Every month, Microsoft adds new features to help people work better and faster. July 2025 brought some cool updates to tools like Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Word, and Copilot (Microsoft’s helpful AI assistant).

Whether you write a lot, have many meetings, or just want to save time at work or school—these updates are made to make your day easier. In this quick summary, you’ll find out what changed in July and what exciting things are coming soon.

Coming this August, Copilot Chat is getting smarter with enhanced conversation history features to help users quickly revisit and reuse prior chats.

What’s new:

• Easier access: Conversation history is now found under Chat in the Copilot app’s left navigation.
• Filter options: Search history by workflow type, agents used, or whether content was added to a Page.
• Improved recall: Quickly return to contextually rich conversations that matter most.

These enhancements boost productivity by reducing time spent re-searching for key insights.

Rolled out in July, Microsoft Teams now lets users access Copilot during sensitive live calls—even when recording and transcription are off.

What’s improved:

• With admin-enabled controls, users can click the Copilot button during a meeting to summarize key points, assign tasks, and note next steps.
• Ideal for private or sensitive conversations, ensuring no persistent records while still leveraging AI support.

This update helps teams stay focused and efficient—without compromising discretion.

Launched in July, the “Rewrite with Microsoft 365 Copilot” feature in Microsoft Edge helps users refine their writing in seconds—right where they work.

Just highlight text, right-click, and choose Rewrite (or press Alt + I) to get suggestions tailored by tone, length, and format—from professional to casual.
Perfect for emails, blogs, or reports—Copilot keeps your voice intact, while making your message clear and compelling.

Built-in, secure, and designed to keep you in flow.

Released in July, Copilot in Word now offers an audio overview feature—letting users listen to a podcast-style summary of any document.

Available in English on Word for web and Windows desktop, this hands-free option helps users absorb key insights while multitasking or on the go.
It’s a smarter way to stay updated—without staring at a screen.

Now available in OneNote, Copilot Notebooks act as an intelligent workspace—designed to organize your entire project in one place.

Bring together Copilot chats, Word docs, Excel files, and more. Then, ask questions and get context-aware answers, summaries, and insights—all without switching apps.
It’s your personal knowledge hub, supercharged by AI.

Starting mid-August 2025, a new Tools button in the Copilot Chat prompt box will make it easier for users to access the right AI features when they need them most.

With a single click, users can discover powerful capabilities—like Researcher, Analyst, Pages, and image generation—based on their license. This update enhances productivity by bringing task-specific tools into one intuitive menu, right where the work happens.

A redesigned Workflows app in Microsoft Teams is launching, built to streamline automation for everyday tasks across Teams and Microsoft 365. This update focuses on performance, simplicity, and usability—making it easier to create automations in just a few clicks.

Ideal for scheduling messages, managing approvals, syncing updates, or triggering actions from chat messages, the new experience reduces steps and introduces a cleaner interface.

What’s new:

• Streamlined design across Teams chats, channels, and SharePoint
• Redesigned template library for faster access to common workflows
• Natural language automation – describe tasks in plain English
• Madlib-style customization using smart placeholders
• Backed by Power Automate for secure, scalable automation

Rollout timeline:

• Public Preview & Targeted Release: Starting September 2025
• General Availability: Begins October 2025

1. Workflows v2 Home Page Experience:

2. Workflows v2 Template Catalog Experience:

A new accent color personalization feature is coming to Microsoft Teams on Desktop, Mac, and Web. This cosmetic enhancement lets users customize their Teams interface by choosing from a range of accent colors—adding a layer of visual personalization to the workspace.

Key highlights:

• Users can select their preferred accent color for the Teams shell
• Enhances visual experience without changing any core functionality
• Available across Teams Desktop, Mac, and Web platforms
• No impact on performance or features

Rollout timeline:

• General Availability (Worldwide): Starts early September 2025, completing by late September 2025

Image 1. Change accent colors in Settings > Appearance:

Image 2: User selected accent color applied in Teams:

A new Meeting Join Bar is rolling out in Microsoft Teams to streamline access to live meetings. When a meeting is active, users who have RSVP’d as “Yes” or “Tentative” will see a banner within the Teams interface, offering a quick way to join. If multiple meetings are live, the banner will display the number and provide a “View More” option for selection.

What’s changing:

• Live meeting banner appears for RSVP’d meetings
• Direct join option from within Teams—no need to search the calendar
• Multi-meeting awareness with a quick “View More” link
• Feature is on by default but can be turned off in Teams notification settings

Rollout Timeline:

• General Availability (Worldwide): Mid-July to Late July 2025

A new customization option is coming to Microsoft Teams: the ability to pin the AppBar directly from the hamburger (≡) context menu. This enhancement gives users greater control over their workspace layout, helping them quickly access essential apps and tools with fewer clicks.

What’s changing:

• Pinning the AppBar is now possible via the ≡ context menu
• Supports a more personalized Teams interface
• Based on feedback for easier and more intuitive layout control

Rollout Timeline:

• General Availability (Worldwide): Late July 2025

A new compact toast notification option is coming to Microsoft Teams on Windows. This feature allows users to reduce the size of pop-up notifications, offering a cleaner, distraction-minimizing experience—especially helpful in high-alert environments.

Key details:

• Users can toggle the compact size via:
  Settings > Notifications > Choose Compact
• Helps reduce screen clutter and improve focus
• Off by default; can be enabled manually

Rollout Schedule:

• Targeted Release: Early to mid-July 2025
• General Availability (Worldwide + GCC clouds): Mid to late July 2025

Emoji reactions now do more than express feelings—they can trigger automated workflows in Microsoft Teams. This new feature helps streamline tasks and improve response times by linking reactions to specific actions using the Teams Workflows app.

Highlights:

• Trigger workflows with emoji reactions (e.g., 👍 to forward a request)
• Great for DevOps, incident response, approvals, and team collaboration
• Available via the Teams Workflows app in the app store
• Helps eliminate manual follow-ups and reduce delays

This enhancement makes automation quicker and more intuitive—no coding required.

Finding the perfect emoji just got easier. Users can now search for standard and custom emojis by typing keywords directly into the emoji menu's search bar—making it faster to express thoughts, celebrate wins, or react to messages in the moment.

Key Benefits:

• Search both standard and custom emojis
• Quickly find the right emoji with just a keyword
• Helps keep communication expressive and engaging

This update enhances team culture and improves everyday interactions—one emoji at a time.

Composing emails without internet? No problem. In the new Microsoft Outlook for Windows, users can now attach files while offline. Drafts with attachments will automatically send once reconnected—helping teams stay productive wherever they work.

Rollout begins mid-August 2025 (Targeted Release) and reaches General Availability by October.

To enable this feature, offline mode must be turned on. Admins can manage it via the OWAMailboxPolicy-OfflineEnabledWin policy.

Offline editing can be enabled or disabled in Settings > General > Offline

Planning a meeting but not ready to hit send? Outlook now lets users save meetings as drafts—ideal when details aren’t finalized. Just discard the invite and choose “Save as a draft.” Drafts appear on the calendar with a “Draft” label.

Rollout started July 2025 and continues through late August across all platforms, including mobile.
No setup needed—this feature is on by default.

A new feature in Outlook mobile makes it easier to locate shared files. Users will now see a "Browse Files" button at the top of conversation threads when using the “Newest on Top” view. This button opens a consolidated list of all classic attachments shared in that thread, improving file discoverability and productivity.

This feature is available only in Outlook for iOS and Android, is on by default, and does not support OneDrive or SharePoint links.

New “Browse Files” button in conversation view:

The order of the “Add Shortcut to OneDrive” and “Sync” commands is being updated for a more intuitive experience. In document libraries across OneDrive and SharePoint, the Shortcut command will now appear before Sync in the command bar. This encourages easier access to shortcuts and aligns visual consistency across Microsoft 365.

Rollout begins late July 2025 and completes by mid-August. No admin action is needed.

Updated layout showing the new position of the “Add Shortcut to OneDrive” command in OneDrive and SharePoint:

Microsoft’s July updates show that they really want to help people spend less time on boring tasks and more time on what matters. Tools like Copilot are getting better at helping you write, organize, and stay on track. Teams is now easier to customize, and Outlook works better even when you're offline.

More updates are on the way in August—like a new Tools button in Copilot to help you find answers, do research, and more. These changes aren’t just for tech experts—they’re for anyone who wants to get things done with less stress.

Q1. What’s new in Copilot Chat?
Now you can see your past chats more easily. You can search by type of task or what tools were used, so you don’t have to start over every time.

Q2. Can I use Copilot in Teams during private meetings?
Yes. Even if you turn off recording and transcription, Copilot can still help you take notes, list tasks, and remember key points.

Q3. What is the “Rewrite with Copilot” feature in Microsoft Edge?
It helps you fix or improve your writing. Just select text, right-click, and Copilot will suggest better ways to say it.

Q4. What’s the new audio summary in Word?
Copilot can now read a short version of your Word document out loud—like a mini podcast. Great for learning on the go.

Q5. What are Copilot Notebooks in OneNote?
It’s a smart place where you can keep your notes, files, and chats for one project. You can also ask Copilot questions about your project.

Q6. What’s the “Tools” button coming to Copilot Chat?
Starting in August, this button will help you quickly use features like research, analysis, or image creation—right from the chat.

Q7. What’s new in Teams for joining meetings?
A new banner pops up in Teams when a meeting you said “yes” to is starting, so you can join it faster.

Q8. What’s the new color option in Teams?
In September, you’ll be able to change the accent color (the highlight color) in Teams to match your style.

Q9. What’s the compact notification feature in Teams?
Now you can make pop-up alerts smaller on Windows. It helps keep your screen less cluttered.

Q10. Can I use emoji reactions to do things in Teams now?
Yes! You can set certain emojis to trigger actions, like forwarding a message or marking something done.

Q11. What changed in Outlook for Windows?
You can now attach files to emails even when you’re offline. The email will send once you’re connected again.

Q12. What’s new in Outlook Mobile?
You can tap a button to see all files shared in a conversation thread—no more scrolling to find them.

Q13. What update came to OneDrive?
The “Add Shortcut” button now shows up before the “Sync” button, making it easier to find and use.