If you’ve ever asked yourself, “How do I find inactive pages in SharePoint?” or “How can I identify pages that haven’t been viewed or edited in a while?” – you’re not alone. Keeping your SharePoint content fresh and relevant is more important than ever, especially in an AI-driven world where outdated information can lead to confusion, miscommunication, or worse, incorrect decisions.
In this post, I’ll walk you through a powerful new feature in SharePoint called the Knowledge Agent, which makes it incredibly easy to identify and manage inactive pages in SharePoint. Whether you’re a site owner, content manager, or just someone trying to keep your digital workspace clean, this tool is going to be a game-changer.
Why Inactive Pages Matter More Than You Think
Before we get into the how, let’s talk about the why…
In a typical SharePoint environment, it’s easy for content to pile up. Pages get created for projects, announcements, documentation, and more. But over time, some of these pages become stale. They’re no longer updated, rarely visited, and in some cases, contain outdated or incorrect information. In the age of AI… especially with tools like Microsoft Copilot, this becomes a bigger issue. If Copilot pulls data from an outdated page, it could return misleading or obsolete information. That’s not just a minor inconvenience, it’s a risk to productivity and decision-making.
So, how do we solve this?
Introducing the SharePoint Knowledge Agent
Microsoft recently rolled out a new feature called the Knowledge Agent in SharePoint. It’s currently in public preview and tied to your Microsoft 365 Copilot license, so availability may vary depending on your tenant settings. But if you have access, you’ll want to start using it right away.
The Knowledge Agent is designed to help both end users and site owners manage content more intelligently. It offers several features, but today we’re focusing on one in particular: Retire Inactive Pages.
How to Find Inactive Pages in SharePoint
Here’s how you can use the Knowledge Agent to identify and manage inactive content:
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Navigate to Your SharePoint Site
Start by opening the site you want to audit. This could be a team site, communication site, or any site collection where you suspect there’s outdated content lurking. -
Locate the Knowledge Agent Button
On the bottom-right corner of your SharePoint site, you’ll see a floating SharePoint icon. This is the Knowledge Agent. It stays visible as you scroll, making it easy to access at any time. -
Click “Improve This Site”
Once you click the Knowledge Agent icon, you’ll see several options. These are tailored for both end users and site owners. For our purpose, click on “Improve This Site.” -
Select “Retire Inactive Pages”
This is the magic button. SharePoint will scan your site and surface pages that haven’t been viewed or modified in a while. In my test site, it found four pages that hadn’t been touched in over nine months. That’s a long time in content years.
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What Can You Do with Inactive Pages?
Once the Knowledge Agent identifies inactive pages, you have several options:
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Retire the Page
This is the default action. Retiring a page doesn’t delete it. Instead, it deprioritizes the page in SharePoint search results and Copilot responses. It also adds a banner to the top of the page warning users that the content may be outdated. -
Delete the Page
If the page is truly obsolete and no longer needed, you can choose to delete it outright. This removes it from your site permanently. -
View the Page
Before taking action, you might want to review the page. Clicking “View” will open the page while keeping the Knowledge Agent sidebar visible. One caveat: viewing the page this way currently counts as a “view,” which could affect its inactive status. Hopefully, Microsoft will refine this behavior in future updates. -
Snooze the Reminder
Not ready to make a decision? You can snooze the reminder, and the Knowledge Agent will prompt you again later. -
Never Show Again
For pages that are intentionally evergreen like company values or static policy documents, you can tell the Knowledge Agent to ignore them permanently.
What Does “Retire SharePoint Page” Actually Mean?
This is a new concept in SharePoint, and it’s worth unpacking.
When you retire a SharePoint page, several things happen:
- The page is deprioritized in search results. It won’t appear at the top when users search in SharePoint or Microsoft Search.
- It’s less likely to be surfaced by Copilot or other AI agents, reducing the risk of outdated content being used in responses.
- A banner is added to the top of the page, clearly indicating that the content may be out of date.
- The page remains active and accessible, it’s not deleted, just marked as retired.
- A new metadata field called “Is Retired” is added to the Site Pages library. This field can be manually toggled if needed.
This gives you a lot of flexibility. You can retire pages without losing them, and bring them back if needed. It’s a soft way to phase out content without causing disruption.
Behind the Scenes: How Retirement Works
When you retire a page using the Knowledge Agent, it sets the “Is Retired” field in the Site Pages library. This field is key… it’s what tells SharePoint and Copilot to treat the page differently.
Interestingly, you can also manually set this field without using the Knowledge Agent. Just go into the Site Pages library, find the page, and check the “Is Retired” box. This is handy if the Knowledge Agent doesn’t behave as expected, which, to be fair, can happen since it’s still in preview.
In my testing, I found that sometimes retiring a page via the Knowledge Agent didn’t actually set the “Is Retired” field. In those cases, manually checking the box did the trick and triggered the retirement banner.
What the Retirement Banner Looks Like
Once a page is retired, users will see a banner at the top that says something like:
This is a subtle but powerful way to communicate to users that the information might not be current. It also signals that the page could be on its way to deletion, a gentle nudge for site owners to take action.
Availability and Licensing
As mentioned earlier, the Knowledge Agent is currently in public preview. It’s tied to your Microsoft 365 Copilot license, so if you don’t have that license, you won’t see this feature yet.
Microsoft plans to begin a broader rollout in January 2026, so keep an eye out. If you’re reading this post after January, you might already have access. If not, check your tenant settings and licensing.
Also, Microsoft has a roadmap item for this feature. I recommend bookmarking it so you can track updates and rollout timelines. Microsoft sometimes shifts dates, so it’s good to stay informed.
Final Thoughts
The Knowledge Agent is one of the most exciting additions to SharePoint in recent memory. It brings AI-powered insights directly into your site, helping you manage content more effectively and keep your digital workspace clean and relevant.
The ability to find inactive pages in SharePoint and retire SharePoint pages is just the beginning. As Microsoft continues to build out this feature, expect even more automation, smarter suggestions, and deeper integration with Copilot and other M365 tools.
If you’re a SharePoint site owner or admin, this is a feature you’ll want to explore. It’s intuitive, powerful, and a huge time-saver.
