Manage Viva Engage Core user licenses in Microsoft 365

Important

Blocking users who don't have Viva Engage Core licenses

For more information on license enforcement, see Enforce Microsoft 365 identity for Viva Engage users.

When you assign user licenses as part of a bundled Microsoft 365 subscription plan, such as Microsoft 365 Enterprise, the user receives a Viva Engage Core license. You can remove or assign Viva Engage Core licenses for individual users in the Microsoft 365 admin center. You can also use Windows PowerShell cmdlets for Microsoft 365.

The Viva Engage Core service plan also enables access to Engage. This functionality ensures uninterrupted Engage experiences for your users. You can block users who don't have Viva Engage Core licenses from accessing Engage by turning on the security setting Block Microsoft 365 users without Viva Engage licenses. See Start blocking users who don't have Viva Engage licenses in this article.

Users who have a Viva Engage Core license can access the Viva Engage in Teams application, if it's installed through the Teams admin center. Learn more about installing Viva Engage.

Note

Holders of Microsoft 365 License Administrator permissions can assign and manage Viva Engage user licenses.

Manage licenses in the Microsoft 365 admin center

Assign and remove the Viva Engage Core license for users the same way you assign any other Microsoft 365 Enterprise license:

• Sign in to Microsoft 365 Enterprise, and go to the Microsoft 365 admin center. On the Users > Active Users page, assign or remove the Viva Engage Core license.

For more information, see Delete a user from your organization.

Manage licenses through Windows PowerShell

Use cmdlets in Windows PowerShell to assign Microsoft 365 licenses. With Windows PowerShell, you can easily see who has a license and assign licenses for multiple users at the same time. For more information, see Assign Microsoft 365 licenses to user accounts with PowerShell. You can also bulk-update licenses using a CSV file. For more information, see How to bulk assign licenses to Microsoft 365 users based on CSV.

Use the following example Windows PowerShell script snippets to develop a complete script to manage licenses for your organization.

• The following example unassigns the Viva Engage Core license from the litwareinc:ENTERPRISEPACK (Microsoft 365 Enterprise) to the user belindan@litwareinc.com.

  $UPN = "belindan@litwareinc.com"
  $LicenseDetails = (Get-MsolUser -UserPrincipalName $UPN).Licenses
  ForEach ($License in $LicenseDetails) {
    $DisabledOptions = @()
    $License.ServiceStatus | ForEach {
       If ($_.ProvisioningStatus -eq "Disabled" -or  $_.ServicePlan.ServiceName -like "*VIVAENGAGE_CORE*") { $DisabledOptions += "$($_.ServicePlan.ServiceName)" } 
    }
    $LicenseOptions = New-MsolLicenseOptions -AccountSkuId $License.AccountSkuId -DisabledPlans $DisabledOptions
     Set-MsolUserLicense -UserPrincipalName $UPN -LicenseOptions $LicenseOptions
  }
  
  

• To enable Engage for a user without affecting anything else in their license, you can run the previous script but change

  If ($_.ProvisioningStatus -eq "Disabled" -or $_.ServicePlan.ServiceName -like "*VIVAENGAGE_CORE*") { $DisabledOptions += "$($_.ServicePlan.ServiceName)" }
  

  to

  If ($_.ProvisioningStatus -eq "Disabled" -and $_.ServicePlan.ServiceName -notlike "*VIVAENGAGE_CORE*") { $DisabledOptions += "$($_.ServicePlan.ServiceName)" }
  

• The following example returns information about any users who aren't currently licensed for Microsoft 365.

  Get-MsolUser -All -UnlicensedUsersOnly
  

Important

Blocking users who don't have Viva Engage Core licenses

For more information on license enforcement, see Enforce Microsoft 365 identity for Viva Engage users.

Viva Engage content in Workplace Search and Copilot 365

Users without Viva Engage user licenses can see search results from Engage, including results from Workplace Search and from Copilot 365. Without correct licensing, users can't select or otherwise interact with Engage post links, or access Engage in any fashion.

Engage content that appears in Workplace Search and in Copilot 365 is limited to Question posts from public communities, Engage's Answers feature, and Storylines. Users without Answers licenses can view Question posts, but can't interact with them, and can't post new questions.

FAQ

Q: Why are Viva Engage Core licenses "per user"?

Per-user licenses let you assign Engage to a subset of users in your company, typically for a geographical or team-by-team rollout. Only users who have a Viva Engage Core license can see the Viva Engage tile in the Microsoft 365 Copilot and the Viva Engage application in Teams.

Q: What if I don't want anyone in my company to use an Engage identity?

You can Enforce Office 365 identity for any Engage user. They must each have a Viva Engage Core license to continue using Engage.

Q: How can I tell if all of my Viva Engage users have accounts in Microsoft 365?

Export your list of users from Engage, and then check for users who aren't in Microsoft 365. For more information, see Audit Viva Engage users in networks connected to Microsoft 365.