Microsoft 365 2026 New Features by Plan: What’s Now Included

The 2026 updates at a glance: what's new and when it lands

New capabilities began rolling out in June 2026 and will be live across eligible tenants by August 1, 2026. You get at least 30 days’ notice in the Microsoft 365 Message Center before they appear in your tenant, so admins can plan enablement rather than discover features after the fact. The additions confirmed in Microsoft’s official packaging update fall into three buckets: expanded Copilot Chat, email and link security, and Intune device management.

What each Microsoft 365 plan gains in 2026

Business plans: Copilot Chat + 50 GB storage

All three Business plans gain enhanced Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat with admin controls and usage analytics, plus 50 GB of additional mailbox storage. Basic and Standard also add URL time-of-click protection, which scans links in Outlook and Office apps at the moment a user clicks, blunting phishing links that were clean when the message arrived. If you’re weighing Business Premium against an enterprise plan on capability grounds, our Business Premium vs. E3 comparison shows where the line falls.

E3 plans: Defender for Office + Intune tools

The headline addition for E3 is Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1: Safe Links, Safe Attachments, and anti-phishing, which used to be a separate purchase. Microsoft 365 E3 goes further, adding Intune Remote Help, Intune Advanced Analytics, and Intune Plan 2 on top of the Copilot Chat enhancements. For many E3 tenants, Defender for Office P1 is the single most useful line in this update, as it can replace a standalone email security product.

E5: Security Copilot + advanced Intune

E5 receives everything E3 does, plus the premium security and management tier: Microsoft Security Copilot, Intune Endpoint Privilege Management, Intune Enterprise Application Management, and Microsoft Cloud PKI. Security Copilot moving into E5 is the standout, since it was previously a separate purchase. If you already hold E5, this is a capacity you now own rather than something to evaluate and buy. Whether the jump to the very top tier is worth it is a separate question we work through in E5 vs. E7.

Frontline (F1 & F3): Copilot Chat only

Frontline plans gain the Copilot Chat enhancements and analytics. The feature additions here are lighter than on the knowledge-worker suites, which is worth remembering when you budget frontline seats against the plan’s price change.

Which new features are worth acting on first

Not every bundled feature automatically translates into value. The one with the clearest payback is Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 in E3, but only if you can retire the tool it replaces. An organization's mid-term on a third-party email security contract cannot capture that saving until the contract lapses, so your Microsoft renewal and your security vendor’s renewal need to line up before the “included” feature becomes real savings instead of duplicate spend. That timing detail doesn’t appear on Microsoft’s feature list, and it’s the kind of thing a licensing review catches.

Security Copilot in E5 is the second one to plan for. It is included capacity, but it needs configuration and governance to be useful, so treat it as a project to schedule rather than a switch to flip. As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, TrustedTech helps clients enable these additions against a live tenant so the features you’re now paying for actually get used.

Microsoft 365 2026 features: FAQ

Across the suites: enhanced Copilot Chat with admin controls and analytics, URL time-of-click protection, 50 GB more mailbox storage on Business plans, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 on E3, a set of Intune management tools (Remote Help, Advanced Analytics, Plan 2) on E3, and Microsoft Security Copilot, Intune Endpoint Privilege Management, Enterprise Application Management, and Cloud PKI on E5.

They are included in the existing plans, not sold as add-ons. Microsoft is raising list prices on most plans effective July 1, 2026, to reflect the added value; the exact prices and available discounts are covered in our Microsoft 365 2026 price increases and discounts guide.

Microsoft 365 E3 adds Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 1, Intune Remote Help, Intune Advanced Analytics, Intune Plan 2, and the Copilot Chat enhancements. Office 365 E3 adds Defender for Office Plan 1 and the Copilot Chat enhancements.

E5 includes all of the E3 additions plus Microsoft Security Copilot, Intune Endpoint Privilege Management, Intune Enterprise Application Management, and Microsoft Cloud PKI. Security Copilot was previously a separate purchase.

Rollout began in June 2026 and completes by August 1, 2026. Tenants receive at least 30 days’ notice in the Microsoft 365 Message Center before the features become available.

Not the full Microsoft 365 Copilot. What’s included is enhanced Copilot Chat (and its admin controls and analytics). The full Microsoft 365 Copilot remains a separate paid add-on, and standalone Copilot SKUs are not included in this packaging update.

The bottom line: features only pay off if you turn them on

The 2026 updates push real security and management capability down into plans that didn’t have it before, which changes what you should and shouldn’t buy separately. The value depends on enablement: a bundled feature only helps if your team turns it on and, where relevant, drops the tool it replaces. For the cost side of this change, including exact new prices and current discounts, see our Microsoft 365 2026 price increases and discounts guide.

Want a plan-by-plan review of what your tenant now includes and what you can stop paying for elsewhere? Talk to a TrustedTech licensing advisor for a no-commitment assessment.