TL;DR: Viva Engage is adding two new ways to see whether people actually engage with your posts: dwell time (how long people spend on a post) and video performance. They join open rate and click-through rate, which conversation analytics already shows. Microsoft is targeting December 2026, and the new metrics come with standard Microsoft 365 licensing. Pair them with SharePoint page analytics to report on reach, attention, and action.
For years, internal comms teams have asked the same question about Viva Engage posts: did anyone actually read it? “Seen by” counts and reactions only go so far. Open rate and click-through rate got closer to an answer, and dwell time and video performance will take it further, bringing Viva Engage analytics closer to the metrics email and intranet teams already use.
This guide explains what’s changing, which internal communications metrics matter most, and how to build a simple scorecard across Viva Engage and SharePoint.
What is changing in Viva Engage conversation analytics?
Conversation analytics is the per-post report in Viva Engage. According to Microsoft 365 roadmap item 576271, published October 22, 2026, it lists engagement insights that show whether employees:
- opened a post (open rate),
- clicked linked resources (click-through rate),
- spent time with it (dwell time), and
- watched attached videos (video performance).
Microsoft is targeting general availability in December 2026 for the Worldwide cloud and hasn’t confirmed GCC dates yet. According to the Viva Engage team, the new conversation metrics will come with standard Microsoft 365 licensing, rather than requiring Viva Engage Premium.
One detail worth knowing: Microsoft’s Viva Engage analytics support page already lists post open rate and click-through rate in conversation analytics. If you already see them, watch for dwell time and video performance.
What does Viva Engage analytics already measure?
Here’s a quick view of today’s analytics, based on Microsoft’s support documentation:
| Report | What it shows | Who sees it |
|---|---|---|
| Conversation analytics | People reached and engaged, post open rate, click-through rate, Seen by, reactions, shares, engagement funnel (sentiment is Premium) | Post authors, their delegates, corporate communicators, and community admins (for their communities) |
| Community analytics | Member activity, views, posts, reactions, admin response rate (more with Premium) | Community members (any network member for public communities) |
| Leader and audience analytics | Announcement viewers, audience engagement, top conversations (sentiment and themes are Premium) | Leaders and delegates with assigned audiences |
| Campaign analytics | Reach, reactions, comments, posts, followers | Engage admins and corporate communicators |
Licensing matters here. Microsoft notes that “users with the basic Viva Engage license can’t view the Analytics dashboard,” and that custom date ranges plus AI sentiment and theme analysis are Premium features (Viva Engage Premium comes with the Microsoft Viva suite or the Employee Communications and Communities license). Conversation and community analytics are available to all Engage users.
Which internal communications metrics actually matter?
Not every number deserves a slide in your monthly report. We suggest grouping internal communications metrics into three levels:
- Reach: did it get in front of people? Seen by, people reached, unique viewers.
- Attention: did they read it? Open rate and dwell time. This is the gap the new Engage signals fill.
- Action: did they do something? Click-through rate, video performance, replies, and downstream visits to the SharePoint page you linked.
Reach without attention tells you the algorithm worked, not that the message landed. Attention without action tells you the post was interesting, but the next step was unclear.
How do you combine Viva Engage and SharePoint analytics?
Most important announcements live in two places: a SharePoint news post or page (the source of truth) and an Engage post (the conversation). If you cross-post SharePoint news to Viva Engage, you can measure the full journey.
SharePoint page and news analytics show unique viewers, total views, average time spent per user, and traffic by time. News posts can show more, including reactions, promotions (shares, @mentions, and email forwards), unique viewers who clicked a link, and a breakdown by channel such as Outlook, Teams, and Engage. Those extras need a Microsoft Viva suite or Viva Employee Communications and Communities license. Page owners and site members open analytics from Analytics at the top of the page; site visitors can select Views at the bottom. Usage data from guest and anonymous users isn’t included.
A simple monthly scorecard
| Metric | Source | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Unique viewers | SharePoint page analytics | How many people reached the full story |
| Average time spent per user | SharePoint page analytics | Whether the page was read, not skimmed |
| Unique viewers who clicked a link | SharePoint news analytics (Viva license) | Whether the call to action worked |
| Open rate | Viva Engage conversation analytics | Whether the Engage post earned attention |
| Click-through rate | Viva Engage conversation analytics | How much traffic Engage sent onward |
| Dwell time and video performance (from GA) | Viva Engage conversation analytics | Depth of attention on Engage itself |
| Replies and sentiment (Premium) | Viva Engage | How people feel about it |
Five steps to get ready before December
- Check access. The new metrics will appear in conversation analytics, which post authors can see without Premium. Viva Engage Premium adds dashboard features like custom date ranges and sentiment, so confirm who on your team needs it.
- Baseline now. Record current reach and engagement for your top 10 posts so you can compare once new signals arrive.
- Write for the click. Give every important post one clear link and one clear action.
- Design the destination. Make sure the linked SharePoint page loads fast, reads well on mobile, and answers the question on the first screen.
- Report on all three levels. Reach, attention, and action, every month, in the same format.
How does ShortPoint help you make clicks matter?
A click only matters if it leads somewhere worth staying. Viva Engage analytics show whether people opened a post and clicked through. SharePoint page analytics show whether they stayed and acted. When click-through is strong but time spent on the page is low, the post did its job, and the page didn’t.
To make clicks count, the page people land on needs to do three things: hold attention, work on any device, and show each reader what’s relevant to them.
That’s where ShortPoint helps. Native SharePoint gives you solid, standard page layouts. ShortPoint gives comms teams the design control to make those destination pages work harder, without the need for developers.
| What the page needs to do | Native SharePoint pages | ShortPoint |
|---|---|---|
| Hold attention once people arrive | Standard sections and web parts | No-code visual design with 80+ design elements |
| Work on any device | Responsive by default | Responsive by default, with per-element mobile settings and previews for desktop, tablet and mobile |
| Show each reader what’s relevant | Audience targeting on supported web parts | Visibility feature shows or hides elements by device and by SharePoint or security group |
Pages like these shouldn’t be hard to build. With ShortPoint AI Designer, you describe the page you need by typing, speaking, or sharing an image, and it builds an on-brand page inside your SharePoint, ready to fine-tune before your Engage post goes live.
ShortPoint is trusted by 12M+ users on 350K+ SharePoint sites and is a Microsoft partner, with unlimited free viewers.
Our point of view: measurement is only half of internal comms. Viva Engage analytics will show you where attention drops; ShortPoint helps you design the SharePoint pages that keep it. Use both, and your monthly report stops being a list of views and starts showing impact.
Frequently asked questions
Conversation analytics is the per-post report in Viva Engage. It shows how many people a post reached and engaged, who has seen it, reactions, shares and the engagement funnel. Post authors, their delegates, corporate communicators and community admins (for their communities) can see it.
Roadmap item 576271 lists open rate, click-through rate, dwell time and video performance for conversation analytics. Microsoft's support page already documents open rate and click-through rate, so dwell time and video performance are the new additions to watch for. General availability is targeted for December 2026.
Not for the basics. Conversation and community analytics are available to all Engage users, and the new conversation metrics will come with standard Microsoft 365 licensing. Premium adds more: users with the basic license can't view the Analytics dashboard, and custom date ranges and AI sentiment and theme analysis require Premium, which comes with the Viva suite or the Employee Communications and Communities license.
Track three levels: reach (people reached, unique viewers), attention (open rate, time spent) and action (click-through, replies, video views). Reporting all three shows whether a message landed, not just whether it was delivered.
Yes. SharePoint page and news analytics show average time spent per user, alongside unique viewers and total views. With a Viva license, news analytics also show unique viewers who clicked a link. Data from guest and anonymous users isn't included.
Microsoft lists general availability for December 2026 in the Worldwide cloud. Roadmap dates can change, so watch your Microsoft 365 Message Center for the rollout post.
Want your next announcement to earn the click and the read? Try ShortPoint free for 15 days (no credit card required), or start from a ready-made design in the template library.
