Frequently asked questions

What is Audience Subscription?

Audience Subscription is a SharePoint web part that allows site visitors to add themselves to defined audiences. At the same time, content owners and IT administrators can centrally manage those audiences using Microsoft 365 groups. This enables your intranet to deliver more personalized content to each visitor.

Where can I use it?

Audience Subscription can be added to any modern SharePoint Online page, including communication sites, team sites, and hub sites - anywhere you want users to subscribe to content or audience groups. It is often used on intranet home pages.

Is it responsive / mobile-friendly?

Yes. The web part is designed to work seamlessly across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.

How do I set it up?

Add the Audience Subscription web part to your SharePoint site and add your audiences via the selection of Microsoft 365 groups. Audiences can be a user-friendly name, or even set as mandatory. After publishing the page, individual users can subscribe or unsubscribe with one click.

What permissions are required to manage audiences?

The Audience Subscription web part is designed to work with public, or open, Microsoft 365 groups. This means that any user already has the permission to add or remove themselves to the groups. They will not need any additional permissions. 

To see which specific permissions are required for the app during the installation, visit the Technical Details page.

What type of Microsoft 365 group can I add to an audience subscription?

You can only add a public Microsoft 365 group with assigned membership. This means:

✅ Public group – open for users to join.

✅ Assigned membership – users are added manually (not dynamically).

❌ Dynamic groups are not supported.

❌ Private groups or other group types in Microsoft 365 cannot be used. e.g. Security groups

Can I add rules to groups in Audience Subscription?

Yes. You can add a rule to any group to make it a semi-dynamic group.

• If a user matches the rule, they will only be added to the group after they load the page where the Audience Subscription web part is displayed.
• Rules are configured in the web part property pane.
• Rules can be comprised of various profile attributes from the Entra ID platform, for example department = finance.

What are mandatory audiences?

Mandatory audiences ensure that certain users are always included in a specific group, assuming that their user profile matches set rules. Visitors cannot opt out of these audiences. This is useful for updates that must reach specific groups or roles.

How do the rule settings in the property pane affect subscriptions?

The Audience Subscription web part includes settings in the property pane that control how rules behave for different users:

Allow matching user to manage their subscription

• Disabled → Users who match the rule are mandatory members of the group and cannot unsubscribe.
• Enabled → Users who match the rule can choose to subscribe or unsubscribe from the group.

Allow non-matching users to manage subscription

• Disabled → Users who do not match the rule will not see the group in Audience Subscription.
• Enabled → Users who do not match the rule can still see the group and choose to join or leave it.

What happens when users subscribe or unsubscribe?

When users change their subscription, their membership in the associated Microsoft 365 group is updated automatically. This influences which audience targeted content they see across SharePoint.

Can I restrict email messages for people who join a group in Audience Subscription?

Yes. In Microsoft 365, you can run a PowerShell command to restrict default system email messages to group members who join via Audience Subscription.

Example command:

Set-UnifiedGroup -Identity "<GroupName>" -UnifiedGroupWelcomeMessageEnabled:$false

Further information is available on the Microsoft support page.

Can I control how groups appear in Exchange clients?

Yes. You can run a PowerShell command to hide or display a group in Outlook or other Exchange clients.

Example command:

Set-UnifiedGroup -Identity "<GroupName>" -HiddenFromExchangeClientsEnabled:$true

Further information is available on the Microsoft support page.

Can I customize the style of the web part?

Yes. You can update the title, description, and overall layout of the web part to align with your organization’s terminology and branding. You can also choose to display it as a link, a button, or a call-to-action (CTA), with the option to include an image.

Is a free trial available?

Yes. A 60-day full-featured trial is available. Learn more here.

What happens when the trial ends?

After the trial expires, the web part will stop functioning until a valid license is applied. All existing page content will remain intact. You’ll receive instructions on how to purchase and activate a license.