Optimization overview

Overview

Optimization is where Tenant Manager turns what it found in a tenant into action. It lists recommendations for licenses you pay for but do not use, lets you raise them as tasks for approval, and runs automations that remove licenses on a schedule.

Optimization has five tabs: Users, Groups, Licenses, Tasks, and Automation. This article covers what the tabs share: the page layout, the tiles and filters, the recommendation popup, and the settings that apply to every recommendation. Each tab has its own article.

Business value

Optimization puts every recommendation, its saving, and its status in one place. You can review a recommendation, raise it as a task, and track the decision without leaving Turbo360. Nothing changes in Microsoft 365 until an approver approves a task, except for the licenses that an automation you switched on removes on its daily run.

Prerequisites

Before you use Optimization, connect the tenant and let it finish its first sync. Until then, the tiles show NA. See Connect a Microsoft 365 tenant.

Required permissions

You need Read on Optimization to open the page and see recommendations. You need Manage on Optimization to add recommendations to tasks, ignore or restore them, and change the recommendation settings. Approving or declining a task, and changing an automation, need the Approve license tasks permission. The Owner and Contributor roles have all of these. The Reader role has Read only. For details, see Roles and permissions in Tenant Manager.

Dependencies

Last sync: recommendations come from what the last sync read from Microsoft. Nothing new appears until the next sync.
Seat prices: savings need a seat price, from the tenant's billing account or from a custom price in the Global price catalog. Without a price, a saving shows a dash.
Microsoft permissions: every recommendation needs Turbo360 to read licenses, users, and groups in the tenant. Inactive and Never signed in also need access to sign-in data. Idle Copilot and most swaps need the Microsoft 365 usage reports. To see which permissions are granted, select the information icon next to the page title.
Usage reports: Idle Copilot and license swaps need the Microsoft 365 usage reports. See Swap license recommendations.
Sign-in data: Microsoft provides sign-in data only for a tenant that has Microsoft Entra ID P1. When the tenant has no P1 and none of its users has a sign-in date, Optimization shows a note that names the tenant, says that it doesn't have Microsoft Entra ID P1, and explains that Microsoft doesn't provide its sign-in data. Without sign-in data, Inactive and Never signed in both list nobody, and the usage reports do not stand in for it. Idle Copilot and swaps still use the usage reports. These record email, Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive use, so a person who uses only another service, such as Teams Phone, Power BI, or Defender, can look unused there. Confirm they do not need the license first.

How it works

Select the tenant in the tree view, expand License management, and select Optimization. The Users tab opens first. Optimization is available for a tenant only, not for a tenant group. When you change the tenant in the tree view, your filters reset and open popups close.

Each tab has a different job.

Tab	What it is for
Users	People who hold licenses they do not use. See User recommendations.
Groups	Microsoft Entra ID group members to remove, and license changes for a group. See Group recommendations.
Licenses	Purchased licenses with unused seats or seats to reclaim. See License recommendations.
Tasks	The queue of requested changes. See License tasks.
Automation	Two automations that remove licenses on a daily run. See License removal automation.

Grid, filters, and actions

Four tiles sit above the grid, followed by filter pills. Selecting a tile that has a matching filter picks that filter. Switching tab or filter clears column filters and checked rows. While data loads, placeholders stand in for the tiles, pills, and grid.

Each grid shows 100 rows per page, except Groups > License changes, which shows 50. You can sort by one column, filter each column from its menu, and resize or reorder columns. Hidden columns are left out of an Excel download.

Check one or more rows, and then select Actions. Each item shows a tooltip, and an item that cannot run is disabled with the reason. When no row is checked, the items say "Check one or more rows in the grid first."

Ignoring hides a recommendation for everyone in the account, either always or until a date. The row moves to the Ignored filter. When an until date passes, the recommendation returns on its own.

Recommendation popup

Selecting a row opens a popup with the full recommendation. It has these parts.

Part	What it shows
Header	The person, Microsoft Entra ID group, or license, with arrows to step through the grid. A tag next to the name shows the user type (Member or Guest) for a person, the license type (Paid or Trial) for a license, and the group type (Security, Mail-enabled security, Microsoft 365, or Distribution) for a Microsoft Entra ID group.
Summary card	The recommendation and the reason, in plain words. Explain adds an AI explanation. It needs AI agents to be switched on for the account and allowed in your role. On private hosting, it also needs an OpenAI connection.
Stat tiles	The monthly saving and the size of the change, for example licenses to change or seats freed.
Details	The facts behind the recommendation, such as the reason, last activity, and whether the row is ignored.
Changes to raise	A checklist of the changes the recommendation would create. All addable changes are ticked when the popup opens. Use Select all and Clear all to change the selection.

A change that is already waiting in Tasks is marked Requested and cannot be ticked. A change that cannot run is marked Blocked, and a warning line gives the reason. When the Monthly savings tile shows Not available, a note on the tile says that a price is missing. For a swap, it reads "Price missing for" followed by the new license, "or", and the current license. Otherwise, it reads "License price missing" or "License prices missing". Hover over the note to see the full message. The footer button adds the ticked changes to Tasks, or restores the row when it is ignored.

Note:

Recommendations are worked out from synced data. For the rules behind each reason and how savings are counted, see Recommendations and savings.

Steps

The steps below cover the tasks that every tab shares. You start in Optimization for the tenant, with a tab open.

Find recommendations with a filter

This procedure narrows the grid to the rows you want to review.

Select a tile or a filter pill, for example Disabled or Overbought.
To narrow further, use the filter menu of a column.
Select a row to open the recommendation popup.

Explain a recommendation

This procedure shows an explanation in plain words of why Turbo360 recommends a change, so you can check it before you act. It works the same on the Users, Groups, and Licenses tabs.

Select a row to open the recommendation popup.
In the summary card, select Explain.
Read the explanation as it appears section by section. Select Hide to close it.

The explanation has sections such as why Turbo360 recommends the change, what the terms mean, what happens if you act, what to check first, and the cost impact. It is based on the last sync of the tenant, so running it again gives the same result, and there is no Regenerate button. A note under the explanation says that it is AI-generated and that you should review it before acting. If an explanation takes longer than five minutes, it stops and a message says so.

Turbo360 does not store the explanation. If you open the same recommendation again in the same browser session, the explanation you already generated is shown without a new request. If you do not see Explain, see Access and permission issues.

Add recommendations to tasks

This procedure raises the changes of one or more recommendations as a request for an approver to decide.

Select the Add to tasks icon on a row. To add several rows, check them and select Actions > Add to Tasks. In the popup, tick the changes and select the footer button.
Read the confirmation. You can enter a note, such as a reason or a ticket reference.
Select Continue.

The request appears in Tasks with the status Awaiting approval. Only one open request is allowed for each person and license, so a change that is already requested is skipped. The confirmation toast tells you how many changes were raised and why any were skipped.

Ignore a recommendation

This procedure hides a recommendation for everyone in the account, without changing anything in Microsoft 365.

Check one or more rows, and select Actions > Ignore.
Choose Ignore always, or choose Ignore until and pick a date from tomorrow onward.
Enter a Description if you want to record why.
Select Continue.

The Description you enter shows under the information icon of the Ignored filter. Find ignored rows under the Ignored filter. An ignored swap is found under Swap license > Show ignored.

Restore a recommendation

This procedure puts an ignored recommendation back on the list for everyone.

Open the Ignored filter.
Select the Restore icon on a row. To restore several, check them and select Actions > Restore.
Select Continue in the confirmation.

Change the Inactive line

This procedure sets how long a user has to be inactive before they count as inactive.

Select Filter settings.
In Inactive for more than, pick 7, 30, 60, or 90 days, or choose Custom and enter a number of days.
Select Apply. Select Clear to go back to the default.

On the Users tab, the Filter settings icon appears on the All and Inactive filters. On the Licenses and Groups tabs, it is always shown, except on Licenses > Ignored. The line also decides who is offered a swap: people past it appear under Inactive instead. The setting is stored in your browser and is shared with Explore. Other people can have a different line.

Set the evaluation duration

This procedure sets how far back swaps, service license removals, Idle Copilot, and group license changes look for use, for one tenant. You need Manage on Optimization for that tenant.

On the Users, Licenses, or Groups tab, select the Recommendation settings gear icon.
In Evaluation duration, enter a number of days. Leave it empty to use each activity type's own default.
Select Apply, and then select Continue. To go back to the defaults, select Reset to default to empty the box, and then select Apply.

The setting applies to that tenant only. It does not change the Inactive line.

Check which permissions are missing

This procedure shows which Microsoft permissions Turbo360 has for the tenant, so you can see why a recommendation is not made.

Select the information icon next to the Optimization page title.
Read How recommendations are made. In Permissions, each permission shows Granted, Not granted, or Not known. In By license, each license change shows Ready or Needs followed by the permissions it lacks.
If a banner reads "Missing" followed by permission names, ask your Microsoft Entra administrator to grant them with admin consent, and then sync the tenant.

The By license view also shows how many of the license changes that apply to the tenant's licenses can be recommended now.

Download a grid to Excel

This procedure saves the rows you see to an Excel file.

Set the filter and column filters that you want.
Select Download as Excel.

The file holds the rows the grid has now and only the visible columns.

Choose the columns

This procedure shows, hides, and reorders columns in the grid.

Select Column options.
Tick or clear the columns. A column with a grayed-out box is always shown.
To change the order, drag a row.

Your choice is remembered in your browser for that tab.

Configuration

Two settings apply to the recommendations on several tabs.

Option	Default	Description
Inactive for more than	30 days	The line for inactive users. Stored per browser and shared with Explore.
Evaluation duration	Empty	How many days swaps, service license removals, Idle Copilot, and group license changes look back for use. Set per tenant. When empty, each activity type uses its own default.

Permission behavior

What you can do in Optimization depends on your role.

Without Read on Optimization, the page is not available.
Without Manage on Optimization, Add to tasks, Ignore, Restore, and the Actions menu are disabled. Hover over one to see "You are not authorized to perform this operation".
Without Manage on Optimization for the tenant, the Recommendation settings box is read-only.
Filter settings needs no permission, because it is a setting for your browser.
Explain needs the Use AI agents permission and the account's AI agents switch. Without them, the button is hidden. On private hosting, it also needs an OpenAI connection.

Example scenario

Lucas Moreau is cleaning up disabled accounts at Blue Yonder Airlines. As a module owner, he opens Optimization for the tenant Blue Yonder Ground Operations and selects the Disabled filter on the Users tab. He opens the first row, reads the recommendation, and selects Add 2 changes to Tasks.

An external consultant's account is on the same list, but the engagement ends next month. Lucas checks that row, selects Actions > Ignore, chooses Ignore until, and picks the day after the engagement ends. The recommendation leaves the list for everyone and returns on that day.

Limitations

Optimization is available for a tenant, not for a tenant group.
Recommendations come from the last sync. They are not live.
The Inactive line is stored per browser, so two people can see different counts.
A license that a user gets through a Microsoft Entra ID group cannot be removed from the user directly. Use the Groups tab.
Tenant Manager cannot change how many seats you purchased. A purchase change is raised as a task for your IT team.
An explanation reflects the last sync, and you cannot regenerate, save, or share it.

Troubleshooting

The tiles show NA, or a message says that some data could not be read.
Cause: the tenant has not finished a sync, or one of the reads for the tab failed.
Fix: wait for the first sync to finish, or reload the page.
Every action is disabled with "You are not authorized to perform this operation".
Cause: your role does not have Manage on Optimization.
Fix: ask an administrator to grant Manage on Optimization in your Tenant Manager role.
Add to tasks is disabled and says "Already requested" or "There is nothing here a task can change".
Cause: for "Already requested", an open task already covers every change in the row. For "There is nothing here a task can change", the person holds only group-assigned or trial licenses.
Fix: for "Already requested", approve or decline the task in Tasks, and then raise the request again. For "There is nothing here a task can change", use the Groups tab for licenses that come from a Microsoft Entra ID group.
The Excel file is missing columns.
Cause: hidden columns are left out of the download.
Fix: turn the columns on in Column options, and download again.
Some recommendations are not made, and a banner says that permissions are missing.
Cause: Turbo360 does not have a Microsoft permission that the recommendation needs.
Fix: select the information icon next to the page title, read which permissions are Not granted, ask your Microsoft Entra administrator to grant them with admin consent, and sync the tenant.

FAQs

Does ignoring a recommendation hide it only for me?
No. An ignore applies to everyone in the account. Restore the recommendation to bring it back for everyone.
Does adding a recommendation to tasks change anything in Microsoft 365?
No. It creates a task. Nothing changes until an approver approves it.
Why does the number of inactive users differ between two people?
The Inactive line is stored per browser. Each person can set a different number of days in Filter settings.
Does Explain change anything in Microsoft 365?
No. Explain only describes the recommendation, using what the last sync read. Nothing is read live from Microsoft, and nothing is changed.
Is an explanation stored or shared?
No. Turbo360 does not store it, and Tenant Manager has no way to save or share it. Your browser keeps it only for the current session. For the data that is sent to Azure OpenAI, see Data protection.