Hi, Insiders! I’m Clint Covington, Group Product Manager for E+D Accessibility. To celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day, I’d love to share some of the biggest updates and features we’ve launched in the past year to make Microsoft 365 apps and services more accessible and useful for everyone.
Advanced AI support with Microsoft 365 Copilot and other tools
We know that many of you leverage Microsoft 365 Copilot and other tools to simplify your workflows, improve communication, and boost productivity. In a recent GenAI for Accessibility report surveying employees who identified as neurodivergent or disabled:
- 91% said they saw Copilot as a helpful assistive technology.
- 85% believe that Copilot can create a more accessible workplace.
- 76% report that using Copilot can help them thrive more at work.
This is why we spent the last 12 months further enhancing our AI capabilities and accessibility:
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Navigate easily with the new keyboard shortcut of Win + C on a Windows 11 device, and quick access to chat history, Copilot Pages, and agents through an updated left navigation pane |
What’s New In Microsoft 365 Copilot | April 2025
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Turn files, emails, or Teams chats into a listening experience | |
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Create polished documents from voice notes in Word |
Turn voice notes into structured documents with Microsoft Copilot How I use Microsoft Copilot - Discovering the power of writing Documents with my Voice |
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Catch up on important discussions when multiple languages are spoken with intelligent meeting and call recaps in Teams | |
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Understand complex topics, share sensitive information, and communicate more clearly, empathetically, and confidently with prompts |
Boost communication with Microsoft Copilot prompts for neuroinclusion |
Better and more accessible user experiences
Ease of use is always a top priority for our products – and in the past year, we’ve made many improvements in this area:
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Customize your workspace and font size for better viewing in Teams |
Organize your digital environment and boost your focus with flexible Teams layouts |
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Quickly mute or unmute yourself from the taskbar in Teams |
Mute and unmute yourself from Windows taskbar in Microsoft Teams |
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Enhance focus by popping out side panes for Chat, Copilot, and Notes in Teams | |
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Reduce eye strain and screen flickering in Excel | |
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Improve visibility of active cells in Excel | |
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Caption videos for clearer comprehension in PowerPoint | |
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Easily navigate PDFs with improvements for screen readers |
Create accessible PDFs with Microsoft 365 apps
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Navigate and perform tasks via your keyboard on Mac | |
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Enable personalized learning and accelerate literacy with Reading Coach enhancements |
Reading Coach enhancements to improve learner literacy skills |
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Access spoken content, follow live transcription, and copy what Narrator last said via keyboard shortcuts with speech recap |
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3653 (Beta Channel) |
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Control the profanity filter for voice typing |
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3941 (Beta Channel) | Windows Insider Blog |
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Get rich, detailed descriptions of images, charts, and graphs in Narrator |
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.5551 (Dev Channel) | Windows Insider Blog |
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Access new shortcuts for Narrator |
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4371 (Beta Channel) |
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Access new functions and faster responses for scan mode in Narrator |
Releasing Windows 11 Build 26100.3321 to the Release Preview Channel Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.3930 (Beta Channel) | Windows Insider Blog |
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Speak more flexibly while giving existing commands using voice access |
Announcing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3576 (Dev and Beta Channels) |
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Build SharePoint pages that meet accessibility standards |
Introducing the SharePoint Pages Authoring Accessibility Assistant |
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Listen to emails, dictate messages, improve readability with text settings, and identify accessibility issues in Outlook |
Accessibility and Usability Improvements in the new Outlook for Windows |
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Zoom in on images in Edge | |
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Resolve multiple accessibility issues with one click using Quick Fix in Word | |
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Include all contributions by using RTT and higher zoom levels | |
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Arrange the Teams window across the screen real estate while keeping communication in context |
Organize your digital environment and boost your focus with flexible Teams layouts |
A global commitment to accessibility
Accessibility is weaved into everything we do at Microsoft. In the last year, our commitment to accessibility has shown up in partnerships with organizations such as:
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Elimin8Hate to represent diverse identities accurately | |
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Khan Academy to expand access to AI tools for learning and development | |
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Be My Eyes to bring high-quality, disability representative data to help train AI systems |
Disability Data: Improving Representation to Drive AI Innovation |
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Teach Access to bring essential knowledge and skills for creating accessible digital experiences to individuals around the world |
Teach Access Collaborates With Microsoft to Advance Accessibility Education on MS Learn |
Your feedback makes us better
We hope that these improvements have inspired you and made working easier and more effective. We value your ongoing support and insightful feedback as it inspires us to continually innovate and enhance our products as an essential tool for millions around the globe. Every suggestion and comment you share plays a pivotal role in our journey towards excellence. Give us your feedback (Windows logo key + F to launch the Feedback hub) to help create better experiences for each of us. If you are a customer with a disability and need technical assistance with Windows or any other Microsoft product, please reach out to the Disability Answer Desk via phone, chat, or American Sign Language (via videophone).
In closing, I’d like to leave you with a challenge: With your most important document open, launch the Accessibility Assistant and fix a few errors. Take a moment to tell your coworkers and encourage your coworkers to uplevel their accessible content habits
Thank you for being a part of our amazing history, and for helping us craft the future of accessibility! We have many more updates to come, and are excited to share what comes next!
Updated May 15, 2025
Version 1.0
Clint Covington
Microsoft
Microsoft