SharePoint Upgrade: Must-Try Features

Key insights

• Knowledge Agent and floating button: The YouTube video highlights a new floating action button that surfaces SharePoint’s Knowledge Agent, a contextual assistant that automates common intranet tasks and helps turn sites into scoped subject-matter repositories.
  It simplifies building and accessing a knowledge base inside SharePoint.
• Copilot and AI-powered features: Microsoft’s Copilot is now deeply integrated, offering AI section generation for pages, an AI-driven FAQ web part, and smarter search relevance to speed content creation and discovery.
  The video demonstrates how AI reduces manual editing and improves relevance across sites.
• Metadata autofill and automation: New AI tools can auto-populate metadata, speed approval workflows, and support e-signing to cut repetitive work.
  These changes aim to reduce errors and accelerate document lifecycles.
• UI updates: SharePoint gains a fresher look with customizable site headers and footers and the new floating button for easier navigation and accessibility.
  The update focuses on more flexible branding and faster access to key features.
• Governance and platform changes: The update strengthens data lifecycle controls and site attestation policies, while Microsoft retires the Microsoft Lists mobile app in favor of mobile web and unifies Stream with Clipchamp; planned SPFx field customizer changes were paused after community feedback.
  Administrators should review policy settings and roadmap changes.
• Known issues and recommended action: Some users reported metadata and UI stability problems after updates; the video recommends testing changes in pilot sites and using managed metadata and templates to keep content consistent.
  Roll out changes gradually and monitor feedback to avoid disruptions.

Overview of Steve Corey’s YouTube breakdown

In a recent YouTube video, Steve Corey walks viewers through a major SharePoint update that centers on new AI capabilities and interface changes. He focuses especially on a new floating button and the arrival of a Knowledge Agent that aims to simplify intranet tasks. The video frames the update as a practical upgrade for everyday users and administrators, and Corey demonstrates real-world scenarios to show how the changes work. Overall, his coverage stresses how these features can reduce repetitive work and improve content discovery on Microsoft 365.

Corey’s presentation is aimed at business users and IT pros who manage SharePoint sites, and he explains features step by step so viewers can evaluate impacts quickly. He balances enthusiasm with practical notes about where administrators should pay attention during rollout. As a result, the video reads as both a demo and a cautionary primer for teams planning migration or change management. It gives readers a useful starting point for testing the features in pilot environments.

The new floating button and interface updates

One of the most visible changes Corey highlights is the new floating button, which appears across SharePoint pages and aims to streamline navigation and actions. He argues that this small visual change solves a longtime usability gap by making key actions more accessible without cluttering the page. Moreover, Corey notes that customizable headers and footers complement the button, offering a cleaner look and more consistent branding for intranet sites.

However, he also points out tradeoffs: while the button improves quick access, it may require teams to rethink page layouts and content placement. In addition, some organizations must update governance rules so the button’s actions comply with internal policies. Therefore, implementers should test layout changes and access controls to avoid unexpected user confusion or permission leaks.

The Knowledge Agent and AI-driven content helpers

Corey spends substantial time on the new Knowledge Agent, which converts sites and documents into scoped subject matter hubs and supplies automated suggestions. He demonstrates AI-driven features such as automated FAQ generation, metadata autofill, and content section generation, which together reduce manual editing. These capabilities tie into Microsoft Copilot and promise faster content creation and improved search relevance across SharePoint and OneDrive.

Yet Corey is careful to discuss limitations: AI suggestions require quality source content and good taxonomy to work well, and poor metadata can lead to low-quality results. He recommends that organizations invest in managed metadata and content templates up front, since automation amplifies both good and bad structure. In short, the agent can speed work, but it depends heavily on existing content hygiene and planning.

Governance, compliance and workflow implications

The video also covers governance improvements, including data lifecycle controls and site attestation policies that help teams meet compliance requirements. Corey explains how automated workflows and e-signature support integrate with approvals to reduce manual bottlenecks while maintaining audit trails. For administrators, these updates mean new policy knobs to tune and new reporting expectations during reviews and audits.

From a tradeoff perspective, Corey notes that automation can both simplify governance and make mistakes scale faster if rules are too loose. He advises organizations to adopt a phased approach: pilot the automation on a few sites, collect telemetry, and refine policies before wide release. That approach reduces risk and gives teams time to train users on updated approval paths and retention settings.

Adoption challenges and recommended next steps

Finally, Corey addresses practical challenges that IT teams will face during adoption, such as updating developer customizations and preparing end users for new UI patterns. He notes that some previously planned deprecations have been delayed after community feedback, which shows Microsoft is responsive, but that also means admins must track roadmap changes closely. Corey suggests combining hands-on demos with short user guides to help teams adapt without disrupting productivity.

He concludes by urging a balanced rollout that weighs productivity gains against governance needs and change-management costs, and he encourages organizations to start small and iterate. By doing so, teams can measure improvements, address integration gaps, and scale the new features safely. Overall, Corey’s video is a useful, practical guide for anyone preparing for the 2025 SharePoint updates and weighing the real-world tradeoffs involved.

Keywords

SharePoint upgrade, SharePoint new features, SharePoint migration 2025, Microsoft 365 SharePoint update, SharePoint admin improvements, SharePoint performance enhancements, SharePoint security updates, Modern SharePoint experience