SharePoint Premium is dead—again. Yep, Microsoft has renamed it once more, and if you’re keeping count, this marks rename #4 in just a few years.

So what’s the latest? Welcome to Document Processing for Microsoft 365.

In this video, I’ll walk you through:
A quick history of the rebrands (Project Cortex → SharePoint Syntex → Microsoft Syntex → SharePoint Premium → …this)
What each previous name stood for, and why Microsoft keeps changing it
What’s included in Document Processing today (hint: Autofill Columns, OCR, eSignature, and Translation are the stars) Which legacy Syntex features are now considered “past generation”
What’s been removed from the branding umbrella (SAM, Backup, Archive are now standalone)

You’ll also learn:
Why the rename signals Microsoft’s evolving priorities
Which features are still safe to use
How you can try Document Processing for FREE until December 2025
Why your SharePoint Premium swag may now be vintage merch

Video SummarySharePoint Premium is now called “document processing for Microsoft 365” — yep, another rename! This marks the fourth time Microsoft has rebranded this set of features since Project Cortex.Microsoft split things up: Backup, Archive, and SharePoint Advanced Management are now standalone products. Everything that used to be under Syntax is now grouped under the document processing category.Microsoft’s focus is crystal clear: They’re prioritizing four services — Autofill columns, Document translation, OCR, and E-signatures. Older machine learning-based features like content assembly and tagging are now considered “past generation.”No need to panic if you’re using older features — Microsoft hasn’t announced any deprecations. But it’s a good time to start exploring newer tools like Copilot and Autofill columns to future-proof your setup (and maybe even save on costs!).Free document processing until December 2025! If you’ve been curious or want to run a proof of concept, now’s the perfect time. I’ve got a video walking you through the promo — check it out!

For more information, read the transcript blog below, or watch the video above!

Transcript

SharePoint Premium is dead—well, at least the name is. Yes, Microsoft is rebranding things again. And if you’re keeping score at home, this marks the fourth rebrand for SharePoint Premium. So, what’s the latest? It’s now called document processing for Microsoft 365.

In this video, we’ll take a look back at how we got here and, more importantly, what this actually means for you. Let’s start by taking a step back. This isn’t the first time Microsoft has renamed these features. We all know Microsoft loves to rename stuff, but four or five times in six years might be a record.

Back in 2019, while still in development, it was called Project Cortex. A year later, it became SharePoint Syntex, focused on AI-powered document understanding. Then in 2022, it shifted to Microsoft Syntex as Microsoft pushed content AI across workloads—not just SharePoint. At Ignite in November 2023, I was in the room when Jeff Teper introduced SharePoint Premium, a suite designed to help you manage, ground, and leverage content for AI. The idea was simple: one brand everyone could recognize, bringing together all the extra features on top of base SharePoint.

SharePoint Premium was organized into three pillars: experiences, processes, and governance. For content experiences, it included brand-new features like the Agreements app in Teams, SharePoint eSignature (which has since been renamed to just “eSignature”), and the Documents Hub for customers and partners—which, as of now, still hasn’t shipped. The content processing pillar carried forward Syntex classics like autofill columns, taxonomy tagging, content query, translation for both documents and videos, PDF annotations, and more. This is where you transform content with AI—not just to improve user experience, but also to prepare your content for Copilot. The better your content quality, the better your Copilot rollout will be.

Finally, the governance pillar introduced advanced admin capabilities like SharePoint Advanced Management, Microsoft 365 Archive, and Microsoft 365 Backup. That was the vision back at Ignite 2023. But now, almost two years later, here we are again. The funny part is that the rename from Syntex to SharePoint Premium wasn’t even fully completed. As of late August, you can still see Syntex mentioned everywhere in the documentation and inside the admin center.

So, what does it look like today? Microsoft has decided to split things up. SharePoint Advanced Management, Backup, and Archive are now standalone products. They’re no longer under an umbrella—they’re their own thing. Everything that used to be Syntex is now bundled under the new umbrella: document processing for Microsoft 365. And yes, Microsoft is very particular about branding. In the documentation, you’ll notice it’s written with a lowercase “d” and “p” because it’s a category, not a product name.

If you check Microsoft Learn right now, you’ll see that this rename helps clarify their priorities, which I appreciate. At the Microsoft 365 Conference in May, they highlighted four services that will get the most attention going forward: OCR, document translation, autofill columns, and eSignatures. These are their priorities. Meanwhile, older features from Syntex—like document processing models, content assembly, taxonomy tagging, and image tagging—have been pushed into the “past generations” bucket. In the documentation, they’re tucked away under “other document processing services.” Microsoft clearly doesn’t want these to be seen as main services anymore. They’re still available, but they’re not part of the future roadmap.

To be clear, Microsoft hasn’t announced any plans to deprecate or stop supporting these older features. So, if you’re using them in production, don’t worry—there’s no emergency to move off them. But it’s obvious which features will get the most love and investment moving forward.

So, what does this mean for you in practice? Honestly, nothing changes overnight. All the features you use today are still there. The only real impact is that all your SharePoint Premium swag—like mugs and socks—now belongs in the vintage pile. Who knows? Maybe they’ll be collector’s items one day.

If you’re relying heavily on older machine learning-based features—like unstructured document processing models or content assembly—this is a good moment to start planning for the future. Look into whether newer tools like autofill columns or Copilot can replace those features. It’s not urgent, but moving in the same direction as Microsoft usually means you’ll get newer features, a smoother experience, and maybe even cost savings—especially with the recent cost reduction on autofill columns.

Make sure you check it out before it becomes urgent and Microsoft announces something. But honestly, even as an MVP, I haven’t heard anything yet. And if I had, I couldn’t tell you—but I haven’t heard anything. Microsoft hasn’t published anything about deprecating these products, even if they’re considered past generation. So, nothing to worry about today, but it’s always good to start looking ahead.

And don’t forget—Microsoft is offering free document processing services until December 2025. If you’ve been curious to try them out or want to run a proof of concept in your organization, now is the perfect time. I’ve got a video walking you through exactly what the promotion is and how to activate it. If you missed that video, make sure you check it out.

That’s it for this video. Let me know what you think of the rename in the comments below. And if you enjoyed this video, please hit like and subscribe—it really helps the channel, and I truly appreciate it. On your screen right now, you’ll see a link to my Content AI promo video, as well as a playlist with over four hours of deep dives to help you make the most out of Microsoft 365 document processing. Woof, I’ll have to get used to that name. See you there!