AI in SharePoint

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AI in SharePoint: What’s Actually New?

In this episode of Ask Sympraxis, Julie kicks off a focused, hands‑on walkthrough of what Microsoft is now branding as “AI in SharePoint.”

This isn’t a single feature. It’s a growing collection of Copilot‑powered entry points inside SharePoint that let users start with intent — described in natural language — and move directly into real content: pages, libraries, lists, and workflows.

The promise is big. The reality is nuanced. And as the team explains, your experience will vary depending on licensing, tenant configuration, and where Microsoft happens to be experimenting this week.

The Three Entry Points for AI in SharePoint

Microsoft currently surfaces AI in SharePoint through three distinct buttons, each with overlapping but different behaviors:

1. Open Agents

The Open Agents button launches a contextual agent scoped to where you are in SharePoint.

Key characteristics:

  • Context‑aware (site, list, library, or page)
  • Lazy‑loaded — often slower than the settings gear
  • Frequently appears in inconsistent locations

It’s powerful when it shows up — and confusing when it doesn’t.

2. AI Actions (Lists & Libraries)

Inside document libraries and lists, AI Actions let you create agents that are explicitly grounded in that container.

What this enables:

  • Agents scoped to a specific list or library
  • Shareable agents for repeat scenarios
  • A cleaner mental model than the floating FAB for content‑specific work

This is one of the more predictable and useful AI entry points today.

3. The Floating Action Button (FAB)

Formerly known as the Knowledge Agent, Microsoft now refers to this as the Floating Action Button (FAB) — and in some internal teams, even the “DAB” (Dynamic Action Button).

From the FAB, users can:

  • Summarize content
  • Create pages or lists
  • Apply design ideas
  • Perform autofill and content management actions
  • Trigger admin‑level “Improve this site” actions

The good news: it’s powerful.
The bad news: it appears, disappears, and reappears depending on context — leading to real UX confusion.

AI Inside SharePoint Pages

AI in SharePoint isn’t just about agents and chat.

AI can help you

  • Start writing page content from a prompt
  • Refine or rewrite existing sections
  • Generate layouts using Design Ideas based on text blocks

These tools are especially helpful for:

  • Jump‑starting blank pages
  • Creating internal content drafts
  • Giving non‑designers a usable starting point

They are not plug‑and‑play replacements for good writing, accessibility, or governance — and the team is clear about that.

SharePoint Agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat

Outside of SharePoint itself, Microsoft is also introducing SharePoint‑specific agents inside Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat.

So far, there are three:

  • SharePoint List Agent
  • SharePoint Page Agent
  • SharePoint Admin Agent (admins only)

These agents let you create SharePoint assets before deciding where they live — a notable shift from traditional site‑first thinking. They behave more like mini‑apps than in‑site agents and are not the same as agents created inside SharePoint.

Now in Preview: SharePoint Skills

One of the most forward‑looking parts of the episode is the introduction of SharePoint Skills (currently in preview).

What is a Skill?

A SharePoint Skill is a:

  • Reusable, AI‑powered workflow
  • Defined in natural language
  • Stored natively in SharePoint

What Skills Can Do

  • Analyze content
  • Update metadata
  • Apply business rules

Why Skills Matter

  • They capture process, not just answers
  • They reduce manual, repeatable work
  • They scale expertise across teams

As Todd puts it:

Prompts answer questions. Skills capture process.

For admins, skills are:

  • Stored in Agent Assets
  • Versionable
  • Governable
  • Permission‑aware

This is a major shift in how business logic can live inside SharePoint — without traditional automation tooling.

Important Cautions (Read This Part)

The team closes with several practical warnings:

  • Without a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, you won’t see most of this UI
  • The Copilot button in the browser is not the same as AI in SharePoint
  • FAB, Agents, and Copilot Chat are distinct experiences
  • Some AI features — especially Classify and Extract — use Pay‑As‑You‑Go billing
  • AI does not make SharePoint “self‑explanatory” — you still need foundational knowledge to ask the right questions

In other words: AI does not replace information architecture, governance, or design discipline.

Resources

Do you have any questions for us? Continue the conversation on BlueSky with the hashtag #AskSympraxis and mention @sympraxisconsulting.com.