Services
Affected Platforms
Summary
Microsoft Purview eDiscovery (Premium) will add a feature to include a statistical sample of search results in review sets, enabling earlier validation and reduced review volume. Rollout begins mid-March 2026 worldwide, with no impact on permissions or existing workflows. No preparation is needed.
Details
Updated February 24, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.
Introduction
We’re introducing a new capability in Microsoft Purview eDiscovery (Premium) that allows eDiscovery users to add a statistical sample of search results to a review set. This enhancement helps organizations validate search results earlier in the investigation process, improving confidence in data relevance before committing all results to review.
With this update, reviewers can include a representative subset of items based on configurable sampling criteria, enabling faster early‑stage assessment while reducing review volume.
This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 516578.
When this will happen
General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout will begin in mid-March 2026 (previously late February) and is expected to complete by late March 2026 (previously late February).
General Availability (GCC, GCCH, and DoD): Rollout will begin in mid-March 2026 (previously early March) and is expected to complete by late March 2026.
How this affects your organization
Who is affected: Administrators and eDiscovery (Premium) users who manage or review search results and review sets in Microsoft Purview.
What will happen:
- This change does not impact any other Microsoft Purview or Microsoft 365 services.
- Users will see new sampling options after search statistics have been generated for a search.
- Users can choose to add all search results to a review set or add a sample of results based on configurable statistical inputs.
- When sampling is selected, reviewers can specify:
- Confidence level
- Confidence interval
- Percentage‑based sampling options
- This capability integrates with existing eDiscovery workflows.
- No changes are made to permissions, access controls, or review set behaviors.
- No features are being removed or replaced.
- The feature will be available by default when it reaches your tenant.
What you can do to prepare
No prerequisites are required, and no action is needed to prepare for this change. The capability will become available automatically.
If helpful, you may consider:
- Reviewing internal eDiscovery workflows.
- Updating training or documentation to reflect how sampling can support early validation of search results.
Learn more about eDiscovery: Learn about eDiscovery solutions | Microsoft Learn
Learn more about adding search results to review set: Add search results to a review set in eDiscovery | Microsoft Learn
Compliance considerations
No compliance considerations identified. Review as appropriate for your organization.