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How to Bulk Update User Profiles in Microsoft Delve

Nimra Malik Oct 16, 2026 868 views

Question details

An organization needs an efficient method to bulk update employee profile information in Microsoft Delve, specifically allowing managers to search over 400 profiles for skills like language proficiency.

How to Bulk Update User Profiles in Microsoft Delve

Product: Microsoft Delve
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Administrators need to populate hundreds of employee profiles with specific skills and language proficiencies so they are instantly searchable in Delve.
Observed behavior: Manual updating of 400+ user profiles is inefficient, necessitating an automated bulk update solution using admin tools.

Before you start

Ensure you have SharePoint Administrator or Global Administrator permissions in your Microsoft 365 tenant, and prepare a CSV file containing the user principal names and the specific skills or language profiles you intend to apply.

Solution 1Recommended

Bulk Update Profiles via Power Automate and SharePoint REST API

The most robust and visually manageable method for automating updates to custom SharePoint user profile properties that flow directly into Microsoft Delve.

Delve profiles are largely populated by the SharePoint User Profile Service. By using Power Automate to loop through an Excel or CSV dataset, you can push bulk API updates directly to the Microsoft 365 directory without needing complex coding environments.

Prepare your user data

Create an Excel table saved on OneDrive or SharePoint containing a column for the User Principal Name (UPN) and columns for the profile properties to update, such as 'SPS-Skills'.

Create a Power Automate flow

Log in to Power Automate and create an 'Instant cloud flow'. Add the action 'List rows present in a table' to retrieve your Excel data.

Configure the HTTP request to SharePoint

Add an 'Apply to each' loop for your Excel rows. Inside the loop, add a 'Send an HTTP request to SharePoint' action targeting the endpoint '_api/SP.UserProfiles.PeopleManager/SetMultiValuedProfileProperty' to update the target skills.

Test with a small group

Create a test Excel file with only 5-10 users. Run the Power Automate flow and verify that the test accounts' properties are updated correctly before running the flow on the full 400-employee dataset.

Bulk Update Profiles via Power Automate and SharePoint REST API

Synchronization Delay: Changes to user profiles made via the SharePoint API may take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours to fully sync and appear in Microsoft Delve search results.

Solution 2

Update User Profiles Using PnP PowerShell

A highly efficient scripting approach for IT administrators comfortable with command-line tools to update Delve and SharePoint profiles rapidly.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my updated user profile properties not showing up in Microsoft Delve immediately?

Delve relies on the Microsoft Search index to display profile data. It can take anywhere from a few hours to 3 days for the background services to fully crawl and index updated SharePoint user profile properties.

Can end-users update their own skills and language proficiency in Delve manually?

Yes, individuals can click 'Update profile' on their personal Delve page to manually add skills and projects. Bulk updates by administrators are usually only necessary for large-scale initial directory populating.

What permissions are required to run a bulk user profile update script?

You must be assigned the SharePoint Administrator role or Global Administrator role within your Microsoft 365 tenant to successfully modify other users' profile properties via APIs or PowerShell.

Can I use Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) to update Delve skills?

Basic attributes like job title, department, and phone number automatically sync from Entra ID to SharePoint and Delve. However, custom properties like 'Skills' and 'Past Projects' are managed specifically within the SharePoint User Profile Service.

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