Generally Available: Announcing Service Update Configuration for Azure API Management

We’re introducing service update settings for Azure API Management, giving customers greater control over when and how their instances receive platform updates—including new features, security patches, and reliability improvements.

Customers can now:

• Select an update group for their API Management instance:

  • Early – Receive updates at the beginning of the rollout for testing and early access (not recommended for production).

  • Default – Receive updates as part of the standard rollout (recommended for most use cases).

  • Late – Defer updates to later in the cycle (ideal for mission-critical workloads).

  • AI Gateway Early – Get early access to AI Gateway updates while receiving other service updates on the Late schedule.

• Configure a custom maintenance window:

  • Set preferred times for updates to occur, with the ability to specify different windows per day.

  • Default window is 10 PM to 6 AM in the instance’s local time zone.

These capabilities allow customers to:

• Align platform updates with their change management and operational schedules

• Test new features early in lower environments before production rollout

• Minimize risk and maintain uptime for mission-critical systems

• Take advantage of new innovations (like AI Gateway features) on their own terms

Learn more.