The June 2026 Microsoft 365 updates are among the biggest of the year for small business admins: 5 feature retirements with hard deadlines, 12 new features including the Copilot Planner agent hitting general availability, and one urgent action required for Kiosk and Frontline mailboxes. If you manage a Microsoft 365 environment in Quebec, here’s everything you need to know and do this month.
This information comes from the Microsoft 365 message center (admin.microsoft.com), updated for the June 2026 Microsoft 365 changes. And if you don’t have time to track these updates every month, that’s exactly what our proactive IT management service covers.
Quick answer: In June 2026, Microsoft 365 rolls out several changes for admins: new security policies, Teams and Exchange adjustments, and compliance updates. Checking them now avoids service interruptions later.
1. Microsoft 365 June 2026: retirements and end of support
Microsoft is officially retiring five features or plans this month. Here are the five retirements to handle before the deadlines hit:
End of standalone SharePoint and OneDrive plans: Microsoft 365 June 2026
Microsoft stops selling standalone SharePoint Online and OneDrive plans to new customers as of June 1, 2026. If your organization still uses these separate plans, existing licenses stay active. New subscriptions, though, will need to go through Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise suites. This is a good time to review your licensing setup if you’re running mixed plans.
Sway app for Windows retired (June 1, 2026)
Microsoft is pulling the Sway app for Windows on June 1, 2026. The web version stays available at sway.cloud.microsoft. If any of your employees were using the desktop app, point them to the web version before the retirement date.
Outlook for Windows report removed from the EAC (June 2026)
Microsoft is removing the Outlook for Windows report from the Exchange admin center (EAC). Admins who relied on this report will need to check the other reports available in the Microsoft 365 admin center instead.
Teams Live Events retired in Microsoft 365 June 2026
Microsoft is officially retiring Teams Live Events on June 30, 2026. Check the Teams Live Events migration guide on Microsoft Learn. Organizations still using Live Events need to migrate to Teams Town Halls and the Virtual Event APIs before that date. Integrations relying on the Graph API’s isBroadcast property also need updating.
ACE Assignments/Courses components and Viva Connections web parts (June 30, 2026)
Support for ACE Assignments and Courses components, along with SharePoint Dashboard web parts for Viva Connections, ends June 30. Microsoft will automatically remove these redundant elements from Viva Connections environments.
2. Action required: Exchange Web Services for Kiosk and Frontline accounts
Check your Microsoft 365 admin center for mailboxes with Kiosk (F1/F3) or Frontline Worker licenses. Then identify which ones rely on EWS integrations. This is exactly the kind of item that, if missed, causes silent outages that are hard to diagnose later.
3. New features in Microsoft 365 June 2026
Twelve new features are landing in Microsoft 365 this month. Here are the ones that matter most for small businesses:
Copilot Planner Agent reaches general availability in Microsoft 365 June 2026
The Copilot Planner agent is now available to all Microsoft 365 Copilot tenants. It lets you manage tasks and plans right from the Copilot interface, without leaving your conversation flow. For small businesses already using Microsoft Planner for project management, this integration can genuinely speed up creating and tracking tasks. If your organization hasn’t adopted Copilot yet, check out our guide to the benefits of Microsoft Copilot for small businesses.
Teams automatically detects external AI bots in meetings
Teams can now automatically detect external AI assistant bots, like third-party AI notetakers, that try to join a meeting, and place them in the lobby until the organizer explicitly approves them. A meaningful feature for small businesses that care about meeting privacy.
SharePoint and OneDrive: new file quarantine (DLP)
A new data loss prevention (DLP) action called “File Quarantine” automatically isolates files that violate compliance policies and replaces them with a custom message. Useful for organizations handling sensitive data under regulations like Quebec’s Law 25, GDPR, or HIPAA.
SharePoint: new report on “Everyone” permissions
SharePoint Online adds a report listing every file and folder with permissions granted to “Everyone” or “Everyone except external users” groups. This is a valuable tool for security audits. Plenty of small businesses have files shared more broadly than they realize.
Teams lets users report suspicious external contacts
Teams users can now report suspicious external contacts, potential phishing or social engineering attempts, directly from the Teams interface. Your security team receives these reports and can respond faster to phishing attempts coming through Teams.
Usage-based billing for High Volume Email (June 1, 2026)
Usage-based billing for High Volume Email (HVE) starts June 1, 2026, at $42 USD per million recipients. If your organization sends large volumes of email through Microsoft 365, newsletters, automated notifications, check your configuration to avoid unexpected charges.
New page for managing Copilot license requests
Microsoft 365 adds a dedicated page for Copilot license requests in the admin center, centralizing how users request Copilot access. Already available.
4. Improvements and feature changes in Microsoft 365 June 2026
Zero-hour Auto Purge: security update in Microsoft 365 June 2026
ZAP (Zero-hour Auto Purge) is the Microsoft Defender technology that retroactively removes malicious emails detected after delivery. It now extends coverage to emails in the “Deleted Items” folder, an extra safety net for threats that would otherwise have been deleted manually without being neutralized.
Entra: App Instance Lock enabled by default on new applications
Microsoft Entra now enables App Instance Lock by default for newly created applications, protecting sensitive service principal properties from unauthorized changes. No action needed here: new applications get this stronger protection automatically.
Outlook improves mail merge
The new Outlook for Windows and the web version improve mail merge with dynamic field insertion for personalized communication at scale. Handy for small businesses sending targeted communications from Outlook.
Other notable changes
- Teams: profanity filter off by default in captions for users who haven’t configured it, improving transcription accuracy.
- SharePoint and OneDrive DLP: Admins can now configure policy tips and email notifications independently of each other.
- Entra Connect: Microsoft is tightening security by blocking “hard matching” to prevent account takeover vulnerabilities for users with assigned roles.
- Clipchamp license names updated in Microsoft 365 billing and reports starting mid-June 2026.
- Teams: private channel migration: Microsoft will automatically delete empty private channels, or those made up only of guests, that block migration, unless an internal owner is manually assigned before June 5, 2026.
5. Frequently asked questions about the June 2026 Microsoft 365 updates
How do I know if my organization is affected by the Exchange Web Services retirement for Kiosk accounts?
Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center (admin.microsoft.com) and check your active licenses. Identify users with F1, F3, or Frontline Worker licenses, then check whether any of your organization’s apps or integrations use EWS with those accounts. If you’re not sure, reach out to your IT provider, since mishandling this change can lead to silent outages that are hard to diagnose.
What if we’re still using Teams Live Events?
First, migrate to Teams Town Halls before June 30, 2026. Town Halls offer comparable functionality, and Microsoft officially recommends them as the alternative to Live Events. If you have custom integrations built on the isBroadcast API, update them to use the Virtual Event APIs instead.
Does the new SharePoint file quarantine feature turn on automatically?
No. An admin has to configure File Quarantine DLP in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal. You define the policies that trigger quarantine, and you also choose the message shown to users who try to access an isolated file.
Is the Copilot Planner agent included in my current Microsoft 365 license?
Users with an active Microsoft 365 Copilot license can access the Copilot Planner agent. Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, or Premium licenses don’t include it. If your team doesn’t have Copilot licenses yet, reach out to your Microsoft partner, who can help you assess whether the investment makes sense for your use case.
OKTO Solutions tracks the June 2026 Microsoft 365 changes for your business
Keeping up with monthly Microsoft 365 updates takes time and technical expertise most small businesses don’t have in-house. At OKTO Solutions, this is a core part of our proactive IT management service for Quebec small businesses. We monitor the changes, assess their impact on your environment, and act before the deadlines hit.
Questions about the June 2026 Microsoft 365 changes? Particularly about the EWS retirement, the Live Events migration, or your licensing? Contact us for a quick review of your environment.