SharePoint has entered its AI era
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Simply SharePoint β’ Thursday Edition
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Hi π
It's been a while since I sent a proper update β mainly because my website decided it couldn't handle attention and kept crashing under pressure. Not unlike some SharePoint environments I've seen.
So I rebuilt it. It now holds up properly, which means I can get back to what I actually enjoy β writing, explaining, and helping people make sense of SharePoint without the fluff.
One small personal note before we get into it: I've been awarded Microsoft MVP for SharePoint. π After all these years working with it, explaining it, fixing it, defending it, and occasionally arguing with it β this means a lot. Simply SharePoint started as a way to make this whole thing easier for everyday users, so having that recognised is something I'm genuinely proud of. Thank you for being here.
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This Week's Question
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"With agents, skills, and natural language builds β is AI going to replace what I actually know about SharePoint?"
β A version of this question, from about a dozen of you, this month
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The Short Answer
No. The opposite, actually.
SharePoint has officially entered its AI era. Agents, skills, natural language builds β there's a lot moving, and a lot of confident takes flying around about what it all means. Most of those takes are missing the same thing.
Here's what's actually happening: AI is sitting on top of your SharePoint. It reads what you have. It uses what you've structured. It surfaces what you've labelled. It honours the permissions you've set. None of that is new thinking β it's the same four principles I've been writing about for years (containment, meaning, inheritance, experience). AI just raises the stakes on getting them right.
Which means the people who already understand SharePoint structure aren't being replaced. They're suddenly the most useful people in the room.
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The Takeaway
AI doesn't replace SharePoint expertise. It amplifies it.
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Read or Listen This Week
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This Week's Featured Download
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Free β’ Just Updated
The M365 Map (v2)
If you grabbed the original, this version is worth re-downloading. Same plain-English style β just more of it. Two new bonus sections: 8 Red Flags Your M365 Is Already Broken and 5 Real Situations with Exact Answers. The clearer your structure, the more useful AI will be on top of it. This is where to start.
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Also New on the Site
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π The Microsoft 365 Knowledge Base is back
Plain-English guidance across SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, Planner, Lists, and the broader M365 toolkit β now linked to the workflow cards, so you can move from "what does this app do?" into actually using it.
Explore the Knowledge Base β
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ποΈ Everything now lives in the Hub
I've cleaned up old products, retired pages, and random bits of digital chaos. Going forward, the Hub is the main home for my practical guides and downloads.
Visit the Hub β
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π§Ή Work with me
If your environment is messy, unstructured, overgrown, or just painful to use β I'm open to helping with planning, cleanup, structure, permissions, metadata, document libraries, intranet thinking, or working out where to start.
Email me β liza@simplysharepoint.com
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More soon,
Liza
Microsoft MVP β’ SharePoint & M365
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P.S. If a friend or colleague is panicking about SharePoint and AI right now, forward them this email. The M365 Map is free and it'll calm them down faster than anything Microsoft has published this year.
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Simply SharePoint β’ Liza Tinker, Microsoft MVP β’ Unsubscribe
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