Microsoft Purview Information Protection

Apply Sensitivity Label Automatically

5 November 2026Updated+3 / −3 lines

In brief

Updated Microsoft Purview documentation in Purview/apply-sensitivity-label-automatically.md.

What Purview admins need to know

Review the underlying documentation change to determine whether it affects tenant configuration or rollout plans.

Summaries are generated from the documentation change itself.

Documentation change

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The comparison below shows only the changed extract. Use the full-page view for complete context.

I want SharePoint default library labels to apply to existing files. See Apply default sensitivity labels from SharePoint document libraries to existing files.
A file wasn't labeled, or has an unexpected label. Start with Why was — or wasn't — a specific file labeled? to choose the checks for your file. For a reported failure, see Resolve auto-labeling failures in SharePoint and OneDrive files.
My active policy has stopped matching Exchange email. See Policy rule fails to load.
I'm hitting a limit ~~(500,~~(a tenant-wide throughput ceiling of 500,000 files/day, not a guaranteed daily rate; 100 ~~policies,~~policies; 1,000 explicitly selected SharePoint ~~sites,~~sites; or 20,000,000 matched files per policy simulation). See How to configure auto-labeling policies for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange, and Use PowerShell for auto-labeling policies to target SharePoint sites by using an adaptive scope.
Auto-labeling isn't available in my region. The Auto-labeling page isn't visible in unsupported regions. See the regional availability prerequisite.
I want to set a default label for Teams meetings, sites, groups, or Microsoft 365 Copilot. This article covers files and emails. For container-level default labels (including Teams instant meetings and Meet Now), see Use sensitivity labels with Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 groups, and SharePoint sites. For Copilot default labels, see Considerations for Microsoft 365 Copilot.
```
  Important

  PDF labeling must be enabled for your tenant before an auto-labeling policy can process PDFs in SharePoint and OneDrive. Enable it by selecting the **Protect PDFs with Auto-labeling** banner in the Microsoft Purview portal, or by using PowerShell. If PDF labeling isn't enabled, PDFs are skipped entirely: PDFs aren't evaluated or sent for labeling, and no label is applied. For instructions, see [Adding support for PDF](sensitivity-labels-sharepoint-onedrive-files#adding-support-for-pdf).
```
- ~~Maximum of~~The absolute maximum throughput is 500,000 automatically labeled SharePoint and OneDrive files ~~in your~~per tenant per ~~day.~~day, in aggregate across all auto-labeling policies. This ceiling isn't a guaranteed or consistently expected daily processing rate; actual throughput can be lower.
- Maximum of 100 auto-labeling policies per tenant. In the portal, each policy can target up to 1,000 explicitly included or excluded SharePoint sites, or up to 100 explicitly included or excluded OneDrive individual users or groups. If you keep the default configuration of All, this configuration is exempt from these maximums.
- For SharePoint, an auto-labeling policy can use an adaptive scope to target sites. For configuration instructions, see Use PowerShell for auto-labeling policies.
- Existing values for modified, modified by, and the date aren't changed as a result of auto-labeling policies—for both simulation mode and when labels are applied.

To verify labeling for an Exchange email, use Activity explorer and filter for the Sensitivity label applied activity. Narrow the results by date, sensitivity label, location, and item details, and review How applied to verify that the label was applied automatically. Allow 60 to 90 minutes for the activity to appear. Activity explorer identifies the resulting label and how it was applied, but doesn't identify the specific auto-labeling policy or rule that applied the label to an Exchange message.

The labeling progress includes the files to be labeled or unlabeled by the policy, the affected files for the last seven days, and the total files affected. AThe absolute maximum ofthroughput is 500,000 automatically labeled SharePoint and OneDrive files ~~can be automatically labeled~~ per tenant per day, in aggregate across all auto-labeling policies. This ceiling isn't a guaranteed or consistently expected daily processing rate; actual throughput can be lower. Use this progress information to see how many files your policy still needs to label.

When you first turn on your policy, you initially see a value of 0 for files to be labeled until the latest data is retrieved. This progress information updates every 48 hours, so you can expect to see the most current data about every other day. In the earlier policy flyout experience, selecting a policy shows labeling progress by the top 10 sites. The newer full Overview page shows Top 15 sites instead. The information on the flyout pane might be more current than the aggregated policy information displayed on the Auto-labeling main page. To have visibility on all auto-labeling policy progress, use activity explorer for the most up to date information for files and emails that were auto-labeled.

@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ Tip - **I want SharePoint default library labels to apply to existing files.** See Apply default sensitivity labels from SharePoint document libraries to existing files.
 - **A file wasn't labeled, or has an unexpected label.** Start with Why was — or wasn't — a specific file labeled? to choose the checks for your file. For a reported failure, see [Resolve auto-labeling failures in SharePoint and OneDrive files](/en-us/troubleshoot/microsoft-365/purview/sensitivity-labels/auto-labeling-failures-sharepoint-onedrive).
 - **My active policy has stopped matching Exchange email.** See Policy rule fails to load.
-- **I'm hitting a limit** (500,000 files/day, 100 policies, 1,000 explicitly selected SharePoint sites, or 20,000,000 matched files per policy simulation). See How to configure auto-labeling policies for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange, and Use PowerShell for auto-labeling policies to target SharePoint sites by using an adaptive scope.
+- **I'm hitting a limit** (a tenant-wide throughput ceiling of 500,000 files/day, not a guaranteed daily rate; 100 policies; 1,000 explicitly selected SharePoint sites; or 20,000,000 matched files per policy simulation). See How to configure auto-labeling policies for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange, and Use PowerShell for auto-labeling policies to target SharePoint sites by using an adaptive scope.
 - **Auto-labeling isn't available in my region.** The **Auto-labeling** page isn't visible in unsupported regions. See the regional availability prerequisite.
 - **I want to set a default label for Teams meetings, sites, groups, or Microsoft 365 Copilot.** This article covers files and emails. For container-level default labels (including Teams instant meetings and Meet Now), see [Use sensitivity labels with Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 groups, and SharePoint sites](sensitivity-labels-teams-groups-sites). For Copilot default labels, see [Considerations for Microsoft 365 Copilot](ai-m365-copilot-considerations).
 
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ There are two different methods for automatically applying a sensitivity label t         Important
 
         PDF labeling must be enabled for your tenant before an auto-labeling policy can process PDFs in SharePoint and OneDrive. Enable it by selecting the **Protect PDFs with Auto-labeling** banner in the Microsoft Purview portal, or by using PowerShell. If PDF labeling isn't enabled, PDFs are skipped entirely: PDFs aren't evaluated or sent for labeling, and no label is applied. For instructions, see [Adding support for PDF](sensitivity-labels-sharepoint-onedrive-files#adding-support-for-pdf).
-    - Maximum of 500,000 automatically labeled files in your tenant per day.
+    - The **absolute maximum throughput** is 500,000 automatically labeled SharePoint and OneDrive files per tenant per day, in aggregate across all auto-labeling policies. This ceiling isn't a guaranteed or consistently expected daily processing rate; actual throughput can be lower.
     - Maximum of 100 auto-labeling policies per tenant. In the portal, each policy can target up to 1,000 explicitly included or excluded SharePoint sites, or up to 100 explicitly included or excluded OneDrive individual users or groups. If you keep the default configuration of **All**, this configuration is exempt from these maximums.
     - For SharePoint, an auto-labeling policy can use an adaptive scope to target sites. For configuration instructions, see Use PowerShell for auto-labeling policies.
     - Existing values for modified, modified by, and the date aren't changed as a result of auto-labeling policies—for both simulation mode and when labels are applied.
@@ -696,7 +696,7 @@ Exchange email isn't included in policy-level labeling progress, **Insights** en 
 To verify labeling for an Exchange email, use [Activity explorer](data-classification-activity-explorer) and filter for the **Sensitivity label applied** activity. Narrow the results by date, sensitivity label, location, and item details, and review **How applied** to verify that the label was applied automatically. Allow [60 to 90 minutes for the activity to appear](data-classification-activity-explorer#when-activities-appear). Activity explorer identifies the resulting label and how it was applied, but doesn't identify the specific auto-labeling policy or rule that applied the label to an Exchange message.
 
-The labeling progress includes the files to be labeled or unlabeled by the policy, the affected files for the last seven days, and the total files affected. A maximum of 500,000 SharePoint and OneDrive files can be automatically labeled per tenant per day, across all auto-labeling policies. Use this progress information to see how many files your policy still needs to label.
+The labeling progress includes the files to be labeled or unlabeled by the policy, the affected files for the last seven days, and the total files affected. The **absolute maximum throughput** is 500,000 automatically labeled SharePoint and OneDrive files per tenant per day, in aggregate across all auto-labeling policies. This ceiling isn't a guaranteed or consistently expected daily processing rate; actual throughput can be lower. Use this progress information to see how many files your policy still needs to label.
 
 When you first turn on your policy, you initially see a value of 0 for files to be labeled until the latest data is retrieved. This progress information updates every 48 hours, so you can expect to see the most current data about every other day. In the earlier policy flyout experience, selecting a policy shows labeling progress by the top 10 sites. The newer full **Overview** page shows **Top 15 sites** instead. The information on the flyout pane might be more current than the aggregated policy information displayed on the **Auto-labeling** main page. To have visibility on all auto-labeling policy progress, use activity explorer for the most up to date information for files and emails that were auto-labeled.