M365 Changelog: (Updated) Updates coming to Daily Briefing Emails

MC414800 – Updated February 28, 2023: We’ve paused sending briefing emails starting early 2023 as mentioned in MC486289 and this service will continue to stay paused until further notice. You still have access to Viva Insights features with insights and recommendations to build healthy work habits. If you rely on different features within Briefing—like preparing for meetings, reviewing outstanding tasks, or booking focus time—you can find them in your Viva Insights Outlook add-in or Viva Insights app in Teams and web. Learn more: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/viva/insights/personal/reference/briefing-pause.  

The Briefing email from Microsoft Viva helps users start their day on track by surfacing information to prepare for upcoming meetings, follow up on outstanding tasks as well as protect time for independent work. A few updates are coming to the daily briefing email to provide users with ways to fine-tune their email.

Favorite & Snooze

Currently, content in briefing email is delivered in a pre-configured order. Beginning in October 2022, the briefing email will add ‘favorite’ and ‘snooze’ preferences to provide users the ability to personalize and engage with content that matter most to them. Users will also be able to change their favorite and snooze preferences directly through the settings page.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 93392

Time zone card

We’re introducing the ability for users to review, confirm, and change their working hours and time zone settings directly from this email to help ensure that it is sent at the right time for users who have different current time zone settings and meeting hour time zone settings. 

When this will happen:

Favorite & Snooze

• Targeted release will start in early December 2022 (previously mid-November 2022) and expected to be completed by early January 2023 (previously mid-December 2022)
• Standard Release will start in early January 2023 (previously late mid-December 2022) and expected to be completed by late January 2023 (previously mid-November 2022)

Time zone card 

• Targeted release will start in mid August 2022 and expected to be completed by early September 2022 
• Standard Release will start in early September 2022 and expected to be completed by late October 2022 

How this will affect your organization:

As this change begins rolling out, users in your organization will see the following updates:

Favorite & Snooze 

• In the existing feedback bar for each card within the briefing email, there will be two additional clickable icons for marking favorite and snooze. Clicking on favorite will allow users to prioritize a particular card in briefing email; clicking on snooze will allow users to de-prioritize a particular card in briefing email. 
  
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• There will be additional options within the settings page to control preferences for favorite and snooze. 
  
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Time zone card 

• Beginning in August, users may see the time zone card appear in their briefing emails.
• Users will have option to review and change or confirm their current work hours and time zone 
  
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The customized email is only available to an end user; no administrator or manager can see another individual’s Briefing email. All data is stored inside the user’s mailbox. Briefing email is subject to the same GDPR compliance terms as Office 365.  The customized email is only available to an end user; no administrator or manager can see another individual’s Briefing email. All data is stored inside the user’s mailbox. Briefing email is subject to the same GDPR compliance terms as Office 365. 

What you need to do to prepare:

Review and assess the impact on your organization. Additionally, you might consider updating your training and documentation as appropriate. Learn more about Briefing email from Microsoft Viva, and how Microsoft protects your privacy 

Additional information