If you run Microsoft 365 with a "pilot group first, everyone else later" approach, you have almost certainly used Targeted release. That option disappears in January 2027, and every tenant that still has it configured will feel the change. Review your Targeted release retirement plan now and move to the new release options, and you stay in control of when users get new features. Leave it alone and the default settings make that call for you.
Microsoft replaces Targeted release with three release options
The new model is audience-based and has three options: Frontier, Standard release and Deferred release. With Frontier, users who opt in get eligible features before general availability so they can test them and give feedback. Standard release hands out features as soon as they are generally available. Deferred release holds major features back for roughly 30 days after general availability, so your help desk and training team get more time to prepare.
There are two dates to remember. In November 2026 you lose the ability to add users to Targeted release, remove them or change enrollment, although existing assignments keep working until the retirement. In January 2027 Targeted release is gone for good, and anyone who was assigned to it follows the Standard or Deferred preference set for your tenant. Microsoft covers the details in its guide to planning for the retirement of Targeted release in Microsoft 365.
Affected are the services that have used Targeted release up to now: the Microsoft 365 admin center, Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint Online, Outlook on the web, new Outlook for Windows and Office for the web. Microsoft 365 Apps update channels, Windows update channels and the Insider programs stay as they are. If you never turned on Targeted release, you have nothing to do, but you should still get familiar with the new terms.
Tenants that use Targeted release today need to act now
The pressing cases are tenants where Targeted release is set to "everyone" or to "select users". With the first setting, all your users have been getting features as early as possible. With the second, only a pilot group has. Once Targeted release retires, your existing Standard or Deferred preference takes over unless you change it, and that may not match the timing you have been managing deliberately.
Government tenants are a special case. In GCC, GCC High and DoD, Standard release remains the supported option, and neither Deferred release nor Frontier is currently available there. If that's you, watch the Microsoft documentation for updates.
Release timing also slots in nicely with other deadline projects. If you are already dealing with the end of support for Office LTSC 2021 or working through the EWS shutdown checklist, put the release planning in the same change calendar.
Your old Targeted release setup maps cleanly to the new options
Microsoft recommends a simple pattern for carrying the old configuration over. The flowchart shows the path from inventory to decision, and I go through the details below it.
flowchart TD
A["Check release preferences in the admin center"] --> B{"Targeted release in use?"}
B -- "No" --> C["No action, document the new terms"]
B -- "Everyone" --> D{"Need more lead time?"}
B -- "Select users" --> E["Choose Deferred release"]
D -- "No" --> F["Choose Standard release"]
D -- "Yes" --> E
E --> G["Add pilot group to Standard release"]
F --> H["Optionally enable Frontier for testers"]
G --> H
How the current Targeted release setup leads to the new release preferences.
Was everyone on Targeted release, and should they keep seeing features as soon as they hit general availability? Then pick Standard release. If larger changes need more preparation time, pick Deferred release instead. If Targeted release only covered selected users, you can rebuild that setup: put the organization on Deferred release and add your validation, support or pilot users under "Assign users or groups for standard release". You keep an early check in production, and everyone else gets extra time.
The change takes four steps in the Microsoft 365 admin center
You need the Global Administrator role or another role with access to release settings. All of this happens at admin.microsoft.com:
- Go to Settings > Org settings > Organization profile > Release preferences and write down whether the whole tenant or specific users are on Targeted release.
- Go to Copilot > Settings > View all > Copilot Release preferences: General availability and choose Standard release or Deferred release. This is also where you add pilot users or groups for Standard release.
- Go to Copilot > Settings > View all > Copilot Frontier if specific users or the whole tenant should get early access before general availability.
- Update internal documentation, training material and runbooks that still refer to Targeted release.
Starting in November 2026, Microsoft brings all three options together in a single release preferences experience. The current Standard and Deferred release page goes away, so expect the menu paths to change. The configuration itself is described in the article on setting up Standard and Deferred release options.
Tip: Before you touch anything, take a screenshot of the current release settings and the user list. Once November 2026 arrives you can no longer edit the old assignment, and that screenshot might be the only record of where you started.
The Message Center tells you what is coming and when
You can only make good release decisions if you hear about changes early, and the Message Center in the admin center is where that information lands. Microsoft has recently reworked the format of its posts. They now have sections for what and why, rollout schedule, impact on your organization, recommended actions and compliance considerations, plus a column showing when the change happens. That makes it possible to filter posts by rollout plan. Prepare for Microsoft 365 updates with Message center explains the new layout.
What works for me is a fixed weekly slot for going through the posts and turning the relevant ones straight into tasks. Put the broad user base on Deferred release, keep a small Standard group as an early warning, and you get roughly the staggering Targeted release used to give you. The difference is that now you have set it up deliberately.
I would finish this work before January 2027
My order would be: document the current state, define the target configuration, then name the pilot group that will serve as your early warning. After that, sit down with the help desk and agree which changes need training. Get this done in November and you still have December for a test run before Targeted release really ends in January.
