On October 18th, I had the pleasure of presenting at Collabdays Belgium 2025. My session, “Create the best search for your SharePoint”, focused on the evolving landscape of search within Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and the impact of Copilot and PnP Modern Search on productivity and collaboration.
Why Search Still Matters
Despite the rapid advancements in technology, finding information in the workplace remains a challenge. As Bill Gates once noted, “It’s ironic that Bing and its competitors can instantly find anything in the world, yet finding something in the workplace remains a challenge.” This statement is just as relevant today as it was in 2005.
After migrations, users often feel anxious about locating their documents. Effective search capabilities are crucial for boosting productivity and ensuring smooth collaboration within organizations.
Standard Search vs. PnP Modern Search
I explored the differences between Microsoft’s out-of-the-box search and the customizable PnP Modern Search solution:
- Standard Search: Works out of the box, requires minimal configuration, but offers limited customization.
- PnP Modern Search: Highly customizable, integrates seamlessly with SharePoint Online, and provides a faster, more intuitive user experience—especially for large datasets and external content sources.
A key takeaway: Don’t just call it “Search.” Give your custom solution a name like “Project Finder” to make it more approachable and relevant for users.
The Future: Copilot and Natural Language Search
Is Copilot going to replace search? Not entirely, but it’s transforming how we interact with information. Copilot enables natural language queries across Microsoft 365—retrieving emails, files, chats, meetings, and more. This means users can ask questions like “Show me emails from John about Q4 forecasting sent last week” and get instant, relevant results.
Resources
For those interested in diving deeper, here are some useful links:
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