M365 Changelog: Image Tags in SharePoint

MC272451 – Updated October 21, 2021: Microsoft has updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

Currently, when images are uploaded to SharePoint, a column named Tags is automatically created and includes descriptive labels to help with search. With the new update, Microsoft will migrate tags from the previous text-based and read only Tags column and implement a new editable Image Tags column.  End-users will be able to manually add or remove tags from this column. The tags will also appear in the details pane. 

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 68902

When this will happen:

Microsoft expects this rollout to begin at the end of October (previously mid-September) and expect the rollout to be completed by mid-November (previously early October).  

How this will affect your organization:

With this change, Microsoft will migrate tags from the previous text-based and read-only Tags column to a new editable Image Tags column. If users have library views or flows that include the old column, the old column will disappear from the view and the new column will need to be added manually. To manually add a column to a view, see Change the view of a list or library. To manually add a column to a flow, see Overview of using flows with SharePoint.

Note: the current limit of tags per image will remain. Microsoft is planning to provide a licensed-based method should your image tagging requirements go beyond this limit. More on this later this year.

What you need to do to prepare:

Microsoft recommends that you notify your users about the upcoming change and new functionality and include steps to recreate library views and flows.

Learn more about image tag functionality: Work with Image Tags in a SharePoint LibraryHelp and support