which SharePoint sites are used for grounding. Admin must be site owner. |
| User interaction with generative AI | End users receive AI-generated answers grounded in community conversations and SharePoint content |
| Can be controlled through Entra ID group membership | Admin access and site ownership can be managed via Entra ID group membership. |
