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(Updated) Microsoft Viva Engage: Flexible targeting of Storyline Announcements

Message ID
MC1183013
View in Message Center
Service
Microsoft Viva
Category
Stay Informed
Tags
New featureUser impactAdmin impact
Rollout
November 2025December 2025January 2026February 2026March 2026July 2026
Roadmap ID
499895
View in M365 Roadmap
Platforms
DesktopWeb

Summary

Microsoft Viva Engage introduces My Team audiences and flexible targeting for Storyline Announcements, allowing leaders to tailor messages using organizational attributes, groups, or individuals. Public preview runs mid-November 2025 to mid-March 2026; general availability starts late July 2026. Requires premium licensing and accurate organizational data.

Details

Updated June 24, 2026: We have updated the content and timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

We’re introducing My Team audiences and expanded targeting capabilities in Viva Engage to help leaders communicate with the employees in their organization and tailor messages to relevant teams, departments, locations, or groups. My Team provides a ready-to-use, automatically maintained audience based on the organizational hierarchy, so leaders can reach the employees who report up to them, including both direct and indirect reports. This audience helps unlock and improve leadership experiences across Viva Engage, making Storyline Announcements, audience analytics, Leadership Corner, and feed and digest distribution more relevant with less setup.

Leaders and delegates can use My Team as-is, review its membership, or further customize and save it as a reusable audience across leader communication experiences. For Storyline Announcements, they can also define recipients at the time of publish, choosing My Team, a saved audience, or a custom audience built using organizational attributes such as department, job title, or country; existing groups like M365 Groups, distribution lists, or security groups; and individual users by name. Together, My Team and flexible targeting make leader communications more relevant, scalable, and easier to manage - with a dynamic default audience and precise targeting for relevant employee groups.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 499895.

[When this will happen:]

  • Public Preview (Worldwide): Begins mid-November 2025 and completes by mid-March 2026 (previously early February).
  • General Availability (Worldwide): Begins late-July 2026.

[How this affects your organization:]

Who is affected: Leaders and delegates using Viva Engage Storyline Announcements in tenants enrolled in public preview.

What will happen:

  • This capability is being introduced as part of the public preview for Viva Engage. During this phase, leaders and their delegates can actively experiment with flexible audience targeting for Storyline Announcements—defining a custom audience at the time of posting, rather than relying solely on pre‑configured Leader Audiences.
  • Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users.
  • Notifications and delivery channels (Teams, email, Viva Engage Inbox) remain unchanged for recipients.
  • No dependency on IT or advance audience setup—leaders can act immediately when communication needs arise.
  • Available only in public preview; functionality and targeting options may evolve before general availability.
  • Admins should ensure organizational attributes in Entra ID or Organizational Data in Microsoft are accurate to support successful targeting.
  • Available platforms: Desktop and web.
  • Licensing requirements: This feature requires a premium license available through Viva or Communications and Communities (C&C). Availability may vary depending on your organization's Microsoft 365 licensing agreement.

[What you can do to prepare:]

No admin action is required for rollout. To prepare, you may want to:

  • Validate organizational attributes (reporting structure, country, department, role, job title) in Microsoft Entra ID or Organizational Data in Microsoft.
  • Confirm leader and delegate assignments to ensure the right people can use Storyline Announcements and the new targeting control.

Learn more:

[Compliance considerations:]

No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.

Change History

Show
June 25, 2026 at 2:30 AM Updated
Summary
Previous
Microsoft Viva Engage introduces My Team audiences and flexible targeting for Storyline Announcements, enabling leaders to reach relevant employees using organizational attributes, groups, or individuals. Public preview runs mid-November 2025 to mid-March 2026; general availability begins mid-August 2026. Premium license required.
New
Microsoft Viva Engage introduces My Team audiences and flexible targeting for Storyline Announcements, allowing leaders to tailor messages using organizational attributes, groups, or individuals. Public preview runs mid-November 2025 to mid-March 2026; general availability starts late July 2026. Requires premium licensing and accurate organizational data.
Last Updated Date
Previous
2026-06-24T16:55:35.930Z
New
2026-06-24T23:44:13.087Z
Body Content
Previous
<p>Updated June 24, 2026: We have updated the content and timeline. Thank you for your patience.&nbsp;</p><p>We’re introducing My Team audiences and expanded targeting capabilities in Viva Engage to help leaders communicate with the employees in their organization and tailor messages to relevant teams, departments, locations, or groups. My Team provides a ready-to-use, automatically maintained audience based on the organizational hierarchy, so leaders can reach the employees who report up to them, including both direct and indirect reports. This audience helps unlock and improve leadership experiences across Viva Engage, making Storyline Announcements, audience analytics, Leadership Corner, and feed and digest distribution more relevant with less setup.</p><p>Leaders and delegates can use My Team as-is, review its membership, or further customize and save it as a reusable audience across leader communication experiences. For Storyline Announcements, they can also define recipients at the time of publish, choosing My Team, a saved audience, or a custom audience built using organizational attributes such as department, job title, or country; existing groups like M365 Groups, distribution lists, or security groups; and individual users by name. Together, My Team and flexible targeting make leader communications more relevant, scalable, and easier to manage - with a dynamic default audience and precise targeting for relevant employee groups.</p><p>This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&amp;searchterms=499895" target="_blank">499895</a>.</p> <p><b>[When this will happen:]</b> </p><ul><li><b>Public Preview (Worldwide):</b> Begins mid-November 2025 and completes by mid-March 2026 (previously early February). </li><li><b>General Availability (Worldwide):</b>&nbsp;Begins mid-August 2026.</li></ul> <p><b>[How this affects your organization:]</b> </p><p><b>Who is affected:</b>&nbsp;Leaders and delegates using Viva Engage Storyline Announcements in tenants enrolled in public preview. </p><p><b>What will happen:</b> </p><ul> <li>This capability is being introduced as part of the public preview for Viva Engage. During this phase, leaders and their delegates can actively experiment with flexible audience targeting for Storyline Announcements—defining a custom audience at the time of posting, rather than relying solely on pre‑configured Leader Audiences.</li><li>Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users.</li><li>Notifications and delivery channels (Teams, email, Viva Engage Inbox) remain unchanged for recipients.</li><li>No dependency on IT or advance audience setup—leaders can act immediately when communication needs arise.</li><li><b>Available only in public preview</b>; functionality and targeting options may evolve before general availability.</li><li>Admins should ensure organizational attributes in Entra ID or Organizational Data in Microsoft are accurate to support successful targeting.</li><li><b>Available platforms:</b> Desktop and web.</li><li><b>Licensing requirements: </b>This feature requires a premium license available through Viva or Communications and Communities (C&amp;C). Availability may vary depending on your organization's Microsoft 365 licensing agreement.</li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[What you can do to prepare:]</b> </p><p>No admin action is required for rollout. To prepare, you may want to:</p><ul> <li>Validate organizational attributes (reporting structure, country, department, role, job title) in <i>Microsoft Entra ID</i> or Organizational Data in <i>Microsoft</i>.</li> <li>Confirm leader and delegate assignments to ensure the right people can use Storyline Announcements and the new targeting control.</li></ul><p>Learn more:</p><ul><li><a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/viva/organizational-data" target="_blank">Use your organizational data in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Learn</a></li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[Compliance considerations:]</b> </p><p>No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.</p>
New
<p>Updated June 24, 2026: We have updated the content and timeline. Thank you for your patience.&nbsp;</p><p>We’re introducing My Team audiences and expanded targeting capabilities in Viva Engage to help leaders communicate with the employees in their organization and tailor messages to relevant teams, departments, locations, or groups. My Team provides a ready-to-use, automatically maintained audience based on the organizational hierarchy, so leaders can reach the employees who report up to them, including both direct and indirect reports. This audience helps unlock and improve leadership experiences across Viva Engage, making Storyline Announcements, audience analytics, Leadership Corner, and feed and digest distribution more relevant with less setup.</p><p>Leaders and delegates can use My Team as-is, review its membership, or further customize and save it as a reusable audience across leader communication experiences. For Storyline Announcements, they can also define recipients at the time of publish, choosing My Team, a saved audience, or a custom audience built using organizational attributes such as department, job title, or country; existing groups like M365 Groups, distribution lists, or security groups; and individual users by name. Together, My Team and flexible targeting make leader communications more relevant, scalable, and easier to manage - with a dynamic default audience and precise targeting for relevant employee groups.</p><p>This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&amp;searchterms=499895" target="_blank">499895</a>.</p> <p><b>[When this will happen:]</b> </p><ul><li><b>Public Preview (Worldwide):</b> Begins mid-November 2025 and completes by mid-March 2026 (previously early February). </li><li><b>General Availability (Worldwide):</b>&nbsp;Begins late-July 2026.</li></ul> <p><b>[How this affects your organization:]</b> </p><p><b>Who is affected:</b>&nbsp;Leaders and delegates using Viva Engage Storyline Announcements in tenants enrolled in public preview. </p><p><b>What will happen:</b> </p><ul> <li>This capability is being introduced as part of the public preview for Viva Engage. During this phase, leaders and their delegates can actively experiment with flexible audience targeting for Storyline Announcements—defining a custom audience at the time of posting, rather than relying solely on pre‑configured Leader Audiences.</li><li>Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users.</li><li>Notifications and delivery channels (Teams, email, Viva Engage Inbox) remain unchanged for recipients.</li><li>No dependency on IT or advance audience setup—leaders can act immediately when communication needs arise.</li><li><b>Available only in public preview</b>; functionality and targeting options may evolve before general availability.</li><li>Admins should ensure organizational attributes in Entra ID or Organizational Data in Microsoft are accurate to support successful targeting.</li><li><b>Available platforms:</b> Desktop and web.</li><li><b>Licensing requirements: </b>This feature requires a premium license available through Viva or Communications and Communities (C&amp;C). Availability may vary depending on your organization's Microsoft 365 licensing agreement.</li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[What you can do to prepare:]</b> </p><p>No admin action is required for rollout. To prepare, you may want to:</p><ul> <li>Validate organizational attributes (reporting structure, country, department, role, job title) in <i>Microsoft Entra ID</i> or Organizational Data in <i>Microsoft</i>.</li> <li>Confirm leader and delegate assignments to ensure the right people can use Storyline Announcements and the new targeting control.</li></ul><p>Learn more:</p><ul><li><a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/viva/organizational-data" target="_blank">Use your organizational data in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Learn</a></li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[Compliance considerations:]</b> </p><p>No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.</p>
June 24, 2026 at 8:30 PM Updated
Summary
Previous
Microsoft Viva Engage is introducing flexible, precise audience targeting for Storyline Announcements, allowing leaders to define custom audiences using organizational attributes, groups, or individuals at posting time. Public preview runs mid-November 2025 to mid-March 2026; general availability begins July 2026. Premium licensing is required.
New
Microsoft Viva Engage introduces My Team audiences and flexible targeting for Storyline Announcements, enabling leaders to reach relevant employees using organizational attributes, groups, or individuals. Public preview runs mid-November 2025 to mid-March 2026; general availability begins mid-August 2026. Premium license required.
Last Updated Date
Previous
2026-05-15T19:53:28.150Z
New
2026-06-24T16:55:35.930Z
Body Content
Previous
<p>Updated May 15, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.&nbsp;</p><p>We're introducing more flexible and<b> precise audience targeting</b> in <i>Viva Engage</i>, starting with <b>Storyline Announcements</b>. This update allows leaders and their delegates to define a custom audience at the time of posting—without relying on pre-configured Leader Audiences. Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users by name. This flexibility enables more timely, targeted communication, helping leaders reach the right people with the right message. Notifications and delivery channels (such as Teams, email) will continue to follow existing Storyline Announcement behavior, ensuring a seamless experience for recipients. </p><p>This feature is ideal for leaders who want to tailor communications to specific departments, locations, or existing groups, enhancing relevance and engagement across the organization. </p><p>This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&amp;searchterms=499895" target="_blank">499895</a>.</p> <p><b>[When this will happen:]</b> </p><ul><li><b>Public Preview (Worldwide):</b> Begins mid-November 2025 and completes by mid-March 2026 (previously early February). </li><li><b>General Availability (Worldwide):</b> Begins July 2026 (previously late May) and completes by end of July 2026 (previously end of June).</li></ul> <p><b>[How this affects your organization:]</b> </p><p><b>Who is affected:</b>&nbsp;Leaders and delegates using Viva Engage Storyline Announcements in tenants enrolled in public preview. </p><p><b>What will happen:</b> </p><ul> <li>This capability is being introduced as part of the public preview for Viva Engage. During this phase, leaders and their delegates can actively experiment with flexible audience targeting for Storyline Announcements—defining a custom audience at the time of posting, rather than relying solely on pre‑configured Leader Audiences.</li><li>Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users.</li><li>Notifications and delivery channels (Teams, email, Viva Engage Inbox) remain unchanged for recipients.</li><li>No dependency on IT or advance audience setup—leaders can act immediately when communication needs arise.</li><li><b>Available only in public preview</b>; functionality and targeting options may evolve before general availability.</li><li>Admins should ensure organizational attributes in Entra ID or Organizational Data in Microsoft are accurate to support successful targeting.</li><li><b>Available platforms:</b> Desktop and web.</li><li><b>Licensing requirements: </b>This feature requires a premium license available through Viva or Communications and Communities (C&amp;C). Availability may vary depending on your organization's Microsoft 365 licensing agreement.</li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[What you can do to prepare:]</b> </p><p>No admin action is required for rollout. To prepare, you may want to:</p><ul> <li>Validate organizational attributes (reporting structure, country, department, role, job title) in <i>Microsoft Entra ID</i> or Organizational Data in <i>Microsoft</i>.</li> <li>Confirm leader and delegate assignments to ensure the right people can use Storyline Announcements and the new targeting control.</li></ul><p>Learn more:</p><ul><li><a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/viva/organizational-data" target="_blank">Use your organizational data in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Learn</a></li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[Compliance considerations:]</b> </p><p>No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.</p>
New
<p>Updated June 24, 2026: We have updated the content and timeline. Thank you for your patience.&nbsp;</p><p>We’re introducing My Team audiences and expanded targeting capabilities in Viva Engage to help leaders communicate with the employees in their organization and tailor messages to relevant teams, departments, locations, or groups. My Team provides a ready-to-use, automatically maintained audience based on the organizational hierarchy, so leaders can reach the employees who report up to them, including both direct and indirect reports. This audience helps unlock and improve leadership experiences across Viva Engage, making Storyline Announcements, audience analytics, Leadership Corner, and feed and digest distribution more relevant with less setup.</p><p>Leaders and delegates can use My Team as-is, review its membership, or further customize and save it as a reusable audience across leader communication experiences. For Storyline Announcements, they can also define recipients at the time of publish, choosing My Team, a saved audience, or a custom audience built using organizational attributes such as department, job title, or country; existing groups like M365 Groups, distribution lists, or security groups; and individual users by name. Together, My Team and flexible targeting make leader communications more relevant, scalable, and easier to manage - with a dynamic default audience and precise targeting for relevant employee groups.</p><p>This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&amp;searchterms=499895" target="_blank">499895</a>.</p> <p><b>[When this will happen:]</b> </p><ul><li><b>Public Preview (Worldwide):</b> Begins mid-November 2025 and completes by mid-March 2026 (previously early February). </li><li><b>General Availability (Worldwide):</b>&nbsp;Begins mid-August 2026.</li></ul> <p><b>[How this affects your organization:]</b> </p><p><b>Who is affected:</b>&nbsp;Leaders and delegates using Viva Engage Storyline Announcements in tenants enrolled in public preview. </p><p><b>What will happen:</b> </p><ul> <li>This capability is being introduced as part of the public preview for Viva Engage. During this phase, leaders and their delegates can actively experiment with flexible audience targeting for Storyline Announcements—defining a custom audience at the time of posting, rather than relying solely on pre‑configured Leader Audiences.</li><li>Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users.</li><li>Notifications and delivery channels (Teams, email, Viva Engage Inbox) remain unchanged for recipients.</li><li>No dependency on IT or advance audience setup—leaders can act immediately when communication needs arise.</li><li><b>Available only in public preview</b>; functionality and targeting options may evolve before general availability.</li><li>Admins should ensure organizational attributes in Entra ID or Organizational Data in Microsoft are accurate to support successful targeting.</li><li><b>Available platforms:</b> Desktop and web.</li><li><b>Licensing requirements: </b>This feature requires a premium license available through Viva or Communications and Communities (C&amp;C). Availability may vary depending on your organization's Microsoft 365 licensing agreement.</li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[What you can do to prepare:]</b> </p><p>No admin action is required for rollout. To prepare, you may want to:</p><ul> <li>Validate organizational attributes (reporting structure, country, department, role, job title) in <i>Microsoft Entra ID</i> or Organizational Data in <i>Microsoft</i>.</li> <li>Confirm leader and delegate assignments to ensure the right people can use Storyline Announcements and the new targeting control.</li></ul><p>Learn more:</p><ul><li><a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/viva/organizational-data" target="_blank">Use your organizational data in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Learn</a></li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[Compliance considerations:]</b> </p><p>No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.</p>
May 15, 2026 at 10:30 PM Updated
Summary
Previous
Microsoft Viva Engage is introducing flexible, precise audience targeting for Storyline Announcements, allowing leaders to define custom audiences using organizational attributes, groups, or individuals at posting time. Public preview runs mid-November 2025 to mid-March 2026; general availability follows late May to June 2026. No admin action required.
New
Microsoft Viva Engage is introducing flexible, precise audience targeting for Storyline Announcements, allowing leaders to define custom audiences using organizational attributes, groups, or individuals at posting time. Public preview runs mid-November 2025 to mid-March 2026; general availability begins July 2026. Premium licensing is required.
Last Updated Date
Previous
2026-03-23T16:32:04.947Z
New
2026-05-15T19:53:28.150Z
Body Content
Previous
<p>Updated March 23, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.&nbsp;</p><p>We're introducing more flexible and<b> precise audience targeting</b> in <i>Viva Engage</i>, starting with <b>Storyline Announcements</b>. This update allows leaders and their delegates to define a custom audience at the time of posting—without relying on pre-configured Leader Audiences. Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users by name. This flexibility enables more timely, targeted communication, helping leaders reach the right people with the right message. Notifications and delivery channels (such as Teams, email) will continue to follow existing Storyline Announcement behavior, ensuring a seamless experience for recipients. </p><p>This feature is ideal for leaders who want to tailor communications to specific departments, locations, or existing groups, enhancing relevance and engagement across the organization. </p><p>This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&amp;searchterms=499895" target="_blank">499895</a>.</p> <p><b>[When this will happen:]</b> </p><ul><li><b>Public Preview (Worldwide):</b> Begins mid-November 2025 and completes by mid-March 2026 (previously early February). </li><li><b>General Availability (Worldwide):</b> Begins late May 2026 (previously mid-March) and completes by end of June 2026 (previously mid-April).</li></ul> <p><b>[How this affects your organization:]</b> </p><p><b>Who is affected:</b>&nbsp;Leaders and delegates using Viva Engage Storyline Announcements in tenants enrolled in public preview. </p><p><b>What will happen:</b> </p><ul> <li>This capability is being introduced as part of the public preview for Viva Engage. During this phase, leaders and their delegates can actively experiment with flexible audience targeting for Storyline Announcements—defining a custom audience at the time of posting, rather than relying solely on pre‑configured Leader Audiences.</li><li>Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users.</li><li>Notifications and delivery channels (Teams, email, Viva Engage Inbox) remain unchanged for recipients.</li><li>No dependency on IT or advance audience setup—leaders can act immediately when communication needs arise.</li><li><b>Available only in public preview</b>; functionality and targeting options may evolve before general availability.</li><li>Admins should ensure organizational attributes in Entra ID or Organizational Data in Microsoft are accurate to support successful targeting.</li><li><b>Available platforms:</b> Desktop and web.</li><li><b>Licensing requirements: </b>This feature requires a premium license available through Viva or Communications and Communities (C&amp;C). Availability may vary depending on your organization's Microsoft 365 licensing agreement.</li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[What you can do to prepare:]</b> </p><p>No admin action is required for rollout. To prepare, you may want to:</p><ul> <li>Validate organizational attributes (reporting structure, country, department, role, job title) in <i>Microsoft Entra ID</i> or Organizational Data in <i>Microsoft</i>.</li> <li>Confirm leader and delegate assignments to ensure the right people can use Storyline Announcements and the new targeting control.</li></ul><p>Learn more:</p><ul><li><a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/viva/organizational-data" target="_blank">Use your organizational data in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Learn</a></li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[Compliance considerations:]</b> </p><p>No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.</p>
New
<p>Updated May 15, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.&nbsp;</p><p>We're introducing more flexible and<b> precise audience targeting</b> in <i>Viva Engage</i>, starting with <b>Storyline Announcements</b>. This update allows leaders and their delegates to define a custom audience at the time of posting—without relying on pre-configured Leader Audiences. Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users by name. This flexibility enables more timely, targeted communication, helping leaders reach the right people with the right message. Notifications and delivery channels (such as Teams, email) will continue to follow existing Storyline Announcement behavior, ensuring a seamless experience for recipients. </p><p>This feature is ideal for leaders who want to tailor communications to specific departments, locations, or existing groups, enhancing relevance and engagement across the organization. </p><p>This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&amp;searchterms=499895" target="_blank">499895</a>.</p> <p><b>[When this will happen:]</b> </p><ul><li><b>Public Preview (Worldwide):</b> Begins mid-November 2025 and completes by mid-March 2026 (previously early February). </li><li><b>General Availability (Worldwide):</b> Begins July 2026 (previously late May) and completes by end of July 2026 (previously end of June).</li></ul> <p><b>[How this affects your organization:]</b> </p><p><b>Who is affected:</b>&nbsp;Leaders and delegates using Viva Engage Storyline Announcements in tenants enrolled in public preview. </p><p><b>What will happen:</b> </p><ul> <li>This capability is being introduced as part of the public preview for Viva Engage. During this phase, leaders and their delegates can actively experiment with flexible audience targeting for Storyline Announcements—defining a custom audience at the time of posting, rather than relying solely on pre‑configured Leader Audiences.</li><li>Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users.</li><li>Notifications and delivery channels (Teams, email, Viva Engage Inbox) remain unchanged for recipients.</li><li>No dependency on IT or advance audience setup—leaders can act immediately when communication needs arise.</li><li><b>Available only in public preview</b>; functionality and targeting options may evolve before general availability.</li><li>Admins should ensure organizational attributes in Entra ID or Organizational Data in Microsoft are accurate to support successful targeting.</li><li><b>Available platforms:</b> Desktop and web.</li><li><b>Licensing requirements: </b>This feature requires a premium license available through Viva or Communications and Communities (C&amp;C). Availability may vary depending on your organization's Microsoft 365 licensing agreement.</li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[What you can do to prepare:]</b> </p><p>No admin action is required for rollout. To prepare, you may want to:</p><ul> <li>Validate organizational attributes (reporting structure, country, department, role, job title) in <i>Microsoft Entra ID</i> or Organizational Data in <i>Microsoft</i>.</li> <li>Confirm leader and delegate assignments to ensure the right people can use Storyline Announcements and the new targeting control.</li></ul><p>Learn more:</p><ul><li><a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/viva/organizational-data" target="_blank">Use your organizational data in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Learn</a></li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[Compliance considerations:]</b> </p><p>No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.</p>
March 23, 2026 at 6:30 PM Updated
Summary
Previous
Microsoft Viva Engage is introducing flexible, precise audience targeting for Storyline Announcements, allowing leaders to define custom audiences using organizational attributes, groups, or individuals at posting time. Public preview runs mid-November 2025 to mid-March 2026; general availability follows. No admin action needed, but validating organizational data is recommended.
New
Microsoft Viva Engage is introducing flexible, precise audience targeting for Storyline Announcements, allowing leaders to define custom audiences using organizational attributes, groups, or individuals at posting time. Public preview runs mid-November 2025 to mid-March 2026; general availability follows late May to June 2026. No admin action required.
Last Updated Date
Previous
2026-02-05T17:55:12.510Z
New
2026-03-23T16:32:04.947Z
Body Content
Previous
<p>Updated February 5, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.&nbsp;</p><p>We're introducing more flexible and<b> precise audience targeting</b> in <i>Viva Engage</i>, starting with <b>Storyline Announcements</b>. This update allows leaders and their delegates to define a custom audience at the time of posting—without relying on pre-configured Leader Audiences. Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users by name. This flexibility enables more timely, targeted communication, helping leaders reach the right people with the right message. Notifications and delivery channels (such as Teams, email) will continue to follow existing Storyline Announcement behavior, ensuring a seamless experience for recipients. </p><p>This feature is ideal for leaders who want to tailor communications to specific departments, locations, or existing groups, enhancing relevance and engagement across the organization. </p><p>This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&amp;searchterms=499895" target="_blank">499895</a>.</p> <p><b>[When this will happen:]</b> </p><ul><li><b>Public Preview (Worldwide):</b> Begins mid-November 2025 and completes by mid-March 2026 (previously early February). </li><li><b>General Availability (Worldwide):</b> Begins mid-March 2026 (previously early February) and completes by mid-April 2026 (previously early March).</li></ul> <p><b>[How this affects your organization:]</b> </p><p><b>Who is affected:</b>&nbsp;Leaders and delegates using Viva Engage Storyline Announcements in tenants enrolled in public preview. </p><p><b>What will happen:</b> </p><ul> <li>This capability is being introduced as part of the public preview for Viva Engage. During this phase, leaders and their delegates can actively experiment with flexible audience targeting for Storyline Announcements—defining a custom audience at the time of posting, rather than relying solely on pre‑configured Leader Audiences.</li><li>Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users.</li><li>Notifications and delivery channels (Teams, email, Viva Engage Inbox) remain unchanged for recipients.</li><li>No dependency on IT or advance audience setup—leaders can act immediately when communication needs arise.</li><li><b>Available only in public preview</b>; functionality and targeting options may evolve before general availability.</li><li>Admins should ensure organizational attributes in Entra ID or Organizational Data in Microsoft are accurate to support successful targeting.</li><li><b>Available platforms:</b> Desktop and web.</li><li><b>Licensing requirements: </b>This feature requires a premium license available through Viva or Communications and Communities (C&amp;C). Availability may vary depending on your organization's Microsoft 365 licensing agreement.</li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[What you can do to prepare:]</b> </p><p>No admin action is required for rollout. To prepare, you may want to:</p><ul> <li>Validate organizational attributes (reporting structure, country, department, role, job title) in <i>Microsoft Entra ID</i> or Organizational Data in <i>Microsoft</i>.</li> <li>Confirm leader and delegate assignments to ensure the right people can use Storyline Announcements and the new targeting control.</li></ul><p>Learn more:</p><ul><li><a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/viva/organizational-data" target="_blank">Use your organizational data in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Learn</a></li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[Compliance considerations:]</b> </p><p>No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.</p>
New
<p>Updated March 23, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.&nbsp;</p><p>We're introducing more flexible and<b> precise audience targeting</b> in <i>Viva Engage</i>, starting with <b>Storyline Announcements</b>. This update allows leaders and their delegates to define a custom audience at the time of posting—without relying on pre-configured Leader Audiences. Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users by name. This flexibility enables more timely, targeted communication, helping leaders reach the right people with the right message. Notifications and delivery channels (such as Teams, email) will continue to follow existing Storyline Announcement behavior, ensuring a seamless experience for recipients. </p><p>This feature is ideal for leaders who want to tailor communications to specific departments, locations, or existing groups, enhancing relevance and engagement across the organization. </p><p>This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&amp;searchterms=499895" target="_blank">499895</a>.</p> <p><b>[When this will happen:]</b> </p><ul><li><b>Public Preview (Worldwide):</b> Begins mid-November 2025 and completes by mid-March 2026 (previously early February). </li><li><b>General Availability (Worldwide):</b> Begins late May 2026 (previously mid-March) and completes by end of June 2026 (previously mid-April).</li></ul> <p><b>[How this affects your organization:]</b> </p><p><b>Who is affected:</b>&nbsp;Leaders and delegates using Viva Engage Storyline Announcements in tenants enrolled in public preview. </p><p><b>What will happen:</b> </p><ul> <li>This capability is being introduced as part of the public preview for Viva Engage. During this phase, leaders and their delegates can actively experiment with flexible audience targeting for Storyline Announcements—defining a custom audience at the time of posting, rather than relying solely on pre‑configured Leader Audiences.</li><li>Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users.</li><li>Notifications and delivery channels (Teams, email, Viva Engage Inbox) remain unchanged for recipients.</li><li>No dependency on IT or advance audience setup—leaders can act immediately when communication needs arise.</li><li><b>Available only in public preview</b>; functionality and targeting options may evolve before general availability.</li><li>Admins should ensure organizational attributes in Entra ID or Organizational Data in Microsoft are accurate to support successful targeting.</li><li><b>Available platforms:</b> Desktop and web.</li><li><b>Licensing requirements: </b>This feature requires a premium license available through Viva or Communications and Communities (C&amp;C). Availability may vary depending on your organization's Microsoft 365 licensing agreement.</li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[What you can do to prepare:]</b> </p><p>No admin action is required for rollout. To prepare, you may want to:</p><ul> <li>Validate organizational attributes (reporting structure, country, department, role, job title) in <i>Microsoft Entra ID</i> or Organizational Data in <i>Microsoft</i>.</li> <li>Confirm leader and delegate assignments to ensure the right people can use Storyline Announcements and the new targeting control.</li></ul><p>Learn more:</p><ul><li><a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/viva/organizational-data" target="_blank">Use your organizational data in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Learn</a></li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[Compliance considerations:]</b> </p><p>No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.</p>
February 5, 2026 at 6:30 PM Updated
Title
Previous
Microsoft Viva Engage: Flexible targeting of Storyline Announcements
New
(Updated) Microsoft Viva Engage: Flexible targeting of Storyline Announcements
Summary
Previous
Microsoft Viva Engage introduces flexible, precise audience targeting for Storyline Announcements, allowing leaders to define custom audiences using organizational attributes, groups, or individuals at posting time. Public preview starts mid-November 2025; general availability begins February 2026. Requires premium licensing and accurate organizational data.
New
Microsoft Viva Engage is introducing flexible, precise audience targeting for Storyline Announcements, allowing leaders to define custom audiences using organizational attributes, groups, or individuals at posting time. Public preview runs mid-November 2025 to mid-March 2026; general availability follows. No admin action needed, but validating organizational data is recommended.
Last Updated Date
Previous
2025-11-19T21:30:20.893Z
New
2026-02-05T17:55:12.510Z
Tags
Previous
New feature,User impact,Admin impact
New
Updated message,New feature,User impact,Admin impact
Body Content
Previous
<p>We're introducing more flexible and<b> precise audience targeting</b> in <i>Viva Engage</i>, starting with <b>Storyline Announcements</b>. This update allows leaders and their delegates to define a custom audience at the time of posting—without relying on pre-configured Leader Audiences. Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users by name. This flexibility enables more timely, targeted communication, helping leaders reach the right people with the right message. Notifications and delivery channels (such as Teams, email) will continue to follow existing Storyline Announcement behavior, ensuring a seamless experience for recipients. </p><p>This feature is ideal for leaders who want to tailor communications to specific departments, locations, or existing groups, enhancing relevance and engagement across the organization. </p><p>This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&amp;searchterms=499895" target="_blank">499895</a>.</p> <p><b>[When this will happen:]</b> </p><ul><li><b>Public Preview (Worldwide):</b> Begins mid-November 2025 and completes by early February 2026. </li><li><b>General Availability (Worldwide):</b> Begins early February 2026 and completes by early March 2026.</li></ul> <p><b>[How this affects your organization:]</b> </p><p><b>Who is affected:</b>&nbsp;Leaders and delegates using Viva Engage Storyline Announcements in tenants enrolled in public preview. </p><p><b>What will happen:</b> </p><ul> <li>This capability is being introduced as part of the public preview for Viva Engage. During this phase, leaders and their delegates can actively experiment with flexible audience targeting for Storyline Announcements—defining a custom audience at the time of posting, rather than relying solely on pre‑configured Leader Audiences.</li><li>Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users.</li><li>Notifications and delivery channels (Teams, email, Viva Engage Inbox) remain unchanged for recipients.</li><li>No dependency on IT or advance audience setup—leaders can act immediately when communication needs arise.</li><li><b>Available only in public preview</b>; functionality and targeting options may evolve before general availability.</li><li>Admins should ensure organizational attributes in Entra ID or Organizational Data in Microsoft are accurate to support successful targeting.</li><li><b>Available platforms:</b> Desktop and web.</li><li><b>Licensing requirements: </b>This feature requires a premium license available through Viva or Communications and Communities (C&amp;C). Availability may vary depending on your organization's Microsoft 365 licensing agreement.</li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[What you can do to prepare:]</b> </p><p>No admin action is required for rollout. To prepare, you may want to:</p><ul> <li>Validate organizational attributes (reporting structure, country, department, role, job title) in <i>Microsoft Entra ID</i> or Organizational Data in <i>Microsoft</i>.</li> <li>Confirm leader and delegate assignments to ensure the right people can use Storyline Announcements and the new targeting control.</li></ul><p>Learn more:</p><ul><li><a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/viva/organizational-data" target="_blank">Use your organizational data in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Learn</a></li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[Compliance considerations:]</b> </p><p>No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.</p>
New
<p>Updated February 5, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.&nbsp;</p><p>We're introducing more flexible and<b> precise audience targeting</b> in <i>Viva Engage</i>, starting with <b>Storyline Announcements</b>. This update allows leaders and their delegates to define a custom audience at the time of posting—without relying on pre-configured Leader Audiences. Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users by name. This flexibility enables more timely, targeted communication, helping leaders reach the right people with the right message. Notifications and delivery channels (such as Teams, email) will continue to follow existing Storyline Announcement behavior, ensuring a seamless experience for recipients. </p><p>This feature is ideal for leaders who want to tailor communications to specific departments, locations, or existing groups, enhancing relevance and engagement across the organization. </p><p>This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=&amp;searchterms=499895" target="_blank">499895</a>.</p> <p><b>[When this will happen:]</b> </p><ul><li><b>Public Preview (Worldwide):</b> Begins mid-November 2025 and completes by mid-March 2026 (previously early February). </li><li><b>General Availability (Worldwide):</b> Begins mid-March 2026 (previously early February) and completes by mid-April 2026 (previously early March).</li></ul> <p><b>[How this affects your organization:]</b> </p><p><b>Who is affected:</b>&nbsp;Leaders and delegates using Viva Engage Storyline Announcements in tenants enrolled in public preview. </p><p><b>What will happen:</b> </p><ul> <li>This capability is being introduced as part of the public preview for Viva Engage. During this phase, leaders and their delegates can actively experiment with flexible audience targeting for Storyline Announcements—defining a custom audience at the time of posting, rather than relying solely on pre‑configured Leader Audiences.</li><li>Audiences can include organizational attributes (such as reporting structure, country, department, job title), existing groups (Microsoft 365 Groups, DLs, SGs), or individual users.</li><li>Notifications and delivery channels (Teams, email, Viva Engage Inbox) remain unchanged for recipients.</li><li>No dependency on IT or advance audience setup—leaders can act immediately when communication needs arise.</li><li><b>Available only in public preview</b>; functionality and targeting options may evolve before general availability.</li><li>Admins should ensure organizational attributes in Entra ID or Organizational Data in Microsoft are accurate to support successful targeting.</li><li><b>Available platforms:</b> Desktop and web.</li><li><b>Licensing requirements: </b>This feature requires a premium license available through Viva or Communications and Communities (C&amp;C). Availability may vary depending on your organization's Microsoft 365 licensing agreement.</li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[What you can do to prepare:]</b> </p><p>No admin action is required for rollout. To prepare, you may want to:</p><ul> <li>Validate organizational attributes (reporting structure, country, department, role, job title) in <i>Microsoft Entra ID</i> or Organizational Data in <i>Microsoft</i>.</li> <li>Confirm leader and delegate assignments to ensure the right people can use Storyline Announcements and the new targeting control.</li></ul><p>Learn more:</p><ul><li><a href="https://learn.microsoft.com/viva/organizational-data" target="_blank">Use your organizational data in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Viva | Microsoft Learn</a></li> </ul><p></p> <p><b>[Compliance considerations:]</b> </p><p>No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.</p>
November 19, 2025 at 10:31 PM Updated
Last Updated Date
Previous
2025-11-05T00:23:20.877Z
New
2025-11-19T21:30:20.893Z

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