Published: 6 July 2026. Source: SharePoint Copilot Apps Now in Public Preview (Microsoft 365 Developer Blog).
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Status | Public preview |
| Preview launched | July 1, 2026 |
| Worldwide rollout expected to complete | July 20, 2026 |
| SPFx version | 1.24 preview |
| Developer licence required during preview | None - any Microsoft 365 tenant can build apps |
| End-user licence required to interact with apps | Microsoft 365 Copilot |
| Admin action required | None for most tenants |
Microsoft opened the public preview of SharePoint Copilot Apps on July 1, 2026. Shipping inside the SharePoint Framework (SPFx) 1.24 preview, the feature introduces a new category of SPFx component that surfaces interactive UI directly inside the Microsoft 365 Copilot canvas. Unlike earlier Copilot features that produce text responses, SharePoint Copilot Apps deliver structured, action-oriented experiences: forms, approvals, data summaries, and task completions embedded within the Copilot conversation itself.
What Are SharePoint Copilot Apps?
A SharePoint Copilot App is an SPFx solution that integrates with Microsoft 365 Copilot as a declarative agent. When a user invokes the app from within the Copilot sidebar, the app surfaces a guided UI component alongside the conversation: a form to complete, a record to review, or a structured view of SharePoint list or library data. The user interacts with the component and completes their task without navigating away from the Copilot interface.
Developers build these apps using the same tools already used for standard SPFx web parts and extensions: React, Vue, Angular, or plain TypeScript. No extra hosting infrastructure is required. The package deploys through the existing SharePoint app catalog, and SharePoint automatically registers it as a declarative agent in the tenant agent catalog. All of this moves through the same pipeline that admins already manage for other SPFx solutions.
How SharePoint Copilot Apps Work
The public preview development and deployment flow:
- Install the SPFx 1.24 preview toolchain and scaffold a new Copilot App project.
- Build the app interface using any supported JavaScript framework.
- Package the solution and upload it to the SharePoint app catalog (tenant or site collection).
- SharePoint automatically publishes the app as a declarative agent to the tenant agent catalog.
- End users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence see the app in their Copilot agent list and can invoke it directly within a Copilot conversation.
During preview, any developer in any Microsoft 365 tenant worldwide can build and test a Copilot App without a Microsoft 365 Copilot licence for themselves. The Copilot licence is required only for end users who interact with a deployed app.
What the Rollout Means for Your Tenant
Most administrators do not need to take any action. The preview rolls out automatically to all Microsoft 365 tenants, with worldwide deployment expected to complete by July 20, 2026. Existing SharePoint Online permissions, storage quotas, and data policies are not affected.
The area to review is the tenant agent catalog. Once SharePoint Copilot Apps are deployed to the app catalog, they appear as agents available to Copilot-licensed users. Organisations that restrict which agents users can access should check the Microsoft 365 admin centre agent management settings as the preview rolls out. The existing app catalog permission controls determine who can deploy Copilot Apps: if only administrators can deploy to the tenant app catalog, no new Copilot Apps will appear without admin approval.
For tenants using site collection app catalogs alongside the tenant catalog, the same principle applies at the site collection level. Site collection admins with deployment rights to a site collection app catalog can publish Copilot Apps scoped to that site collection without tenant admin involvement, so review site collection app catalog access if that is a concern.
Data Access and Governance Implications
SharePoint Copilot Apps operate strictly within the requesting user's existing permissions - an app querying a SharePoint list returns only items the current user can already read. It cannot access content outside those permissions, and it cannot escalate access on the user's behalf. SharePoint enforces the permission model at the data layer for every request the app makes.
For compliance-sensitive environments, the key question is how Copilot App interactions appear in the Microsoft Purview unified audit log. App-driven queries and actions run under the requesting user's identity, so audit entries reference the user's account rather than a service identity. Organisations subject to data governance requirements should validate audit event coverage in a test site collection before enabling Copilot-licensed access to Copilot Apps in regulated content areas.
Preparing the tenant for any Copilot-adjacent feature begins with a clean permission baseline. The SharePoint Copilot governance readiness guide covers the permission audit and content hygiene steps that reduce AI-surface risk before a broader rollout.