Get Copilot Features Before Everyone Else (Frontier Program Explained)
Nick Ross · · Video and write-up
You see a new Microsoft Copilot feature on LinkedIn, open your own tenant to try it, and it is nowhere to be found.
You refresh. You check another app. Still nothing.
There is a good chance the person showing off that feature is part of Microsoft Frontier.
Frontier is Microsoft’s early access program for new AI features in Microsoft 365. It gives organizations a way to test upcoming Copilot capabilities before they become generally available.
What Is Microsoft Frontier?
Think of Frontier as a test track for Microsoft Copilot.
Instead of waiting for a new feature to reach general availability, selected users can get access earlier, test the experience, and determine how it might impact the organization.
More importantly for IT teams and MSPs, Frontier is controlled at the tenant level. Administrators can decide which users or groups receive access.
That makes it useful for:
- Internal IT teams testing new Copilot capabilities
- AI champions inside the organization
- MSP teams that want experience with features before customers start asking about them
- Building documentation and training before a wider rollout
Just remember that these are prerelease features. The interface, functionality, and even licensing or billing model can change before general availability.
How to Enable Microsoft Frontier
First, you need an eligible Microsoft Copilot subscription and appropriate administrative permissions.
A Global Administrator can configure the settings, although Microsoft also provides more limited administrative roles for managing AI and Copilot capabilities.
From the Microsoft 365 Admin Center:
- Open the Copilot section.
- Go to Settings.
- Select View all.
- Find Frontier.
- Choose which users or groups should receive access.
- Save your changes.
For a test tenant, you might enable Frontier for everyone. In production, I would recommend creating a smaller group of admins, AI champions, or pilot users first.
Also, do not expect every feature to appear instantly. Microsoft may indicate a short configuration time, but in my testing some Frontier features took closer to 24 hours to appear for users.
Do Not Forget About Microsoft Agents
There is one additional setting worth checking.
Under the Agents section of the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, make sure your organization allows apps and agents built by Microsoft.
Some early access Copilot experiences are delivered as Microsoft agents. If Microsoft agents are disabled, enabling Frontier alone may not make those experiences available.
You can also control individual agents separately.
For example, you could enable Frontier for a broader pilot group while allowing a specific experimental agent to be installed by only a handful of users. Microsoft provides user and group targeting at the individual agent level as well.
Why IT Teams and MSPs Should Care
Frontier is not just a way to chase the newest AI features.
The bigger advantage is preparation.
Instead of finding out about a major Copilot change when users start asking questions, your team can test it ahead of time, understand how it works, build documentation, and decide how you want to roll it out.
For MSPs, this is especially useful. Your team can experiment with new capabilities in your own tenant before those same features begin appearing across customer environments.
If your organization is actively adopting Microsoft Copilot, I would create a small Frontier pilot group for IT, AI champions, and other technical users.
Give them early access, test the new capabilities, and use what you learn to prepare the rest of the organization.
AI Readiness Report
At CloudCapsule, we have been developing an AI readiness report that does a deep dive of all of the data and sharing going on within an organization.
To check out this report and run a free assessment, book a demo with us today.
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