What's New in Microsoft Teams: Latest Updates

Dive into the latest updates for Microsoft Teams, bringing new features for a more collaborative and efficient workspace.

Enhanced Meeting Features with Copilot

Microsoft Teams has introduced significant enhancements to its Copilot feature, streamlining meetings and making them more efficient and informative. One of the standout features is the addition of meeting recaps, which include detailed transcriptions and summaries of meetings. This capability is available on both Teams desktop and mobile devices, ensuring users enjoy a seamless experience across platforms.

These meeting recaps, along with important artifacts such as shared files and action items, can also be accessed directly within Outlook, provided users have a Teams Premium or Copilot for Microsoft 365 license. This tight integration between Microsoft Teams and Outlook ensures that all crucial information from meetings is easily retrievable, boosting productivity and enhancing team collaboration.

In addition to these features, Microsoft is continuing to expand its support for immersive experiences through Microsoft Mesh. Mesh introduces immersive spaces for meetings, allowing users to engage in virtual environments that offer a more interactive and realistic meeting experience. The Mesh app for Teams enables immersive meetings, letting participants interact with 3D avatars and shared content in real-time, adding a new dimension to collaboration. These Mesh events help teams feel more connected, whether they are working remotely or in hybrid environments.

By incorporating Microsoft Mesh and enhancing Teams meetings with Copilot's AI-driven features, Microsoft is positioning itself as a leader in both productivity and immersive collaboration tools.

New Administrative Controls for Teams

Administrators now have expanded control over Copilot usage within Microsoft Teams. With the new settings in the Teams Admin Center, administrators can disable Co-pilot for specific users, offering greater flexibility in managing user permissions. This feature helps ensure compliance with organisational policies while providing targeted access to Co-pilot based on user roles.

Additionally, meeting organisers have been empowered with enhanced moderation tools for Q&A sessions during meetings and webinars. They can now publish selected questions, sort them based on audience votes, and apply filters using keywords. These features make it easier to manage large events, ensuring that discussions remain focused and relevant.

In parallel, Microsoft Mesh continues to evolve, enhancing the virtual meeting experience through immersive spaces. The Mesh app for Teams enables users to participate in immersive meetings using 3D avatars and collaborative virtual environments. Teams meetings that incorporate Microsoft Mesh allow for deeper engagement, making hybrid or remote work feel more interactive and inclusive.

These developments, including Mesh events and the broader capabilities of the Microsoft Mesh app, represent a new way for teams to join, collaborate, and host events. The integration of Copilot with Microsoft Mesh further strengthens the meeting experience by offering tools that improve content management and audience interaction.

Updates to Teams Rooms on Windows

Microsoft has launched version 5.2 of Teams Rooms on Windows, delivering a suite of new features aimed at enhancing the meeting experience. These updates include proximity join, which allows users to seamlessly connect to nearby Teams Rooms, and dynamic video resizing, which automatically adjusts video feeds to optimise screen space for all participants. Additionally, users can now utilise custom backgrounds to personalise their meeting environment, making meetings feel more professional and tailored to organisational needs.

Administrators can also manage custom background images on Teams panels through the Teams Admin Center (TAC), streamlining the process of creating a cohesive and branded meeting space across devices. These improvements make Teams Rooms more versatile and user-friendly, meeting the needs of modern, hybrid workplaces.

Moreover, these advancements align with Microsoft Mesh, particularly with the integration of immersive spaces and Mesh for Teams, which enables users to join virtual meetings in collaborative 3D environments. The latest updates continue to expand Microsoft's Mesh toolkit, offering organisations more ways to connect and collaborate virtually. The integration of Copilot in Teams and Teams meetings further enhances the experience by providing AI-powered assistance, helping participants manage tasks and stay focused on the meeting’s agenda.

Improved Chat and Collaboration Tools in Microsoft Teams

The latest updates to Microsoft Teams further enhance chat and collaboration capabilities. A key feature is the ability to rename the General channel, offering greater flexibility in organising team discussions and improving team management. This complements the new onboarding flow, where team owners can now recommend specific channels to new members, simplifying the process and ensuring that users are directed to the most relevant information from the start.

Additionally, the Shared tab has replaced the Files tab, consolidating all shared files and links from 1:1 and group chat conversations. This feature improves content management, making it easier for users to access and organise shared resources.

Users can now also attach images in chat horizontally, navigate between them, copy them, and add alternate text, making image sharing in chat more intuitive and accessible. These updates contribute to a smoother, more engaging chat experience, allowing for more effective collaboration.

Exciting New Features for Teams

Microsoft continues to drive innovation with exciting new features in Teams, including the introduction of Microsoft Mesh. This integration brings immersive virtual work environments to Teams, complete with a presentation area and breakout rooms, enhancing group discussions and collaborative tasks in a dynamic 3D space. Users can interact through avatars and join immersive spaces, transforming meetings into interactive, collaborative experiences.

For Government Community Clouds (GCC) customers, Teams now supports the creation of webinars with up to 1,000 participants, both internal and external, significantly expanding the platform's capabilities for public sector organisations. This is particularly beneficial for large-scale events, training sessions, or public sector collaboration, offering secure, scalable solutions for engagement.

These advancements also tie into the broader Microsoft Mesh ecosystem, providing users with custom environments and seamless integration with existing Teams meetings. Users can access these features via the Mesh application or even with a VR headset, further elevating collaboration experiences.

What is Microsoft Mesh?

Microsoft Mesh revolutionises virtual collaboration by allowing your distributed workforce to connect through 3D immersive experiences within Microsoft Teams. Whether using a PC or a Meta headset, Microsoft Mesh bridges the gap between virtual and face-to-face connections, making virtual meetings and events feel more personal and interactive.

With Mesh for Teams, participants can engage in immersive spaces where they can collaborate in real-time, creating a more dynamic and engaging experience. This technology also enhances traditional Microsoft Teams meetings, integrating seamlessly with familiar tools. Copilot in Teams meetings further elevates collaboration by providing AI-driven insights and suggestions during discussions.

Users can access Mesh features through the Microsoft Mesh app, offering an intuitive interface and customisable environments to suit various needs. These features make it easier to foster connection, drive productivity, and support collaboration, whether in a view or overview format.

To get started, you can download Microsoft Mesh, transforming how your team interacts in a virtual world.

How to use mesh in Microsoft Teams?

Join a Teams meeting with Microsoft Mesh on Quest devices:

1. Open the Mesh app on your Quest device.

2. Log in with your corporate account.

3. From the Mesh dashboard, select Teams from the menu on the left side.

4. Choose Join meeting or Start meeting for your scheduled event.

5. Click Join now to enter the immersive meeting space.

This seamless integration enables users to experience Microsoft Mesh immersive meetings, leveraging the power of Microsoft Mesh and Teams for virtual collaboration. Mesh transforms standard meetings into 3D immersive experiences, enhancing collaboration within your team.