Level Up M365

AI Generated Timestamps Episode 20 – Timeline00:03 — Opening ThesisCore statement: “Governance should come after innovation.”Sets the theme: guardrails slow creativity.Host introduces the episode: “Hi all, welcome to another fireside chat.”Notes this is Episode 20 and the second consecutive release.Mentions the previous episode about building an app and optimizing for time to business value.Encourages listeners to check the prior episode but clarifies it’s not required.Focus: When to implement mechanisms and guardrails.Emphasizes high‑level thinking and trade-offs:“There’s not a perfect solution, only trade-offs.”Argues that early solution-building should avoid heavy governance.Introduces Rust as a metaphor for guardrails.Rust prevents memory errors but can slow innovation.C and C-like languages powered systems for decades.Mentions iPhone hacks caused by memory leakage that Rust mitigates.00:07 — Welcome & Context00:14 — Serendipitous Timing00:33–00:43 — Connection to Previous Episode00:43–01:09 — Purpose of This Chat01:09–01:27 — Guardrails Can Hinder Early Creation01:27–02:23 — Rust vs. C ExampleLink to show notes ⁠https://levelupm365.com/2026/04/06/podcast-19-fireside-chat-mitigate-risk-with-software-development

Timestamps: 00:03 — Welcome & Episode Setup00:12 — Episode Theme: Mitigating Software Development Risk00:20 — A Break from the Usual M365 Focus00:25–00:39 — What a Fireside Chat Means00:39–00:50 — How This Relates to M365Core Philosophy00:53–01:26 — Joe’s Background & Context01:26–01:53 — The One‑Sentence Philosophy02:05–02:32 — Why Speed Matters02:32–03:29 — Why SharePoint & Power Apps Fit This Model03:29–03:49 — Good Enough vs. Perfect03:49–04:29 — The Cost of Slow Development04:29–04:40 — The Origin of “Fail Fast”Pitfalls & Cautions04:53–05:42 — Pitfall 1: Governance Gaps05:42–06:10 — Pitfall 2: Prototype Stagnation06:10–06:32 — Product Ownership Matters06:32–07:15 — Show Progress Early & HonestlyAdditional Insights07:15–07:37 — Honest Ugly Demos vs. Fake Pretty Demos07:37–07:55 — Invitation for FeedbackTechnical Analogy08:00–09:22 — WebAssembly as a Cautionary TaleClosing09:33–09:46 — Wrap‑Up & Call to ActionLink to show notes https://levelupm365.com/2026/04/06/podcast-19-fireside-chat-mitigate-risk-with-software-development

Timestamps 00:03–00:12 — Show Introduction 00:12–00:52 — Preamble + What’s New 00:52–03:17 — Personal Update (Dominican Republic Trip) 03:17–04:01 — YouTube Channel Update 04:01–10:00 — Message Center Updates (“Message Radar”) MC1235123 — OneNote for iOS Local Backups (04:01–06:42) MC1193421 — Planner Features Being Retired (06:42–07:55) MC1234661 — DLP Blocking Copilot Processing (07:55–10:00) 10:00–14:00 — Main Topic: Planner vs Project for the Web Planner Standard Planner Premium Recommendation 14:00–18:00 — Project Management Concepts + Gantt Discussion 18:00–21:32 — Planner Changes Summary 21:32–23:20 — Tip of the Week #1: Copilot Bug (Drafts/Sent Items) 23:20–23:55 — Tip of the Week #2: Copilot Chat Conversations 23:55–24:30 — ClosingLink to show notes ⁠https://levelupm365.com/2026/02/26/podcast-18-project-for-the-web-retirement-and-project-management-options-in-m365/

Timestamps 00:04–00:27 — IntroWelcome, episode overview, quick note about being under the weather.00:27–01:24 — Sponsor & SupportSelf‑funded show; encourages ratings, shares, and coffee donations.01:24–04:58 — Preamble / Personal UpdatesDeepening work in software development, extending SharePoint/Power Apps, and using YouTube as a repository for demos.05:04–09:22 — Message Center RadarMC11820: Teams chat with any email — potential security concern.MC1138798: SharePoint workflows modernized via Power Automate (Feb–Mar 2026).MC792601: Retirement of domain‑isolated SPFx web parts (April 2026).09:27–15:23 — Main Topic: Gantt Chart Options in M365Buy it: Planner Premium (Project for the Web).Out‑of‑the‑box: SharePoint list Gantt view (legacy but free).Build it: Custom Power Apps Gantt chart Joe created.15:50–18:31 — Tip of the Week #1: Azure B2B Access PackagesTime‑bound external access to reduce security risk; restrict access to specific Teams/Sites.18:31–22:12 — Tip of the Week #2: OneDrive ShortcutsSyncing folders locally improves Windows search; recommended for active projects.22:12–End — ClosingSubscribe, visit levelupm365.com, and thanks to listeners.Link to show notes https://levelupm365.com/2026/02/26/podcast-18-project-for-the-web-retirement-and-project-management-options-in-m365

Full Write up - https://levelupm365.com/2025/10/13/episode-16-from-generic-to-genius-personalized-ai-with-copilot-memory/ Show Notes and Timestamps 00:00 – Intro Joe Cole introduces the episode and its focus on Microsoft 365 and Copilot. 00:44 – Episode Overview Topics: Teams calendar updates, quantifying AI value, and Copilot memory deep dive. 01:21 – Sponsor Segment Joe self-sponsors the show and shares ways listeners can support (engagement, tip jar). 02:10 – Preamble Joe’s recent work: prepping sensitive environments for AI, cleaning data estates, and shifting focus from Copilot Notebooks to Copilot Memory. 04:05 – Message Center Radar 04:16 – Teams Calendar Update (MC1129730): Outlook web calendar replaces Teams calendar toggle.  https://admin.microsoft.com/?ref=MessageCenter/:/messages/MC1129730 05:40 – Power Automate Savings Tool (MC1160319): New feature to quantify time/money saved by automations.  https://admin.microsoft.com/?ref=MessageCenter/:/messages/MC1160319 07:23 – Copilot Memory Update (MC58329): Improved memory settings and personalization controls.  https://admin.microsoft.com/?ref=MessageCenter/:/messages/MC1158329 07:58 – Deep Dive: Copilot Memory 08:11 – What is Copilot Memory?: Using Copilot to retain context and boost productivity. 09:33 – Feature Comparison: Copilot Conversations: Short-term, real-time chats. Copilot Pages: Long-form writing (blogs, proposals). Copilot Notebooks: Developer-focused (code, data analysis). Copilot Memory: Stores personal info for contextual responses. Full Write up:  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sorry-conversation-has-reached-its-limit-lets-start-new-joe-cole-uav9e/?trackingId=o3xbOwwXAs%2B%2BkDYefJdjkQ%3D%3D 15:08 – Workflow Tips Export chats to Word docs and store in SharePoint for future reference. Use SharePoint agents to tap into stored knowledge. 17:05 – Future Ideas Building a knowledge base with SharePoint and Copilot agents for deeper AI integration. 18:52 – Tip of the Week 19:01 – Quote from Paul Thurrott: “AI is not making us dumber”—it’s saving time by parsing the web. 21:14 – Microsoft Lists Updates From João Ferreira –  https://lists.handsontek.net/microsoft-lists-updates-2025-deprecations-new-features/ Mobile app retiring in November. Power BI quick integration retiring in December. SPFX field customizers likely deprecated. Browser policy changes. Copilot + Lists integration: Lists now usable as Copilot knowledge sources. 25:44 – Final Thoughts SharePoint rules and approval mechanisms are evolving. Teaser for future write-up on SharePoint list automation. 26:18 – Outro Subscribe and visit https://levelupin365.com for visuals and links. Follow Apple Podcasts –  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/level-up-m365/id1718776415 Spotify –  https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/levelupm365/ Newsletter/Socials –  https://levelupm365.com/subscribe-social-page/ If this post was helpful support the effort by ether of the following, share, like, subscribe, leave a tip! 

For all the links see full post here - https://levelupm365.com/2025/07/17/podcast-15-what-the-heck-are-copilot-pages/Timestamps (Generated by AI)00:02 – Welcome & Introduction 02:25 – Message Center Radar Joe highlights three Microsoft 365 announcements from the Message Center:MC1085569: Teams recording policy update — recordings now default to the meeting organizer’s OneDrive, streamlining record management.MC1060780: Copilot Chat now visible for unlicensed users across Office web apps.MC1041457: New usage report for Copilot Chat showing active users across Teams, Outlook, and Copilot.cloud.microsoft..06:36 – Feature Deep Dive: Copilot Pages Joe explores Copilot Pages and their architecture. Key takeaways:A Copilot Page is technically a Loop Page, powered by the Microsoft Loop app.Pages begin as Copilot chats and become editable documents via the “Edit in Pages” button.These are stored as .loop files on OneDrive, inheriting full M365 governance like retention, sensitivity labels, and lifecycle policies.Under the hood, each page lives in a SharePoint Embedded container, which is essentially a lightweight SharePoint site.Admins can view, manage, and restore these containers, with reassignment workflows coming soon — crucial for maintaining ownership after users leave.18:17 – Tip of the Week: Folder Ownership Mapping with Power Automate Joe shares a clever solution for a messy SharePoint migration:Users didn’t know who owned what folder.He built a Power Automate flow to get file properties, track editors, deduplicate with a union expression, and email requesters with appropriate contacts.He also used the item() expression to loop through results and automate notifications.Thing of the week links Power Automate Item() Expression video example - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC86gF_774IBulb Digital Episode - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/josephbcole_m365-is-changing-heres-what-it-means-for-activity-7349507471398322176-5wZX?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAVnRisBMH96yvZL0kLlMFU2BE0wcYGEj_YFollow Apple Podcasts – ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/level-up-m365/id1718776415⁠Spotify – ⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/levelupm365/⁠Newsletter/Socials – ⁠https://levelupm365.com/subscribe-social-page/

Timestamps (Generated by AI)[0:00:00 - 0:03:06] Introduction[0:03:06 - 0:07:03] Microsoft 365 News[0:07:03 - 0:09:18] Co-Pilot Chat Features[0:09:18 - 0:11:49] Practical Uses of Co-Pilot Chat, Tip of the DayLinks Full Write up - https://levelupm365.com/2025/05/26/podcast-14-exploring-copilot-chat-features-and-benefits-plus-all-the-retirements-coming-up/Hardcore Software: Inside the Rise and Fall of the PC Revolution by Steven Sinofsky (affiliate link) https://amzn.to/43xSToa. Retirement of classic Teams – Classic Teams will reach end of support on July 1, 2024, and end of availability on July 1, 2025Retirements of SharePoint Alerts – https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sharepoint-alert-retirement-take-action-now-avoid-business-joe-cole-9oaff/?trackingId=mX8ptsIUPvj8m3BRFHNZvA%3D%3DChanges to Microsoft Project for the web (retirement of the location not the app) – https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/plannerblog/transitioning-to-microsoft-planner-and-retiring-microsoft-project-for-the-web/4410149CoPilot chat URL - Go to https://copilot.microsoft.comFollow Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/level-up-m365/id1718776415Spotify – https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/levelupm365/Newsletter/Socials – https://levelupm365.com/subscribe-social-page/

Microsoft Build 2025 introduced over 50 announcements aimed at accelerating AI-driven development. Highlights include:Microsoft 365 Copilot Tuning: Enterprises can train Copilot with internal knowledge for domain-specific tasks.Advanced AI Agents: Microsoft 365 and Teams now support multi-agent workflows, enabling smarter collaboration.Azure AI Foundry Updates: New AI models, including Grok 3 and Sora, are available, along with multi-agent orchestration for enterprise applications.Copilot Studio Enhancements: Developers can now create task-specific AI agents with expanded customization options.Security & Compliance: Microsoft Purview now provides enterprise-grade security controls for AI applications.Edge Innovations: New AI-powered tools, including PDF translation, on-device AI APIs, and agent-powered web apps.Windows AI Foundry: A unified local AI platform for Windows, supporting on-device model deployment.Developer Productivity: Enhancements to GitHub Copilot, Power Automate, and new AI-powered development tools.Quantum Security Measures: Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) integration for Windows and Linux to future-proof encryption.ReferenceBook of News from Microsoft https://news.microsoft.com/build-2025-book-of-news/Text Write up - https://levelupm365.com/2025/05/19/microsoft-build-2025-thoughts/If this post was helpful, please share it as a token of your appreciation and consider subscribing to be notified of new content!

AI Summary Chatbots are reactive; they respond when prompted (e.g., retrieving a calendar event when asked).Agentic AI (Autonomous Bots) take proactive actions based on predefined conditions (e.g., monitoring tasks for inactivity and flagging overdue ones).Use Case Example: In software development, an agentic bot could take requirements from a structured document, set up databases, create UI forms, and generate Power BI dashboards—automating much of the early development work.Differentiation: Autonomous bots are typically specialized in a narrow task, while chatbots are broader in scope but less in-depth. IE. Password reset, queries on HR policies, onboarding FAQ, etc. LinksMicrosoft Blog autonomous agents - https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2024/10/21/new-autonomous-agents-scale-your-team-like-never-before/Copilot Chat Bot - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot/copilot-101/what-is-a-chatbotcheckout my Copilot AI category for my details - https://levelupm365.com/category/microsoft/copilot/AI Generated Transcription - https://levelupm365.com/portfolio/podcast-12-fireside-chat-autonomous-agentic-agents-vs-generative-ai-chat-bot-ai-transcripts/If this was helpful consider following the show and view the website for more resources - https://levelupm365.com/

Episode Summary - New Teams chat UI and calendar coming your way. - Renaming the Teams general channel. - Formatting text with chat bots. Links - Blog Post on New Teams UI- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-microsoft-teams-chat-ui-coming-your-way-joe-cole-24pbe/?trackingId=Zf3d2Y09RLCNVgwfmhUWGg%3D%3D - Follow site for my juicy m365 tips - https://levelupm365.com - AI Generated Transcript - https://levelupm365.com/portfolio/podcast11-new-teams-chat-ui-and-calendar-plus-fun-with-chat-bots-ai-generated-transcript/

Episode Summary Think strategically about adoption and modularity with M365. Get familiar with low-code tools, explore existing configurations, and aim for scalable solutions that other departments can reuse. Don't ignore easy governance, and be cautious of moving towards a commercial off-the-shelf (COT) solution simply because you think it will be easier to implement. Show Notes How to Dedupe data (remove duplicate values) using Power Automate - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp0jLnmKcEs&t=316s Book a room app in Power Apps - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlrUFzfLusY AI Generated Transcript here (there will be typos) - https://levelupm365.com/portfolio/podcast-episode-10-transcript/ Be sure to subscribe and checkout the main site for more juicy M365 goodness! ⁠⁠https://levelupm365.com/

Topics covered In the News, Updates to Lists such as a rating system, colored folders in OneDrive, and a crucial updated needed for the MS Forms to Excel Sync M365 Storage Options, SharePoint vs Teams vs OneDrive. We even touch on private folders, guest access, give some thoughts on Azure files, SharePoint attachments and Azure Blog storage. Tip of the day around solid Loop updates Reference Links M365 Storage options, where do I store what? SharePoint vs Teams vs OneDrive, etc. - https://levelupm365.com/2024/09/07/m365-storage-options-where-do-i-store-what-sharepoint-vs-teams-vs-onedrive-etc/ Microsoft OneDrive for Business: Colored folders in the OneDrive folder in Microsoft Windows File Explorer, Colored folders introduced on OneDrive web mid-2023 will be available in Windows File Explorer for OneDrive folders starting mid-September 2024. Users can view and manage folder colors directly in File Explorer. The feature will be on by default with no admin action required. - https://admin.microsoft.com/?ref=MessageCenter/:/messages/MC878504 Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Teams: Update on new Microsoft Lists rollout. Coming soon to Microsoft SharePoint and Lists in Microsoft Teams: An updated Microsoft Lists. This rollout introduces new features to users, including the ability to add ratings to any list, drag and/or paste images directly into a list, see who is collaborating with you in real time, switch views by clicking tabs, and more.- https://admin.microsoft.com/Adminportal/Home?ref=MessageCenter/:/messages/MC891238 Microsoft Forms | Data sync to Microsoft Excel: Support for migrating from the older solution to the new solution: Microsoft Forms will replace the older data sync to Excel with a new, more reliable solution on January 13, 2025. Users must manually migrate to the new solution, which will be available worldwide starting late September 2024. - https://admin.microsoft.com/Adminportal/Home?ref=MessageCenter/:/messages/MC855685 Microsoft Loop AMA from the Intrazone podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/microsoft-loop-101-and-ama/id1359992815?i=1000670649382 Loop is getting a Files upload feature… Kind of, it's complicated (explain why). - https://levelupm365.com/2024/09/11/microsoft-loop-is-getting-a-files-upload-feature-hold-your-horses-its-complicated/ AI Generated Transcript (There will be typos) - https://levelupm365.com/portfolio/podcast-episode-9-ai-generated-transcript/ Be sure to subscribe and checkout the main site for more juicy M365 goodness! ⁠https://levelupm365.com/

Topics covered Loop Guest Access SharePoint eSignature M365 KANBAN options Document Processing using AI Reference Links eSignature release in SharePoint - https://admin.microsoft.com/?ref=MessageCenter/:/messages/MC729720 Overview of eSigntaure in SharePoint from Bright Ideas Agency - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VmPfcUU2xA Loop Guest Access - https://admin.microsoft.com/?ref=MessageCenter/:/messages/MC736437 Full write up to my KANBAN post - https://levelupm365.com/2024/03/23/m365-kanban-supremacy-and-improving-communication-at-scale/ AI Document processing with Laura Rogers - Ready, Set, A.I. Builder! A Step-by-Step Guide to Microsoft's Automatic Document Processing Be sure to checkout the main site for more juicy M365 goodness! https://levelupm365.com/

Hello and welcome to another fireside chat. Today we are going to talk about the top (3) chat bots that are out there from a philosophical perspective is Google's Gemini the artist formerly known as Bard. Chat GPT, and Microsoft CoPilot. If you like this type of content, be sure to checkout the site: ⁠https://levelupm365.com/

In today's episode we cover the topics below, Under the message radar we talk about  Loop components in Channels and Collaborative Notes in Microsoft Teams. The content of the day is related to Joe's thoughts on using Collaborative Notes in Microsoft Teams along with some tips and tricks for better meeting minutes. We wrap up the episode with some neat tricks on de-duping data using a Power Automate expression called the Union. Be sure to checkout the companion post on the main site here: https://levelupm365.com/2024/02/20/6-collaborative-notes-in-microsoft-teams/

In today's episode we going to talk about A new Segment introduction, and that is the Microsoft Message Center News that stuck out to me. Specifically, we are going to talk about App name change for Microsoft Project for the web, and the Planner app convergence. We talk about the SharePoint Sync vs OneDrive Shortcut button. And then we close with the tip of the day. References AI Generated Transcript - https://levelupm365.com/portfolio/podcast-episode-5-sharepoint-sync-vs-one-drive-shortcut-ai-generated-transcript/ The Planner blog post - https://aka.ms/thenewplanner If you would like to know more all the task management on M365 view my post here - https://levelupm365.com/2022/07/26/the-state-of-tasks-in-microsoft-365/ Tip of the day, https://levelupm365.com/2023/12/06/easily-transcribe-your-audio-recordings-with-microsoft-word-add-names-and-timestamps/

Today's episode is more of a fireside chat format where I talk about some of the concerns I have with generative AI (Gen AI) in the enterprise. I am not an expert here, and there's still a lot more to say on this topic. But this little chat is to simply start the conversation. Enjoy! Here is the link to the AI Generated Transcript -https://levelupm365.com/portfolio/episode-4-ai-insights-with-joe-ai-generated-transcripts/ Be sure to subscribe/follow the socials to the site to stay in the know! https://levelupm365.com/subscribe-social-page/

Below is a paste of the companion write up to his episode. I would highly recommend checking it out as I have supplied a table comparison chart that might help expedite your decision making process. Here is the link - https://levelupm365.com/2022/07/26/the-state-of-tasks-in-microsoft-365/ Also, subscribe to the site pasted below, and follow us on your Podcast apps to stay informed! https://levelupm365.com/

Below is a paste of the companion post to this audio only podcasts where you can see visuals to the app mentioned - https://levelupm365.com/2022/07/08/you-know-you-have-a-free-database-why-i-love-microsoft-lists/ Also, subscribe to the site pasted below, and follow us on your Podcast apps to stay informed! ⁠https://levelupm365.com/⁠

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