Microsoft unveils Visual Studio 2026 Insiders with AI at the core

The Visual Studio 2026 Insiders release is here, offering a modernized experience for developers. With AI integration, enterprise-scale performance improvements, and a lighter design, Microsoft is setting the stage for the next generation of development.

Here’s what you need to know:

• AI-Powered Development

  Your built-in coding partner delivers timely, unobtrusive assistance with actionable insights on correctness, performance, and security—right on your machine, before a pull request.

• Next-Level Performance

  From opening solutions to debugging, everything feels faster. Big solutions feel lighter, first launch is snappier, and the time between idea and running app keeps shrinking.

• Modern Look & Feel

  A refreshed visual language with cleaner layouts, sharper icons, improved extension management, and new themes to personalize your environment.

Raising the Bar: Why Customers Are More Receptive to AI-Generated Emails Than You Think

AI is changing the way businesses connect with customers, and new research shows that inboxes may be more open to automation than expected. Microsoft’s latest study explores how buyers respond to AI-powered outreach and what this means for sellers.

Microsoft recently shared research on how B2B customers perceive AI-generated outreach in Dynamics 365. Here’s what stood out:

• Consent is king
  Customers want full control of their inboxes. That means explicit opt-ins, clear unsubscribe options, confirmation messages—and ideally, data deletion when requested.

• Tone, trust, and the AI factor
  84% of customers (33 out of 45) felt comfortable with AI-driven outreach—as long as the emails were relevant, concise, and respectful.

• AI vs. Human: It’s about balance
  Customers don’t mind AI emails, but they still expect the option to escalate to a human—especially for sensitive topics like pricing, payment, or complex issues. Trust-building moments still need the human touch.

• What this means for sellers
  Humanize your AI outreach, be transparent, respect consent, and know when to hand off to a human.

Copilot Transforms Visual Studio Output Window with Contextual AI Assistance

Visual Studio’s Copilot now brings intelligent assistance to the once-overwhelming Output Window in version 17.14—transforming cryptic logs into clear, actionable insights. Developers can simply ask Copilot about build errors, warnings, or debug messages directly within the IDE and receive instant contextual explanations and suggested next steps.

Here’s what you need to know:

• What’s new

  Copilot can now read your Output Window—so you can interact with your build and debug logs like never before. Whether it’s errors, warnings, or just understanding what’s happening under the hood, Copilot’s got you covered.

• How it works

  Simply highlight any logs in the Output Window, right-click, and ask Copilot for help—works across Build, Debug, Tests, Source Control, Package Manager, and more.

• Why it matters

  This feature helps you debug faster, learn on the go, and stay focused on building great software—whether you’re just starting out or an experienced developer.

Microsoft adds second-level wrap-up timers to Dynamics 365 Contact Center

Microsoft has rolled out a new feature in Dynamics 365 Contact Center that lets administrators set wrap-up times in seconds — down to a minimum of 30 seconds, improving agent availability and reducing idle time.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Why it matters

  Wrap-up timers let you adapt post-call procedures to different operational needs—whether in fast-paced environments or settings requiring more flexibility.

• Sample use case

  In a high-volume retail contact center, reducing the default 60-second wrap-up to 30 seconds helped agents reclaim valuable time per call—without compromising note quality.

• Benefits

  Organizations can expect better service representative availability, faster customer response times, and reduced operational costs.

Reusable Prompt Files Now Available in Visual Studio with GitHub Copilot

Microsoft has introduced reusable prompt files in Visual Studio, making it easier for developers to streamline their GitHub Copilot experience. This new feature allows teams to save, share, and reuse prompts, helping improve consistency and efficiency in coding workflows.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Why it matters
  Quickly access saved prompts at the prompt box, with automatic storage and sharing to help your team get more value from Copilot.

• Reusable prompt files simplify prompt-writing
  Write, save, and run prompts directly in Visual Studio by creating a .GitHub/prompts/[title].prompt.md file—no more digging through old notes or emails.

• Work faster and collaborate better
  Prompts are shared in your repository, ensuring consistency across projects and making them instantly available to your teammates.

• Tips for maximizing your reusable prompts
  Start with the awesome-copilot repo, use #prompt: or the context menu to add prompts, and organize them by topic or workflow. Regularly refine your prompts and encourage teammates to contribute for a shared library of best practices.

User-Defined Functions (UDFs) Are Now Generally Available in Power Apps

Microsoft has officially marked User-Defined Functions in Power Apps Canvas apps as Generally Available (GA), empowering developers to write, test, and maintain reusable logic components within their applications. This launch enhances app maintainability by allowing logic to be modularized into named functions, making larger Power Apps projects easier to manage and understand.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Why it matters:
  UDFs let you extract common logic into reusable functions with parameters. This reduces duplication, keeps logic in sync, and makes your apps easier to scale, maintain, and test.

• Example in action:

  • Create a simple UDF, like converting Fahrenheit to Celsius, and reuse it across multiple controls.

  • Add interactivity with sliders or labels to see results update instantly.

  • Go further by building UDFs that perform actions, like adding entries to a collection and displaying notifications.

Power BI Unveils "Semantic Model Refresh Templates" in Preview

Microsoft has announced a new preview feature in Power BI that streamlines how users manage and sequence semantic model refreshes. The update introduces built-in templates designed to make refresh workflows more intuitive and efficient.

With these templates, you can visualize and sequence refresh activities for both common and advanced scenarios:

• Access with ease

  Select Create advanced refresh from the refresh dropdown on your semantic model’s details page in your Microsoft Fabric workspace.

• Dataflow-driven refresh

  Trigger semantic model refreshes right after a dataflow refresh by configuring your workspace, connection, and model.

• Incremental refresh

  Refresh only updated partitions or tables, saving time and resources.

• Smart alerts

  Add follow-up actions like sending Microsoft Teams or Outlook messages after each execution.

• Flexible scheduling

  Automate refreshes with custom intervals: minute-by-minute, hourly, monthly, or even quarterly.

Microsoft Unveils September AI Roadmap for Visual Studio

Microsoft this week published its public roadmap for AI in Visual Studio, previewing the enhancements and agentic experiences developers can expect in September’s updates. The monthly roadmap aims to make Visual Studio “smarter, faster, and more intuitive,” while clarifying that the listed items reflect ongoing work—not firm commitments.

Here are some of the plans:

• New Modes for Debugging & Profiling – Easily switch between modes, with built-in and extension support designed to handle complex workflows.

• Customization via Modes – Seamlessly integrate your unique workflows across your stack, tailored to you and your organization.

• Model Context Protocol (MCP) – Bring your entire dev stack into Visual Studio with expanded capabilities for prompts, resources, and more—all backed by enterprise-grade security and governance.

• Models – Access the latest and most effective AI models, carefully evaluated to deliver the best experience in Visual Studio.

• Azure Agentic DevOps – Harness agentic workflows and Azure-native capabilities to build, deploy, and manage apps securely, with the governance you trust.

You can view the full list here.

Visual Studio August 2025 Update Brings AI and Debugging Upgrades

The latest Visual Studio 2025 update is here, delivering smarter AI features, improved debugging tools, and more control for developers. Microsoft’s August release focuses on boosting productivity and streamlining the developer experience.

Here’s what you need to know:

• GPT-5 Support

  Experience the latest in AI-powered development with GPT-5—delivering smarter, more accurate, and context-aware code suggestions and chat experiences.

• Model Context Protocol (MCP) GA

  Connect your entire stack seamlessly. MCP lets AI agents tap into databases, code search, and deployment systems—without building custom integrations.

• Smarter Copilot Chat

  Find the right code faster with improved semantic search, making Copilot Chat more reliable in surfacing relevant snippets.

• Google Sign-in for Copilot

  Getting started is easier than ever—sign up for Copilot directly with your Google account.

• Bring Your Own Model

  Use the LLM that works best for you. Connect your own models via API keys from OpenAI, Google, or Anthropic.

You can view the full list here.

GitHub Copilot Brings Next-Gen Diagnostics to .NET in Visual Studio

Microsoft has unveiled a powerful new diagnostics toolset for .NET development in Visual Studio, integrated with GitHub Copilot to streamline everything from breakpoint suggestions to LINQ query generation. The feature set—including context-aware tracepoint suggestions, immediate breakpoint troubleshooting, and a parallel stacks analysis & auto summaries—promises to significantly speed up debugging workflows and make profiling in Visual Studio more intuitive and efficient.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Breakpoint & Tracepoint Suggestions

  Skip manual setup — Copilot suggests the right conditional expressions or tracepoint actions based on your context.

• Breakpoint Troubleshooting

  No more trial-and-error. Copilot explains non-binding breakpoints, whether caused by mismatched symbols, build configs, or optimized code paths, and guides you to a fix.

• LINQ Query Hover

  Hover over any LINQ statement while debugging and get clear explanations, context evaluation, and insights on inefficiencies without leaving the editor.

• Parallel Stacks Analysis & Auto Summaries

  Untangle async and multithreaded code with Copilot’s thread summaries, app state insights, and deadlock/hang detection.

• Auto Insights in CPU & Allocation Tools

  Copilot highlights hot paths, high-usage functions, and performance bottlenecks so you can zero in on what really matters.

You can view the full list here.