MWPRO IMPACT SCORE
OPERATIONAL IMPACT
52
0
25
50
75
100
HIGH IMPACT • REVIEW RECOMMENDED
Recommended Action:
Review the update and plan any required actions before rollout.
Review the update and plan any required actions before rollout.
What is MWPro Impact Score?
Watch our 60‑second explainer
Primary Audience
Microsoft 365 AdminsSecurity TeamsExchange AdminsIT ManagersService Owners
Why this score?
AI Confidence
HIGH
Enough detail is available to trust this assessment.
Assessment Reasoning
The rollout schedules for the promotional mail handling have been shifted later, so this is a timeline adjustment rather than new functionality. Admins will need to plan for configuration of transport rules and anti-spam policies, and later manage automatic tagging defaults. Users will see a new ‘Promotions’ folder and tagging that may influence how emails appear and are routed. Urgency is moderate since the feature is still in progress but will be automatic at general availability.
65
Admin Impact
45
User Impact
40
Urgency
50
Effort
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
AT A GLANCE
Defender for Office 365 will tag promotional emails and, when enabled, move them to a Promotions folder. The system learns from user actions to refine message handling.
END USERS
Users may see promotional emails moved automatically into a Promotions folder and can adjust behaviour through their actions.
IT ADMINS
Admins should review Exchange and anti-spam settings, pilot configurations, and update mailbox guidance or training as needed.
ROLLOUT TIMELINE
Rolling out:
Late July–Nov 2026
Late July–Nov 2026
📢 Official Microsoft Message Center Announcement
(Updated) Microsoft Defender for Office 365: Enhancing how we handle promotional mail
Message ID: MC1279093 (Updated)
Updated October 2, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.
[Introduction]
We are enhancing how Microsoft Defender for Office 365 identifies and manages promotional email. Promotional messages will be tagged as “promotions” (previously “Bulk” in preview) and can be moved automatically to a new Promotions folder. The system learns from user actions, such as moving messages into or out of the Promotions folder and applies those preferences to future messages. These improvements reduce inbox clutter and help users stay focused while still receiving promotional content they want.
[When this will happen]
- Public Preview (Limited): We will begin rolling out in mid-April 2026 and expect to complete by mid-May 2026 (previously end of April). To be included in the public preview program, send an email to [email protected] indicating: Organization name, Tenant ID and your onmicrosoft.com domain (e.g contoso.onmicrosoft.com). Slots are limited and will close on May 15th, 2026.
- General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in late July 2026 (previously early July) and expect to complete by late October 2026 (previously late August).
- General Availability (DoD, GCC, GCC High): We will begin rolling out in late July 2026 (previously early July) and expect to complete by late November 2026 (previously mid-September).
[How this affects your organization]
Who is affected
- All organizations that use Microsoft Defender for Office 365 across Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, and DoD clouds
What will happen
- Incoming promotional messages will be tagged as “promotions.” (previously “Bulk” in private and public preview)
- If the Bulk Moves Enabled setting is turned on, tagged messages will automatically move to a Promotions folder created in user mailboxes.
- The system will learn from user actions when they move messages into or out of the Promotions folder. Future messages will follow the learned behavior.
- Users will be able to create inbox rules that reference the promotions tag.
- During the Public Preview: Tagging will be opt-in and configured using Exchange transport rules.
- Folder routing will be enabled through anti-spam policy settings (“Bulk moves enabled”).
- Both features will be able to be scoped to pilot security groups for a staged rollout.
- At Worldwide General Availability, tagging will be enabled by default for all tenants and will always remain that way.
- For the tagging experience, supported outlooks clients are Outlook on the web and outlook for Windows. Other client such as Outlook for IOS/Android and classic outlook will follow subsequently
- For the promotions folder experiences, Outlook on the web, outlook for Windows, Outlook for IOS/Android and classic outlook are all supported.
Figure one – Admin configuration for tagging using exchange transport rule (required for public preview opt-In):
Figure two – Admin configuration for Bulk moves enabled to provision the promotions folder:
Figure three – System tagging of “Promotions” in outlook client and promotions folder (previously tagged as “Bulk” in private and public preview):
Figure four – User inbox rules using the promotions” tag:
[What you can do to prepare]
- To be included in the public preview program, send an email to [email protected] indicating: Organization name, Tenant ID and your onmicrosoft.com domain (e.g contoso.onmicrosoft.com). Slots are limited and will close on April 30th, 2026.
- Review your internal mailbox and message handling guidance and update training materials if needed.
- If you plan to participate in the Public Preview, review your Exchange transport rule and anti-spam policy configurations to determine if you want to opt-in.
- Monitor the product documentation. You can review the following: Bulk email detection and bulk complaint level (BCL) in cloud organizations
[Compliance considerations]
| Question | Answer |
| Does the change alter how existing customer data is processed, stored, or accessed? | Yes. Incoming email will receive the promotions classification and may be moved automatically to the Promotions folder depending on admin configuration. |
| Does the change introduce or significantly modify AI or ML that interacts with customer data? | Yes. The system learns from user actions when they move messages and applies that learning to future similar messages. |
| Does the change include an admin control, and can it be controlled through Entra ID group membership? | Yes. Admins can enable or disable Bulk Moves Enabled and can opt in to tagging during Public Preview. These controls can be scoped using existing admin delegation models. |
| Does the change allow a user to enable or disable the feature themselves? | Yes. Users can override tagging behavior by moving messages in or out of the Promotions folder, which trains the ML model and adjusts future message handling. |
Source: Microsoft Message Center • Analysed by MWPro
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