Developer-Centric Makeover Arrives in Visual Studio 2026: Cleaner UI, Smarter Tools

Microsoft has revealed the redesigned user experience of Visual Studio 2026, featuring a cleaner, distraction-free interface built around developers’ workflows. With new typography, iconography, settings overhaul and AI-powered enhancements, it aims to make the IDE more intuitive, accessible and performance-ready at enterprise scale.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Code-First Design

  Small inconsistencies and visual clutter have been addressed through refined UI details, improved spacing, and clearer navigation. You’ll also notice refreshed Get Started and What’s New experiences for a smoother, more developer-friendly workflow.

• Modern, Consistent, and Transparent Settings

  The settings experience has been modernised to make configuration easier than ever. Enjoy a more streamlined UI, smarter search results, and a new underlying JSON file that makes every change trackable in real time.

• Customisable Themes

  Visual Studio 2026 introduces 11 new tinted themes with subtle color accents on Light or Dark backgrounds. Enhanced contrast and improved text legibility support both personalization and accessibility—while reducing eye strain.

• New Editor Appearance Options

  A new editor appearance setting lets you choose whether your editor matches the IDE theme or stands apart. Your font family, size, and style persist across themes.

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GitHub Copilot Launches Copilot Auto Model Selection in Visual Studio in Preview Mode

Microsoft has introduced a preview of “Auto Model Selection” for GitHub Copilot that automatically chooses the optimal AI model for each task — removing the need for manual model selection. The feature promises faster responses, fewer rate-limit issues and even a 10 % discount on premium requests for paid users.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Why Use Auto Model Selection

  Skip the guesswork — Copilot automatically chooses the best AI model for your task, helping you focus on building instead of configuring.

• How It Works

  Copilot intelligently picks the optimal model to deliver top performance and reduce rate limits. It can switch between GPT-5, GPT-5 Mini, GPT-4.1, Claude Sonnet 4.5, Claude Haiku 4.5, and others — unless your organization enforces a single model. Currently, paid users benefit from the Claude Sonnet 4.5 model by default.

• What’s Next

  GitHub plans to expand Auto Model Selection with dynamic switching between models, broader language model support, and improved transparency for users.

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Visual Studio 2026 Goes Live with Major AI and Performance Boost

Microsoft has officially released Visual Studio 2026, delivering faster performance, a redesigned interface, and advanced AI capabilities to enhance the developer experience. Early feedback highlights smoother workflows and improved productivity. Discover the key updates and new features that make this release stand out below.

Here’s what’s new:

• Faster Performance

  No more lag disrupting your flow! Solution load times are now over 50% faster, making the IDE feel lightweight and effortless — even on large projects.

• More Responsive UI

  Enjoy a smoother experience as UI freezes have been cut by more than half. Stay productive while Visual Studio keeps up with you.

• AI-Native IDE

  Meet the world’s first Intelligent Developer Environment (IDE) — AI is built right in to reduce friction, surface insights, and help you code smarter, not harder.

• New AI Agents for C# and C++

  Tailored for professional developers who value precision and speed. These new agents keep you in control while boosting productivity.

• Seamless Compatibility

  Already using Visual Studio 2022? Great news — 2026 is fully compatible with your existing projects and extensions. No migration hassles, no surprises — just open, code, and go.

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Power BI Launches Fabric Data Days for Students and Professionals

Microsoft has launched Fabric Data Days — a 50-day learning initiative focused on advancing careers in Data and AI. Through live sessions, hands-on challenges, and certification opportunities, participants can gain real-world experience and connect with a global community of data professionals.

Here’s what you need to know:

• What is Fabric Data Days?

  Microsoft Fabric Data Days is a 50-day global learning experience on Data & AI running from November 4 to December 31, 2025.

• Live Learning Sessions

  Go beyond theory with real-world demos and deep dives into Power BI and Microsoft Fabric. Learn directly from Microsoft experts, MVPs, Certified Trainers, and global community leaders.

• Contests & Hands-On Challenges

  Apply your learning through real-world challenges and competitions like the Student Dataviz Contest, Professional Dataviz Contest, Notebooks Contest, and weekly QuickViz Challenges. It’s a fun way to test your skills and showcase your creativity in data visualization.

• Certifications & Exam Discounts

  Earn certifications that set you apart! Participants can get 100% discounts on exams DP-600 and DP-700, and 50% discounts on exams PL-300 and DP-900.

• How to Join

  Register now and start your learning journey: https://aka.ms/fabricdatadays

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Custom Multisession Apps Now Available in Dynamics 365 Contact Center and Customer Service

Microsoft introduces custom multisession apps in Copilot Service Workspace for Dynamics 365 Contact Center and Customer Service. This new capability lets organisations design multiple tailored workspaces, each with its own sessions, productivity tools, and business logic—enhancing efficiency and flexibility across teams.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Why it matters

  Previously, teams had to share one Customer Service workspace (CSw) app, resulting in complex sitemap configurations, overlapping views, and higher deployment risks. Now, each business unit can have a dedicated workspace, streamlining operations and reducing administrative overhead.

• Where it shines

  This capability is especially valuable for banks, insurers, and government agencies, where departments require strict separation of data and UI components.

• How it works

  Built on model-driven apps and enhanced through the Copilot Service admin center, admins can enable “Multisession with productivity tools” under Workspaces. This wraps the app in the familiar tabbed CSw interface, supporting session-based navigation, Copilot, and macros — just like the standard experience.

• Real-world impact

  Global organizations are already adopting custom multisession apps to support hybrid personas and dual-licensed users across sales and service scenarios — enabling flexibility while consolidating functionality.

• What’s next

  Custom multisession apps are now generally available, with Microsoft planning to expand support for more productivity tools, session templates, and cross-app navigation scenarios.

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Visual Studio’s AI Strategy Hits New Milestone: November Roadmap Revealed

Visual Studio is rolling out its November roadmap detailing how AI-powered agents will become more deeply integrated into the IDE, from new custom and test agents to enhanced chat and planning workflows. The update signals a push to make the IDE “smarter, faster and more intuitive”, including support for multiple simultaneous agents, advanced memory and tool-call features, and governance controls for bring-your-own models.

Here’s what’s in progress:

• New Agents:

  Microsoft is refining how you find and switch between modes, ensuring both built-in and extension-provided agents can handle more complex workflows. New agents like custom user-created, test, and debugger agents are in the works.

• Agent Mode & Chat:

  Expect major improvements, including Slash Commands for invoking prompts and managing chats, memory enhancements, tool call updates, and planning lead development.

• Model Context Protocol (MCP):

  Integrate your entire development stack into Visual Studio with the same security and governance you trust. Microsoft is enhancing MCP UX, performance, and token optimization, alongside a unified experience for MCP servers.

• Models:

  Developers will gain access to the latest AI models, including GPT-5 Codex in Chat. Work is underway to improve model UX, expand Auto Model in chat, and introduce custom system prompts per model.

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Microsoft Introduces “Power BI Controller” for Bulk Storytelling Operations

Microsoft today introduced the preview of Power BI Controller, a new add-in designed to streamline presentation workflows. The tool enables bulk operations on multiple embedded Power BI reports within PowerPoint, making it easier for storytellers to ensure consistency and accuracy across all visuals.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Why use this feature?

  Say goodbye to manually updating every Power BI add-in in your weekly or monthly data-centric presentations. With Power BI Controller, you can refresh, lock, and distribute reports — all in one go.

• Example Scenario

  Easily manage a monthly review presentation with multiple embedded Power BI reports by switching between live and image views in one action to ensure data is always current and secure.

• How to use it

  Simply go to “Add-ins” in PowerPoint, search for “Microsoft Power BI Controller,” and add it to your ribbon to start performing bulk operations effortlessly.

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Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Dynamics 365 Contact Center Introduces Quality Evaluation Agent

Quality Evaluation Agent (QEA), launched by Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Dynamics 365 Contact Center on October 24, delivers automated, data-driven evaluations of support interactions to help organisations scale quality assurance efforts. By replacing manual and inconsistent reviews with real-time, AI-powered scoring and coaching insights, QEA is designed to raise service standards, reduce bias, and improve coaching and compliance across customer service teams.

Here’s what you know:

• What is Quality Evaluation Agent?

  QEA is an AI-powered tool that automatically evaluates support interactions — from cases to conversations — against your organization’s defined quality standards.

• How does it work?

  QEA uses evaluation criteria to define what quality means for your organization and evaluation plans to determine how and when assessments are triggered — on-demand or event-based.

• What to expect from evaluations:

  Get detailed performance summaries, scoring breakdowns, AI-generated coaching comments, supervisor review options, and full traceability for consistent, unbiased assessments.

• Why it matters

  With QEA, you can shorten feedback cycles, improve coaching with actionable insights, enhance customer experiences, detect compliance risks early, identify coaching opportunities tied to sentiment, and uncover systemic issues across teams or products.

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Microsoft launches Custom Agents for .NET — meet C# Expert and WinForms Expert

Copilot now supports purpose-built “custom agents” for the .NET ecosystem, with the debut of two specially trained offerings: C# Expert and WinForms Expert. These agents are designed to deeply accelerate developer workflows by analysing codebases, planning tasks and executing commands with domain-specific expertise.

Introducing two experimental agents for .NET developers:

• C# Expert Agent

  Get best practices and guidance for C# development. This agent focuses on Core C# principles, code integrity, and testing standards—helping you write cleaner, more efficient code.

• WinForms Expert Agent

  Perfect for developers working on Windows Forms applications, this agent specializes in UI design patterns, event-driven programming, and tool integrity—ensuring your app stays stable and designer-friendly.

• How to get started

  Download CSharpExpert.agent.md and WinFormsExpert.agent.md from @github/awesome-copilot, and add them to your repo’s .github/agents folder.

• Assign with ease

  When assigning an issue to Copilot, simply tag C# Expert or WinForms Expert for tailored support.

• What’s improved

  Enjoy a smoother development experience with reduced unused code and built-in safeguards to protect your project files and maintain tool compatibility.

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Microsoft Power BI Readies Major Upgrade with New Card Visual for Reports

Microsoft has announced that its upcoming general-availability release of the new Card visual in Microsoft Power BI brings a complete rendering overhaul, dynamic layouts, image support and expanded styling controls for key-metric visuals. Users are advised to review their existing reports now—especially visuals with short heights—because the new default spacing and formatting may change appearances once the upgrade goes live.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Rendering improvements

  The rendering engine has been completely re-engineered for responsive design. Now, when you resize the Card visual, the layout proportions stay consistent — and no more cut-off sections!

• Impact on existing reports

  These updates may affect how your visuals appear, especially for cards with shorter heights. Once GA is released, default callout size and background formatting will automatically apply — regardless of whether a divider is used.

• Preparing for GA

  Review your card visuals, adjust divider and background settings for alignment, and fine-tune callout sizes to match your design preferences.

• What’s new in GA

  Enjoy enhanced image support, collage layout, expanded styling controls, and updated defaults (available as opt-in for existing reports).

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