October 23, 2026
In BriefMicrosoft to Retire M365 Targeted Release
Targeted release for Microsoft 365 (M365) services will be retiring in Jan. 2027. Microsoft is transitioning M365 releases to three “modern” release options: Frontier, Standard release, and Deferred release. Organizations that don’t use Targeted release are not affected.
Targeted release gave select users early access to test changes before organization-wide rollout. Frontier now provides this access for both AI and non-AI features.
Administrators must review users enrolled in Targeted release and update their release choice. Starting in Nov. 2026, admins will use a new unified interface combining the M365 and Copilot release management interfaces to update preferences.
Users assigned to Targeted release will continue receiving eligible M365 features until Jan. 2027. Users not reassigned prior to Jan. 2027 will be assigned to the organization’s default modern release preference for general availability (Standard or Deferred).
The modern release options include the following:
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