Find out about new Document Processing for Microsoft 365 (formerly SharePoint Premium)

If you use your SharePoint for communications or to store files, you know the challenge well. Documents everywhere. Policies. Contracts. PDFs. HR forms. Images. Translations. All important. All needed. And all relying on you to keep them findable, accurate and safe. An intranet built-in SharePoint like Fresh helps you keep this chaos under control, and Microsoft standards capabilities can assist you further. 

That’s where the new Document Processing for Microsoft 365 is here to take the pressure off. It’s the new name for the pay-as-you-go AI document services that used to sit under Microsoft Syntex and later part of SharePoint Premium. 

But here’s the important part — SharePoint Premium hasn’t disappeared — it’s been simplified

Its AI document features now live under Document Processing for Microsoft 365, while governance tools like Backup, Archive, and Advanced Management are separate products with their own pricing. Same platform. Clearer building blocks. Document processing is simply one part of what used to be called SharePoint Premium, the AI-powered content-processing part. 

Let’s break the changes down. 

 

Why the name changed to Document Processing for Microsoft 365 (and what’s actually changed)

Over the years, Microsoft’s content AI services have evolved through several identities:

• Project Cortex
• SharePoint Syntex
• Microsoft Syntex
• SharePoint Premium
• And now, Document Processing for Microsoft 365 (the pay-as-you-go services)

Microsoft hasn’t retired this SharePoint Premium capability, it has simply given a clear, functional name to the part of SharePoint Premium that delivers AI-powered document automation. 

Why this matters:

• AI-powered document processing is now essential for Copilot readiness
• Pay-as-you-go services need simple, descriptive labels

 

Features of Document Processing for Microsoft 365 (formerly SharePoint Premium)

Document Processing for Microsoft 365 is made up of AI tools that help your organization understand, sort and process documents, automatically, as follows: 

• Autofill columns
  

  AI extracts key details from documents and populates metadata fields for you.

• Document translation
  

  Translate documents into 130+ languages while keeping formatting intact.

• OCR (Optical Character Recognition)
  

  Convert scanned or handwritten documents into searchable text.

• eSignature
  

  Send, sign and track documents natively within Microsoft 365.

• Image tagging
  

  AI identifies objects in images and applies relevant tags.

• Content assembly
  

  Create standardized documents (contracts, letters) automatically.

Document processing models

Choose from:

• Structured models (fixed-layout documents like invoices)
• Freeform models (contracts, letters, forms)
• Unstructured models (reports, varied content)
• Prebuilt models (common business templates)

Behind the scenes, Microsoft uses Azure AI, Form Recognizer and LLMs but importantly, your data stays inside your tenant.

 

Benefits of Document Processing for Microsoft 365 (formerly SharePoint Premium)

• Better findability

  Richer metadata. Cleaner libraries. Faster answers.

• Stronger governance

  Spot sensitive content and classify it correctly without manual effort.

• Serious time savings

  Automation replaces repetitive tasks, freeing up whole teams.

• Built-in Copilot readiness

  Copilot depends on clean, structured content. Document processing does that automatically.

• Fresh + Document processing = a complete intranet experience

  Fresh gives you beautiful, intuitive experiences. Document processing powers the smart content behind the scenes. Together, they create a cleaner, more consistent content on your intranet.

Pricing plans for Document Processing for Microsoft 365 (formerly SharePoint Premium)

These services now run on a pay-as-you-go model:

• No more per-user Syntex/SharePoint Premium licenses
• Existing licenses continue until expiry
• Services activate through Azure billing
• Any user in your tenant can use them
• You only pay when the AI processes content

 

How Document Processing for Microsoft 365 works with Fresh

Fresh, an intranet solution built in SharePoint, doesn’t change Microsoft’s pricing but working in collaboration with our partners we can help you maximize its value by:

• targeting the right use cases
• reducing wasted usage
• improving governance and metadata
• giving you visibility across your content estate

This approach ensures you only use document processing exactly where it will make a meaningful impact.

 

Document processing vs previous versions

To make things clear, here’s how each version evolved into what we have today.

Version / Name	What it meant	What it maps to now
Project Cortex	Early AI content understanding	Foundation for Syntex
SharePoint Syntex	First commercial document AI offer	Became Syntex + Premium
Microsoft Syntex	Broader content services	Lives inside SharePoint Premium
SharePoint Premium	Advanced content platform: experiences, automation, governance	The name SharePoint Premium is retired, and capabilities split into standalone products
Document Processing for Microsoft 365	Pay-as-you-go AI document services	Current AI document processing service. Replaces Syntex consumption services

The clear message is that Document Processing is simply the renamed SharePoint Premium/Syntex pay-as-you-go service,  and Copilot now relies heavily on Document Processing to work at its best. 

 

How to upgrade to Document Processing for Microsoft 365 (formerly SharePoint Premium)

Your upgrade path depends on where you’re starting:

If you have Syntex or SharePoint Premium licenses

• You can keep using them until expiry 

• When they expire, move to pay-as-you-go 

• Your Azure admin must enable billing in the Microsoft 365 admin centre 

 

If you’re new to these services

• Connect an Azure subscription 

• Enable pay-as-you-go in the admin centre 

• Start using features immediately across your tenant 

 

If you’re a Fresh client

Our partner, Advania UK, or one of our globally distributed partners can help you: 

• review your license position 

• activate pay-as-you-go safely 

• avoid unnecessary consumption 

• set up your first document-processing scenarios 

• monitor ROI and usage 

 

The value of investing in Document Processing for Microsoft 365

Document processing helps you create: 

• cleaner content 

• stronger governance 

• faster workflows 

• future-ready metadata 

• high-quality Copilot experiences 

• a more powerful intranet 

 

And with Fresh, you get a platform that brings all of this together in a way that’s simple, beautiful and built for everyone in your organization. 

Document Processing for Microsoft 365 isn’t just a helpful set of tools — it’s a smarter, more modern way to manage the documents that power your organization. By automating the repetitive work, improving structure, strengthening governance and preparing your content for Copilot, it gives you a cleaner, more reliable foundation for your entire digital workplace. 

And when you pair it with Fresh, you unlock the best of both worlds: an intranet that looks great, works beautifully and is backed by content that stays organized, accurate and ready for AI. 

If you’re preparing for Copilot, investing in document processing now will make everything that follows smoother, simpler and far more impactful.