Viva Engage: New blocking controls for posts, comments, and replies based on themes

Viva Engage will introduce theme moderation to block posts, comments, and replies based on monitored themes, starting February 2026. Blocked content won’t publish, with exceptions for leaders and admins. AI detects themes, and no action is required before rollout, though admins should review settings and themes.

[Introduction]

We’re adding the ability for Viva Engage theme moderation to block posts, comments, and replies based on monitored themes. This provides stronger control over sensitive or inappropriate topics.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 513277.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide): Rollout begins early February 2026 and completes by late March 2026.

[How this will affect your organization:]

Who is affected:

• Viva Engage admins and corporate communicators who use theme moderation in the advanced moderation section of the Communications Dashboard.
• Organizations where at least 50% of users have the required Viva licenses, either Viva Communications and Communities or Viva Suite.
• All Viva Engage users, with exceptions for designated leaders, corporate communicators, and admins.

What will happen:

• A new option to block posts about monitored themes will appear in theme settings.



• Posts, comments, and replies matching a blocked theme will not be published.
• When content matches a blocked theme, users will see a message explaining that their message can't be published. Users can edit or discard the message.



• Designated leaders, corporate communicators and admins are exempt from blocking.
• Blocking uses existing AI-powered theme detection.

[What you can do to prepare:]

• No action is required before rollout.
• Review your AI Summarization setting in the Engage admin center.
• Assess existing themes to determine whether blocking should be enabled.
• Inform helpdesk or internal teams about the new behavior.
• Update internal documentation if needed.

Before rollout, we will update this post with new documentation.

[Compliance considerations:]

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