MC1269209 - Extending AI in SharePoint using custom skills

Introduction

We’re introducing custom skills for AI in SharePoint, which let users teach AI in SharePoint how to perform common business tasks in a consistent, repeatable way. With skills, organizations can tailor AI behavior to their own documents, standards, and processes—such as reviewing compliance documents or offer letters—without writing code or using external tools. This update helps reduce manual effort and makes AI results more reliable for everyday SharePoint work.

This message is associated with Roadmap ID 559800.

When this will happen:

Public Preview (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in mid-April 2026 and expect to complete by early May 2026.
General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in late May 2026 and expect to complete by early July 2026.

How this affects your organization:

Who is affected:

Users of AI in SharePoint
SharePoint site owners and admins
Users with edit permissions on SharePoint sites

What will happen:

Users with edit permissions can create custom skills using natural language within AI in SharePoint.
Skills allow users to define reusable, multi‑step AI instructions for common business tasks (for example, reviewing compliance documents or offer letters).
AI in SharePoint can automatically select relevant skills from the current site based on a user’s query, or users can invoke a skill by name.
Skills are saved as Markdown (.md) files in the site’s Agent Assets library (/Agent Assets/Skills/<skill-name>/SKILLmd) and are governed by existing SharePoint permissions and compliance policies.
Skills reuse native AI in SharePoint capabilities (content understanding, list manipulation, folder organization, and other supported SharePoint actions).
Skills cannot connect to external systems or execute custom code.
The feature is enabled by default and has no separate tenant‑level on/off toggle.
Existing SharePoint permissions are respected; users cannot perform actions they do not already have permission to do.

What you can do to prepare:

No action is required to enable this feature.

Recommended actions for admins:

Review how SharePoint site permissions are managed, as any user with edit permissions can create skills.
If needed, customize who can create or use skills by breaking permission inheritance on the Agent Assets library.
Update internal governance or usage guidance to include skills as part of AI in SharePoint.
Inform helpdesk or power users that skills are stored as files and governed by existing SharePoint controls.

We will update this post with new documentation soon.

Compliance considerations:

Compliance area	Explanation
Does the change store new customer data?	Skill definitions are stored as Markdown (.md) files in the SharePoint “Agent Assets” library and are governed by existing SharePoint storage, retention, and compliance policies.
Does the change alter how existing customer data is processed or accessed?	AI in SharePoint can apply skills to site content, enabling more structured and repeatable AI processing of documents, lists, and folders within the site.
Does the change introduce or significantly modify AI/ML or agent capabilities?	This change introduces reusable, multi-step AI skills that extend how AI in SharePoint performs tasks using native SharePoint capabilities.
Does the change provide users a new way of interacting with generative AI?	Users can create, invoke, and reuse custom AI skills directly within SharePoint using natural language.
Does the change include an admin control?	Admins can control who can create or use skills by managing permissions on the Agent Assets library, including breaking permission inheritance if needed.
Does the change allow a user to enable or disable the feature themselves?	The capability is enabled by default and cannot be turned off globally, but usage is constrained by SharePoint permissions and access to AI in SharePoint.