Blog News
Stay Alert for Phishing Scams This Holiday Season
Hackers Don’t Take Holidays
Summer is here! Naturally the summer holiday is when we indulge in relaxation, budget planning, vacations, visiting our family… etc, during those ‘stressful’ engaging times, often we tend to miss the minor cues of the too-good-to-be-true phishing email offers we receive.
Announcing the General Availability of the New UX in Field Service Mobile
We are thrilled to announce the General Availability (GA) of the new User Experience (UX) in our Field Service Mobile (FSM) application! We heard your feedback during the preview period and are excited to mark this milestone with key enhancements and changes! When we started this journey, our goal was to deliver an intuitive, modern
The post Announcing the General Availability of the New UX in Field Service Mobile appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.
Unveiling agents built with Microsoft Copilot Studio to supercharge your business
At Microsoft, we understand that every organization is unique, and to get the most out of AI, you will want to customize it for your business’s specific needs and processes. Whether you’re a user, developer, or IT professional, Microsoft Copilot Studio offers a comprehensive platform for creating, managing, and deploying AI agents.
The post Unveiling agents built with Microsoft Copilot Studio to supercharge your business appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Wave 2: Pages, Python in Excel, and agents
We are introducing Wave 2 of Microsoft 365 Copilot innovation, with three key updates. From enterprises to small businesses, they help Copilot get better every day. Nearly 1,000 customers have given us direct feedback on Copilot, and we’ve made more than 700 product updates based on that feedback.
The post Microsoft 365 Copilot Wave 2: Pages, Python in Excel, and agents appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.
Users receiving a lot of spam emails from no-reply@dropbox.com
users receiving a lot of spam emails from no-reply@dropbox.com , how to block these and allow only legitimate emails.
Enable reusability and maintain best practices with the catalog in Microsoft Power Platform
When building solutions in Microsoft Power Apps and Microsoft Power Automate, your organization may have company-specific needs and complex scenarios, such as custom mappings to various data sources, multi-faceted flows and triggers, and embedding various components with custom logic into apps. There is also repetitive work, such as implementing delicate design patterns, branding, and reusing links.
The post Enable reusability and maintain best practices with the catalog in Microsoft Power Platform appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.
Receiving hundreds of emails
Have received 100's of emails from purported Dropbox users asking to be removed from a mailing list. Each has 22 CCs. Everytime someone replies, more spam is generated. Major issue. Reported to Dropbox support, awaiting response. Problem is ongoing - got another bunch while trying to report the problem. Dropbox impenetrable "support" system is part of the problem. I'd pay to speak with a human but can't find a way.
Any ideas? Please help.
How the Microsoft Power Platform community is using low-code and AI to transform work and lives
The Microsoft Power Platform community keeps showing us the next frontiers of innovation and creativity. These stories from our community below showcase some of the most innovative and inspiring work we’ve seen.
The post How the Microsoft Power Platform community is using low-code and AI to transform work and lives appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.
All in on AI: Exploring Microsoft’s AI journey through customer service
Our customer service teams are using AI solutions like Microsoft Copilot to ensure our customer service employees are empowered to focus on the most meaningful parts of their jobs.
The post All in on AI: Exploring Microsoft’s AI journey through customer service appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.
3 Benefits of Autotask PSA Workflow Automation for IT Pros
In the fast-paced world of IT, delivering efficient and high-quality services is crucial. For IT professionals, streamlining service delivery processes […]
The post 3 Benefits of Autotask PSA Workflow Automation for IT Pros appeared first on Datto.
Try the first-party WhatsApp channel in Dynamics 365 Contact Center
In today’s digital landscape, the success of customer service on social media hinges on the quality of care provided to customers. It’s essential for communications from agents to be timely, accurate, sensitive, brief, and friendly to enhance customer satisfaction and foster brand loyalty. To support this, we are excited to introduce the first-party WhatsApp channel
The post Try the first-party WhatsApp channel in Dynamics 365 Contact Center appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.
Reduce development times and increase ROI with Microsoft Power Platform
To support investment decisions, Microsoft commissioned a 2024 Forrester Total Economic Impact study that quantified Microsoft Power Platform's impact.
The post Reduce development times and increase ROI with Microsoft Power Platform appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.
Copilot for Dynamics 365 Commerce revolutionizes retail with AI
Discover how Copilot for Dynamics 365 Commerce can help you deliver personalized customer experiences, optimize product management, and streamline retail operations for store associates, managers, and back-office staff with AI.
The post Copilot for Dynamics 365 Commerce revolutionizes retail with AI appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.
Autotask Improves With New 2024.3 Release
We’re thrilled to announce Autotask’s new 2024.3 release — an offering that reflects Kaseya’s substantial investment in strengthening the platform’s […]
The post Autotask Improves With New 2024.3 Release appeared first on Datto.
Transforming ERP, and the speed of business, with generative AI
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms were designed to help integrate the fragmented processes that comprise the operation of a large enterprise. But the way we do business keeps fundamentally changing. New business models disrupt the way companies sell products and services, blurring industry lines and transforming customer experiences.
The post Transforming ERP, and the speed of business, with generative AI appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.
Elevating experiences with AI, from productivity to personalization
In this blog post, we’re going to focus on the third item: elevating customer and employee experiences by showing how AI-enabled CRM platforms help increase productivity and provide unprecedented levels of personalized service across three key business functions: marketing, sales, and customer service.
The post Elevating experiences with AI, from productivity to personalization appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.
G&J Pepsi profit rises by $30 million with Microsoft Dynamics 365
In 2021, facing an uncertain post-pandemic economy, G&J Pepsi embarked on a transformation journey to maximize customer service, revenue, and cost savings by implementing solutions including Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales, and other Microsoft technologies.
The post G&J Pepsi profit rises by $30 million with Microsoft Dynamics 365 appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.
Experience the new generation of financial analytics and reporting in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Amid the growing demand on CFOs to catalyze growth, maintaining a holistic view of business performance has never been more crucial.
The post Experience the new generation of financial analytics and reporting in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.
There are some changes coming to links - here’s what you need to know
Approve on the go with Dynamics 365 Approvals management
We are thrilled to announce the public preview of Approvals management in Dynamics 365 in release 10.0.41. Approvals management is a mobile experience that unifies approval workflows across the Dynamics 365 product family.
The post Approve on the go with Dynamics 365 Approvals management appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.
Announcing End of Support for Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation (PSA)
On March 19th, 2024, we announced the end of support of Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation on commercial cloud. For Project Service Automation customers on US government cloud, we will have a future announcement regarding upgrade and the availability of Project Operations. Beginning March 31st, 2025, Microsoft will no longer support PSA on commercial cloud
The post Announcing End of Support for Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation (PSA) appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.
Boost your AI with Azure’s new Phi model, streamlined RAG, and custom generative AI models
We're excited to announce several updates to help developers quickly create AI solutions with greater choice and flexibility leveraging the Azure AI toolchain.
The post Boost your AI with Azure’s new Phi model, streamlined RAG, and custom generative AI models appeared first on Microsoft Azure Blog.
Hi! I’m Theresa!
Recently, I have been dipping my toes into home recording - just a beginner, and it’s 
Microsoft Cost Management updates—July 2024
We're always looking for ways to learn more about your challenges and how Microsoft Cost Management can help you better understand where you're accruing costs in the cloud, identify and prevent bad spending patterns, and optimize costs to empower you to do more with less.
The post Microsoft Cost Management updates—July 2024 appeared first on Microsoft Azure Blog.
Announcing mandatory multi-factor authentication for Azure sign-in
Learn how MFA can protect your data and identity, and get ready for the upcoming MFA requirement for Azure.
The post Announcing mandatory multi-factor authentication for Azure sign-in appeared first on Microsoft Azure Blog.
Lexmark Named 2024 Global Print Security Leader by Quocirca
Elevate your AI deployments more efficiently with new deployment and cost management solutions for Azure OpenAI Service including self-service Provisioned
We're excited to announce significant updates for Azure OpenAI Service, designed to help our 60,000+ customers manage AI deployments more efficiently and cost-effectively beyond current pricing. With the introduction of self-service Provisioned deployments, we aim to help make your quota and deployment processes more agile, faster to market, and more economical.
The post Elevate your AI deployments more efficiently with new deployment and cost management solutions for Azure OpenAI Service including self-service Provisioned appeared first on Microsoft Azure Blog.
GitHub scales on demand with Azure Functions
Flex Consumption delivers fast and large scale-out features on a serverless model and supports long function execution times, private networking, instance size selection, and concurrency control.
The post GitHub scales on demand with Azure Functions appeared first on Microsoft Azure Blog.
Showcasing AI innovation at the third annual Power Platform Community Conference
Get ready to ignite your passion for innovation at the 2024 Power Platform Community Conference (PPCC). This year, we're bringing together some of the brightest minds and most enthusiastic members of the Microsoft Power Platform community for an unforgettable experience.
The post Showcasing AI innovation at the third annual Power Platform Community Conference appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.
The Importance of Defense in Depth
Learn about the Defense in Depth cybersecurity strategy, why it is a strong choice for businesses and how to implement it.
The post The Importance of Defense in Depth appeared first on Datto.
Announcing a new OpenAI feature for developers on Azure
We are thrilled to announce the launch of OpenAI’s latest model, GPT-4o Next.
The post Announcing a new OpenAI feature for developers on Azure appeared first on Microsoft Azure Blog.
New Azure Data Box capabilities to accelerate your offline data migration
Azure Data Box offline data transfer solution allows you send petabytes of data into Azure Storage in a quick, inexpensive, and reliable manner.
The post New Azure Data Box capabilities to accelerate your offline data migration appeared first on Microsoft Azure Blog.
Want to join The Creative Circle by Dropbox?
Fast track development with AI and low-code
AI is driving unprecedented opportunities for businesses. With advancements in AI and low-code development platforms, organizations are finding new ways to accelerate their growth and efficiency.
The post Fast track development with AI and low-code appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.
Build AI-enabled applications with Azure AI and NVIDIA
Microsoft and NVIDIA have launched a collaborative resource for developers and organizations to experience the better together benefits.
The post Build AI-enabled applications with Azure AI and NVIDIA appeared first on Microsoft Azure Blog.
Windows 365 at three years: Customer-centric solutions for security, management and productivity
You have navigated the complex and changing realities of the hybrid workplace, found new ways to move aspects of your business to the cloud, and kept employees and critical business operations connected and running in a challenging cyber security environment.
The post Windows 365 at three years: Customer-centric solutions for security, management and productivity appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.
Accelerating AI app development with Azure AI and GitHub
We are excited to partner with GitHub to empower their more than 100 million developers to build AI applications directly from GitHub.com with seamless integrations with Codespaces and Microsoft Visual Studio Code.
The post Accelerating AI app development with Azure AI and GitHub appeared first on Microsoft Azure Blog.
Embrace the future of container native storage with Azure Container Storage
Announcing the general availability of Microsoft Azure Container Storage, the industry’s first platform-managed container native storage service in the public cloud.
The post Embrace the future of container native storage with Azure Container Storage appeared first on Microsoft Azure Blog.
Updates Coming to the Folder Link Sharing Experience
Autotask PSA Shines in the 2024 G2 Summer Report: Outperforming Competitors and Driving User Success
Autotask PSA excels in the G2 Summer Report, earning top marks in ease of use, setup and user adoption. Discover how it boosts productivity and efficiency today!
The post Autotask PSA Shines in the 2024 G2 Summer Report: Outperforming Competitors and Driving User Success appeared first on Datto.
Litera and Accenture transform business processes with Microsoft Copilot connectors
Using Copilot Connectors in Microsoft Copilot Studio, organizations can create, extend, enrich, and customize Copilot with knowledge and actions that for the unique way their customers work.
The post Litera and Accenture transform business processes with Microsoft Copilot connectors appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.
What is a Zero-Day Vulnerability?
A zero-day vulnerability is a software flaw that is unknown to the vendor and subject to exploitation. Learn how to identify them and prevent zero-day attacks.
The post What is a Zero-Day Vulnerability? appeared first on Datto.
New ways to get creative with Microsoft Designer, powered by AI
Every creative process begins with an idea—and that idea starts with you. Today we’re announcing that the Microsoft Designer app is now generally available with a personal Microsoft account, with new features that help you create and edit like never before.
The post New ways to get creative with Microsoft Designer, powered by AI appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.
Datto BCDR vDisk Restore Support for KVM Hypervisors
Datto BCDR improves support for KVM hypervisors with vDisk restore, offering MSPs greater flexibility and efficiency in DR processes. Learn more.
The post Datto BCDR vDisk Restore Support for KVM Hypervisors appeared first on Datto.
2024 release wave 2 plans for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform now available
On July 16, 2024, we published the 2024 release wave 2 plans for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform.
The post 2024 release wave 2 plans for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform now available appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.
Datto’s EDR and AV Solutions Secure 99.62% Malware Detection Efficacy in Miercom’s Study
Discover how Datto's EDR and AV solutions achieved a 99.62% malware detection efficacy in Miercom's independent study, surpassing industry averages.
The post Datto’s EDR and AV Solutions Secure 99.62% Malware Detection Efficacy in Miercom’s Study appeared first on Datto.
5 ways IT departments can get started with low-code and AI
With vast, built-in app-building knowledge and conversational language prompts that guide beginners and turbo-boost pros, AI can speed the time to build solutions for the unique needs of your IT department.
The post 5 ways IT departments can get started with low-code and AI appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.
Essential Eight: A Guide to the ACSC’s Cybersecurity Framework
Cyberthreats are a major cause for concern for businesses today, not only because they are growing in frequency but also […]
The post Essential Eight: A Guide to the ACSC’s Cybersecurity Framework appeared first on Datto.
Lexmark Again Named a Leader in Cloud Print Services by Quocirca
Datto BCDR + IT Glue Copilot: Effortless Backup Documentation
Comprehensive backup documentation is critical for IT. By leveraging IT Glue’s new AI engine, IT Glue Copilot, IT professionals can […]
The post Datto BCDR + IT Glue Copilot: Effortless Backup Documentation appeared first on Datto.
How Microsoft Power Platform is driving real-world impact—April and May customer success stories
Innovative organizations worldwide harness Microsoft Power Platform to revolutionize operations and achieve exceptional outcomes. Our customer stories underscore the significant impact of this technology across diverse industries, highlighting its role in fostering creativity and efficiency.
The post How Microsoft Power Platform is driving real-world impact—April and May customer success stories appeared first on Microsoft Power Platform Blog.
How to achieve cloud-native endpoint management with Microsoft Intune
In this post, we’re focusing on what it really takes for organizations to become fully cloud-native in endpoint management—from the strategic leadership to the tactical execution.
The post How to achieve cloud-native endpoint management with Microsoft Intune appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.
Workers worldwide are embracing AI, especially in small and medium-size businesses
Discover some key insights from the Work Trend Index report that can impact small and medium-sized business leaders, as well as the actions you can take to prepare your organization for AI and better leverage its benefits so you can maintain your competitive edge.
The post Workers worldwide are embracing AI, especially in small and medium-size businesses appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.
New agent capabilities in Microsoft Copilot unlock business value
Microsoft Copilot is already helping individual employees boost productivity, creativity and time savings. With the announcements at Microsoft Build 2024, we’re delivering an entirely new set of capabilities that unlock Copilot’s ability to drive bottom-line business results for every organization.
The post New agent capabilities in Microsoft Copilot unlock business value appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.
We appreciate you!
AI brings new life to flexible work with Microsoft Places
Microsoft Places—available today in public preview—is an AI-powered app that coordinates when you’re planning to come in and where you’ll work, enables improved connections with coworkers, and optimizes the effectiveness and engagement of the workplace. Importantly, Places features are accessible across surfaces you regularly use for coordination and collaboration, like Outlook and Microsoft Teams, so flexible work coordination and connection can happen within your normal flow of work.
The post AI brings new life to flexible work with Microsoft Places appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.
Microsoft and LinkedIn release the 2024 Work Trend Index on the state of AI at work
For our fourth annual Work Trend Index, out today, we partnered with LinkedIn for the first time on a joint report so we could provide a comprehensive view of how AI is not only reshaping work, but the labor market more broadly.
The post Microsoft and LinkedIn release the 2024 Work Trend Index on the state of AI at work appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.
Seamless end-to-end encryption, Microsoft Co-Authoring, new Dropbox Replay features and more
Advanced data protection features add extra layers of security to confidential content with seamless end-to-end encryption and advanced key management
- Activating end-to-end encryption is as simple as creating a shared team folder and selecting the new encrypted folder option, requiring no technical expertise from the admin or account owner.
- Files are encrypted when added to the folder and decrypted when a team member is added to the encrypted folder. Only users who have been invited to an encrypted folder can access the files stored within it. Team members quickly get access by invitation to the shared team folder, similar to sharing a regular Dropbox folder. Files are end-to-end encrypted on the team member’s device before they are securely synced with Dropbox servers. No one—including Dropbox—can decrypt the file or access your private key.
- With advanced key management, teams can set up a unique encryption key as an added layer of security to ensure only members of their organization can access Dropbox files and protect against threats. Keys are automatically rotated every 12 months, and admins can rotate or revoke the key as needed.
Fast-track video, image, and audio reviews with new features in Dropbox Replay
Find and get to work on content with quick view, quick access, suggested actions, and more on the Dropbox web experience
Stay organized with new Dropbox integrations with Microsoft 365 and say goodbye to conflicting copies
Customers want tools that meet them where they’re working—and it should be seamless to bring the tools they use most into our products. That’s why we recently launched an improved integration with Microsoft Teams that lets you search, preview, upload, and share content stored in Dropbox without leaving Microsoft 365. With this update, you can also use our plugin extension for Copilot for Microsoft 365 to answer questions and generate summaries.
Today, we're building on this with even more Microsoft integrations designed to simplify work for teams.
- Real-Time Co-Authoring (beta): One of Dropbox’s most-requested features ever, Co-Authoring allows multiple team members to collaboratively edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files from desktop, web, and mobile, natively within Dropbox. You can also see who’s in the document and where they’re editing in real-time, so everyone is working off the latest version. Now teams can finally put an end to conflicting copies.
- Dropbox Replay for OneDrive: Bring media files from OneDrive directly into Replay for reviews and approvals.
Dropbox Microsoft integration
Manage sensitive documents securely and get real-time deal insights with DocSend Advanced Data Rooms
Find what you need instantly across your digital workspace with Dropbox Dash, AI-powered universal search
We've updated the Admin Console!
- Tackle to-dos on the Dashboard homepage
- Protect your team’s content, with enhanced monitoring and settings on the Security page
- Manage member access to folders and add-ons on the Members page
- We’ve replaced the Insights page with a new Dashboard homepage
- Our activity logs are now all under Security (formerly in the Activity page)
Anastasia
Lexmark Drives Innovation With A3 Printers and MFPs Designed for Versatility, Simplicity and Sustainability
With Eye on Sustainability, Lexmark Earns ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year Award for Sustained Excellence
Enabling your AI transformation journey with Microsoft Viva
One of the biggest takeaways is that AI reinvention is a whole new way of working that involves both software and culture. It’s a cultural shift. Microsoft Viva empowers leaders and organizations to make that shift. We’re excited to announce new capabilities to help drive enterprise-wide adoption of Copilot, including the general availability of Microsoft Copilot Dashboard and Microsoft Copilot Academy, powered by Viva, which will be available to all Copilot for Microsoft 365 customers.
The post Enabling your AI transformation journey with Microsoft Viva appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.
How Large Language Models Are Transforming Email Security
With the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the realm of email security, the battle against phishing and spear-phishing attacks requires increasing sophistication from security providers. Leveraging AI technologies has become a cornerstone of defense strategies, enabling rapid analysis of emails to identify potential scams with greater efficiency than ever before. Among the latest advancements reshaping this landscape are Large Language Models (LLMs).
Bringing the latest capabilities to Copilot for Microsoft 365 customers
We are announcing two important updates for users of Copilot for Microsoft 365. First, we are bringing priority access to the GPT-4 Turbo model to work with both web and work data. Second, later this month we are bringing expanded image generation capabilities in Microsoft Designer.
The post Bringing the latest capabilities to Copilot for Microsoft 365 customers appeared first on Microsoft 365 Blog.
Are you new to Dropbox? Come join our Dropbox for Beginners group
Get started with Dropbox
Join the Newcomers group
Come and join our Dropbox Replay group
Mark up and comment on videos with Replay
Join the Replay group
was dropbox breached last week? what do I need to know?
I'm reading about the securtity breach last week on Dropbox as well as others ..
Have I missed any bulletins from dropbox about this?
I have in place already a 16 digit password with// special characters // upper and lower case ..
am I protected?
rsvp
Introducing Groups - the latest addition to the Dropbox Community
Lexmark Leaps Into NRF 2024 With New Connected Retail Solution That Delivers Personalized Content for Retailers
Need help over the Holidays?
Lexmark Earns Top Score in Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index
Dropbox Dash AMA: November 2023
Dropbox Dash
Lexmark Again Named a Sustainability Leader by Quocirca
Lexmark Earns Top 10 2024 Military Friendly® Employer Designation
You asked me….
In the latest update of Dropbox for iOS it invited people to share their ideas or thoughts about Dropbox. So here I am and a lot of unnecessary jumping through hoops was necessary to get here. I notice it is almost impossible to send ideas or comments directly to DropBox. They have have apparently blocked all direct access. They don’t even have a category for ideas, opinions, feedback, or suggestions.
I’ve been quite disappointed with Dropbox since it dropped support for the version of OS on my iMac. I’m stuck with the version I have so that’s it. Now Dropbox is useless to me. I used to use it to exchange larger files with people, now and then. I will probably look for an alternative.
It’s weird though that every time I go online with my computer I get a prompt to log-in to DropBox. What for? Why log into something that doesn’t work anymore? So I just cancel the prompt and carry on.
My confidence in cloud storage solutions has greatly diminished. I don’t need the file stored online somewhere. I just need it sent to a customer. A higher memory allotment for an email attachment would be better for me.
I notice there is no suitable label category for comments or suggestions.
Lexmark Products Dominate EPEAT Climate+ Champion Status in Imaging Equipment Category
Lexmark Named a Leader in IDC MarketScape for Worldwide Print Transformation
Live conference - new products and updates
Exciting times on the Dropbox Community - Live conference
Have your say on the Community!
Spear Phishing vs Phishing: What’s a Greater Threat for Your Business
Spear phishing, also known as business email compromise (BEC), was the costliest email threat in 2022, resulting in reported losses of more than $2.7 billion for victims. Meanwhile, email-based phishing produced the highest victim count of any cyberthreat, with more than 300,000 recorded over the same period. That raises an important question. When comparing spear phishing vs phishing, which is a greater threat for your business?
New feature alert for premium plans: Create QR codes to share or collect files in Dropbox!
om ways
Email Protection: How to Talk to Your Clients
Email is the top vector for cyberthreats and a leading source of compromise for businesses. Despite the considerable risks of email threats, many SMBs choose to forgo adequate email protection due to a lack of resources, awareness, or both.
How Vade Delivers Phishing Awareness Training When Users Need it Most
The market for security awareness training is expected to reach $10 billion by 2027, a ten-fold increase since 2014. Despite increased investments in phishing training, the cyberthreat remains the top Internet crime by victim count. According to the IC3 Internet Crime Report, phishing accounted for more than 300,000 reported security incidents in 2022, a total more than four-times the second crime category. The cost of attacks also increased 18% year-over-year to $52.1 (USD) million.
Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report 2023: Our Top Takeaways
Each year the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report presents a snapshot of global cybersecurity. After the recent release of the 2023 report, our team sat down to examine the findings and compare them with our analysis and observations from the field.
5 Questions to Ask When Choosing an Email Security Solution
Email is a top attack vector and one of your clients’ biggest points of vulnerability to cyber threats. If you’re in the market for an email security solution, the good news is that you have lots of options. The bad news is that email security solutions vary widely in terms of efficacy and ease of use.
Often, small details and subtle features can make or break a security solution. This post will cover the five questions you should ask before choosing an email security solution for Microsoft 365.
Productivity Suite Security: A New Approach
Productivity suites like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace have transformed workplace collaboration. Today, more than four in 10 organizations use a hybrid workforce, a development made possible by these platforms. While it has given organizations greater flexibility in how work gets done, it has also multiplied the number of vulnerabilities they must protect. Organizations now face the critical need to take a new approach to productivity suite security.
Announcing Multi-Tenant Email Triage & Remediation
Vade is pleased to announce the release of cross-tenant user-reported emails triage and remediation. Reported emails provides a cross-tenant, aggregate view of user-reported emails in a single dashboard in the Vade Partner Portal. MSPs can quickly triage and remediate user-reported emails and similar, unreported emails across tenants in just a few clicks, saving MSPs considerable time and IT resources.
Protecting Organizations Against AI-Driven Email Threats
Artificial intelligence (AI) has long served as an equalizer in cybersecurity. Hackers possess an inherent advantage in deploying cyberattacks, including when, where, how, and who to strike. But AI has enabled organizations to become proactive in preventing, detecting, and responding to email threats and other forms of cyberattacks. It’s no surprise that forecasts predict the global market for AI in cybersecurity will reach $133.8 billion by 2030.
Construction Startup Scales Operations with AI
Welcome back to Grow Your Business with Microsoft 365 Copilot, your monthly resource for actionable insights to harness the power of AI at small and medium sized business. In this edition, we look through the lens of a startup construction company using Copilot to revolutionize their operations. Did you know there are nearly half a million small and medium-sized trade contractor businesses, in the United States alone, with most firms having fewer than five employees? Limited resources can make completing administrative, project, and operational tasks a challenge, especially for small teams. But what if AI can take the pressure off by handling routine tasks, freeing up time to take on more projects and complete them faster?
How Copilot helps the construction industry scale for growth
We spoke with Nick Masci, principal and co-founder of the Boston-based startup, Industrialized Construction Group (ICG), about the hurdles they faced and the wins gained after incorporating Microsoft 365 Copilot into their daily workflow.
In the dynamic world of construction, ICG stands out by blending traditional methods with advanced manufacturing techniques. This innovative approach not only speeds up construction timelines but also enhances safety and efficiency. ICG’s top challenge was scaling for growth, when growth requires time spent out in the field, talking with customers, and orchestrating complex projects. ICG found that they were bogged down with inefficiencies in extensive documentation and high-volume data management, making accuracy difficult to achieve. Ensuring effective communication and collaboration among team members, especially in a hybrid work environment, was tricky and often resulted in miscommunication and project delays.
To ease these pains and transform business operations, ICG now leverages Microsoft 365 Copilot to speed creating customer proposals, reduce time on reporting, and more effectively manage projects.
Simplified customer proposals
Creating customer proposals was time-consuming and inefficient, often requiring extensive manual effort and coordination. Manual effort also impacted the quality and consistency.. Using Copilot for customer proposals in construction projects has proven to be highly beneficial for ICG. Copilot can assist in generating comprehensive and professional content in apps like Word and PowerPoint, reference files and content like past engagements and proposals, as well as bring in information from the web to add context to its responses and the content that it creates. With Copilot in Excel, Copilot can help interpret the data and create visuals and analyses to help employees get insights quickly and focus on ensuring that proposals are thorough and polished. Microsoft 365 Copilot has helped speed up the proposal process (up to six times faster) and improved their quality and professionalism.
Accelerated customer reporting
Generating customer reports was another lengthy process—with a single report sometimes taking up to eight hours and involving three people. Managing and compiling data from various sources led to inconsistencies and errors, affecting report quality and diverting resources from critical tasks. ICG to simplify reporting by. Business Chat can find and analyze the many sources of customer data, across work content, chats, emails, and files, and create first drafts of reports. Microsoft 365 Copilot helped reduce the time of customer reporting (up to half), thereby increasing ICG’s responsiveness and quality of customer service.
Improving project management
ICG faced frequent project delays due to inefficient communication and coordination among teams. The lack of real-time updates and fragmented communication channels led to misunderstandings and slowed down decision-making processes. Collaboration across different departments and project sites was challenging, with teams often working in silos, making it difficult to share information and collaborate effectively. With Copilot in Teams, you can pull insights from project huddles so you can quickly get key decisions and action items. With Copilot in Outlook, you can summarize long project email threads, helping you get right to what you need to respond to.
By leveraging Microsoft 365 Copilot, ICG has significantly transformed their business operations with streamlined processes, enhanced productivity, and improved communication. “Our work must scale to an audience and customer base that is 1,000 times larger than it is today,” says Masci. “We want the suite of Microsoft products to not only grow with us, but to also anticipate our needs.”
We are thrilled to see ICG and other companies revolutionize the construction industry with AI. By integrating Microsoft 365 Copilot, ICG has set a new standard for productivity and innovation. As the industry evolves, AI will be key to competitive advantage and growth.
Tune in next month for another example of how Copilot helps unlock more value and opportunity. If your company has used Copilot for Microsoft 365 to grow and you’d like to share your story, we’d love to feature you! Comment below to let us know you're interested and a member from our team will get in touch!
Take action! Try out some of the ways ICG used Microsoft 365 Copilot:
- Maximize the full power of Copilot in Word
- Learn how to leverage Copilot to generate customer proposals and more sales-related activities.
- Read the full ICG case study on Microsoft.com
Become a power user of Microsoft 365 Copilot:
- (New every week) Try a new proven Copilot productivity tip to get time back for more important work.
- (new) Get your one-stop guide to successfully deploy Copilot with the Copilot Success Kit.
- (new) Check out the new Mechanics video that goes over simple steps to check your data permissions are in place
- Join the SMB Copilot Community to learn directly from Microsoft experts and your peers.
Here's the latest news on how Microsoft 365 Copilot can accelerate your business
Earlier this week, Satya Nadella and Jared Spataro launched Wave Two of Copilot. Powered by customer feedback, we’re bringing together web + work + Pages as a completely new design system for work. Here is a rundown of key new features announced for every SMB:
- Microsoft 365 Copilot Business Chat combines the latest information on the web and your data in the Microsoft Graph to find you the answers you need. The newly introduced Copilot Pages provides a new canvas for you to retain Copilot responses to simplify sharing, editing, and collaborating with them.
- Copilot in Excel is now generally available. Additionally, Copilot in Excel with Python was introduced as a no-code way for you to perform advanced analysis with Copilot.
- Narrative Builder in Copilot in PowerPoint helps you create first drafts, also being able to use your company templates to keep things on-brand.
- Copilot in Teams will soon be able to reason over both the meeting transcript and meeting chat, so you never miss a note or action item from your meetings.
- “Prioritize my inbox” feature coming to Copilot in Outlook helps you stay on top of your most important emails by prioritizing them based on your organizational context and content.
- Copilot agents are here to help you coordinate line of business tools and orchestrate your business from a single place. They help you integrate your third-party tools, so Copilot respond based on that external data.
Check out the full details of the announcement and launch event.
Angela Byers
Microsoft
Senior Director, Copilot & Growth Marketing for SMB
Let's connect on LinkedIn
Meet the team
The monthly series, Grow Your Business with Copilot for Microsoft 365, is brought to you by the SMB Copilot marketing team at Microsoft. From entrepreneurs to coffee connoisseurs, they work passionately behind the scenes, sharing the magic of Copilot products with small and medium businesses everywhere. Always ready with a smile, a helping hand, and a clever campaign, they're passionate about helping YOUR business grow!
From left to right: An image of the SMB Copilot team at Microsoft, with Angela Byers, Mariana Prudencio, Elif Algedik, Kayla Patterson, Briana Taylor, and Gabe Ho.
About the blog
Welcome to "Grow Your Business with Microsoft 365 Copilot," where we aim to inspire and delight you with insights and stories on how AI is changing the game for business. This monthly series is designed to empower small and mid-sized businesses to harness the power of AI at work. Each month, we feature scenarios where an SMB is using AI to transform, scale, and grow.
Microsoft Graph connectors update: Expand Copilot’s knowledge with 50 million items of external data
We’re excited to share that Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscriptions will now receive a 50 million item index per tenant without any extra cost for data ingested via Microsoft Graph connectors. With this change, the index quota entitlement per license is removed, as is add-on cost for additional quota.
Applicable subscriptions:
Office 365 E1, Office 365 E3, Office 365 E5, Microsoft 365 E3, Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft 365 F1, Microsoft 365 F3, Office 365 F3, Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Microsoft 365 Business Premium,Office 365 A3, Office 365 A5, Microsoft 365 A3, Microsoft 365 A5
Microsoft Graph connectors allow organizations to bring data from external sources into Microsoft Graph to be discoverable across Microsoft 365 experiences, including grounding Microsoft 365 Copilot’s responses in more of your work content and context.
Acting as a single platform for all your enterprise data, Microsoft Graph allows your end-users to enjoy uniform experiences with your external content, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and other Microsoft 365 content. Learn more about experiences that you can enable with Microsoft Graph connectors in our documentation.
Is my data secure with Microsoft Graph connectors?
One crucial aspect of bringing content into Microsoft 365 is maintaining security and data access controls. When implementing Microsoft Graph connectors, you map existing access control lists to objects in Microsoft 365 and Entra ID, ensuring that only individuals with the right permissions can access content. This allows organizations to keep centralized access to their data secure. To learn more, please review our documentation.
Why are we making this change?
Previously, to index third-party data into Microsoft Graph through Microsoft Graph connectors, you either needed to have a built-in entitlement through specific licenses or purchase add-on quota. We recognize that indexing more external data into Microsoft Graph is vital for many organizations to fully realize the power and value of Microsoft 365 Copilot. Removing quota restrictions reflects our dedication to offering the best Microsoft 365 experiences, responding directly to customer feedback about the need for increased data capacity with Microsoft 365 Copilot. Learn more about Microsoft 365 Copilot extensibility with Graph connectors in our documentation.
What does this mean for you?
This change enables organizations to bring an incredible amount of external data into Microsoft Graph. Each record from the data source that you add to Microsoft Graph is considered “an item,” and enables external content to be discoverable across a set of Microsoft 365 experiences, including as a unique citation in Microsoft 365 Copilot's responses.
Depending on the data source, one item can be:
- One document (Word, Excel, PPT, PDF, etc.) in a file share
- One wiki page
- One web page
- One ticket/issue
Total quota is based on the total items stored in the tenant’s index, and updates to an item don’t alter its count (i.e., there are no implications of updating an item multiple times; it still counts as 1 item within the tenant).
Whether you are a new customer or already using Microsoft Graph connectors and have any of the subscriptions mentioned above, your tenant will automatically update to a 50 million item index by the end of September 2024. Subscribers with 'Extra Graph Connector capacity' will be contacted about their active plans.
Next steps and resources
Get started with Microsoft Graph connectors today! Information is everywhere and its growth is exponential across the multitude of applications we use to get work done. Safely index your external data in Microsoft Graph alongside content from your Microsoft 365 apps to deliver intelligent results across Microsoft 365 apps and services, regardless of where that information resides. Your users will thank you for it.
Review resources and documentation about Microsoft Graph connectors and consider which external data sources you'd want to connect to Microsoft 365. If you have questions, please reach out to Microsoft Graph | Support.
Resources:
- Microsoft Graph connectors overview | Microsoft Learn
- Build Microsoft Graph connectors for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn
- Set up Microsoft Graph connectors in the Microsoft 365 admin center | Microsoft Learn
- Microsoft 365 Dev Center
- Follow us on Microsoft 365 Developer (@Microsoft365Dev) / X for the latest news and announcements
Work Smarter: Copilot Productivity Tips for Secure Insights
With the slate of enhancements for Microsoft 365 Copilot just announced, I thought it’d be interesting to take a look at some everyday use cases and see how you can take advantage of some of them. Today, we’ll briefly examine what enterprise data protection (EDP) in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Copilot can help you to confidently do, and why we think it’s so important.
First, what is EDP? It refers to controls and commitments, under the Data Protection Addendum (DPA) and Product Terms, that apply to customer data for users of Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Copilot. It applies to both Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Copilot when you’re signed in with your Entra ID.
Check out the link to get the details, but at a high level, it means your data is private and secure and is not used to train the foundation models. This allows you to confidently leverage Copilot to get your job done without risking data leakage. Now let’s take a look at how this can come in handy!
Tip 1: Find out how your product stacks up with competitors
Let’s say you have an internal document that lays out the specifications for your latest product and you need to figure out how to bring it to the market. EDP means that I can attach the file to my prompt knowing it will stay secure as Copilot reasons over it, combining information from my data with the latest information on the web, to provide me with a response.
1. Here I am, in the “Web” scope of Microsoft 365 Copilot.
2. I enter the prompt,
“ Use the product specifications from this document, and create a table comparing my new ebike to other offerings on the market. I want to find out how my product stacks up, and get ideas for what I should price my bike at.”
3. I select the paperclip icon on the bottom right of the chat window and select the product specification document from my files.
Copilot provides me with the table I asked for, while also providing some of the analysis and pricing strategy I had asked about and the information in my exchange with Copilot is not going to train foundation models or be risk being leaked.
Tip 2: Simplify collaboration further with Microsoft 365 Copilot
If you have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, you can further simplify collaboration with your coworkers using Copilot Pages.
1. In the work scope of Business Chat, I put in the same prompt, this time in the Work scope of Microsoft 365 Copilot. This time, to link my file to the prompt, I simply use the forward slash button.
2. With the response from Copilot, I then select “Edit in page”. Copilot automatically brings over its response to a Page.
3. On the page, I’m able to either select share on the top right, or directly tag my coworkers by @ mentioning them and immediately collaborate on the content.
Alternatively, I could share either a link to the page, or copy the page component into an email, the same way I would a Loop component (If you want to learn more the experience, we explored using Copilot in Loop in my previous blog here).
For instance, I could @ mention Bri, and ask her to take a look and add her thoughts and ideas. She could do this directly on the page, and even ask Copilot to help her.
These small but simple ways to use Copilot have significantly improved and changed the way I work, tackle challenges, and collaborate.
I’d love to hear what other ways you might find this helpful to you!
Announcing Copilot Pages for multiplayer collaboration
Today we announced Copilot Pages, the first step in our new design system for knowledge work. Copilot Pages is a dynamic, persistent canvas in Copilot chat designed for multiplayer AI collaboration. With Pages, you can turn insightful Copilot responses into something durable with a side-by-side page that you can edit and, when ready, share with your team to collaborate. Copilot Pages starts rolling out today for Microsoft 365 Copilot users and soon for all other Microsoft 365 subscribers.
If you have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, you and your team can work with Copilot directly on the page when you open it in full screen. In a multiplayer approach, prompt Copilot together as a team to improve and expand responses, learn from each other’s prompts, and organize complex information. With Copilot Pages, human to AI interactions come to life. We see collaborative prompting as the next great step forward in evolving Copilot from an individual, point-in-time exercise into a collaborative experience.
Here's how you can use Copilot Pages.
- Access Copilot at Microsoft.com/Copilot. If you have an M365 Copilot license, you can also access Copilot in Teams and Outlook.
- Chat with Copilot as you usually would. Once you receive a response you'd like to keep, click 'Edit in Pages'. This will create a page and open it side-by-side the chat with the response already copied and formatted, including link previews and code blocks. A reference to the page will automatically be added in the chat.
- Add and refine. You can continue your conversation in chat. Clicking 'Edit in Pages' will add subsequent responses to the bottom of the page. Everything on the page is editable - just click on the page and start typing. Pro tip: type "/" to view a menu of content types that you can use.
- Share and collaborate. When you are ready, you can share your page with others who will be able to collaborate on it with you. People you share with will have access to the page and its content, not your Copilot session. If you and your team have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, you can view the page in full screen to use Copilot directly within the page, adding to each other's prompts and collaborating on a final output. Pro tip: Click the share icon in the upper right and select "Copy component" to surface the page in a fully interactive way when you paste it in Teams or Outlook.
- Access your pages. Return to your page at any time by clicking the link in the chat where you first created the page or by opening the Pages tab in Microsoft365.com, where you will see all the Pages that you previously created.
Key Features
- Persistent: Copilot Pages takes ephemeral AI-generated content and makes it durable, allowing you to edit and add to it.
- Shareable: Any page you create can be shared as a dynamic, collaborative element in your Teams chats and channels, Outlook emails and meetings, or in the Pages module in the Microsoft M365 app.
- Multiplayer: Work collaboratively with your teammates. See everyone’s work in real time and iterate on Copilot prompts as a team if you have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
Here is a short animation will show you how the feature works:
Copilot Pages start rolling out today for Microsoft 365 Copilot customers, check out the experience at Microsoft.com/Copilot. If you are an IT Admin, read this update to understand how Copilot Pages work and what it means for your organization
Copilot pages for IT Admins - Sep 2024 update
Today we announced Copilot Pages, a first step in our new design system for knowledge work. Copilot Pages is a dynamic, persistent canvas in Copilot chat designed for multi-player collaboration. With Pages, you can turn insightful Copilot responses into something durable with a side-by-side page that you can edit and, when ready, share with your team to collaborate.
Copilot Pages starts rolling out today for Microsoft 365 Copilot users and soon for Microsoft 365 subscribers.
If you have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, you and your team can work with Copilot directly on the page when you open it in full screen. In a multiplayer approach, prompt Copilot together as a team to improve and expand responses, learn from each other’s prompts, and organize complex information. With Copilot Pages, human to AI interactions come to life. We see collaborative prompting as the next great step forward in evolving Copilot from an individual, point-in-time exercise into a collaborative experience.
This update is to help IT Admins understand how Copilot Pages work and what it means for their organization. Copilot Pages are .loop files.
Who gets Copilot Pages?
Users with access to Microsoft 365 Copilot will be able to create Copilot Pages, and soon users with access to Microsoft Copilot our free commercial Copilot product will also be able to create pages
Copilot Pages are files that users can extend permissions to others using your organizations file sharing settings. If you need to further limit interaction with .loop files, use Conditional Access. Conditional Access can fully block users from opening the .loop file.
What is created when a user creates a Copilot Page?
A Copilot Page comes to life in your files ecosystem as a .loop file in a new user-owned SharePoint Embedded container. There are two main concepts to Loop: files and containers.
- Files: Loop pages and components are .loop files. Copilot Pages are displayed to the right of a Copilot Business Chat. When shared as a component they are displayed as little interactive boxes in Microsoft 365 apps (this is how Loop components work). IT admins manage these .loop files just like any other files (.docx, .pptx, .xlsx, etc.). They support all the features of the SharePoint file system, including everything detailed here.
- Containers: Copilot Pages are stored in a new user-owned SharePoint Embedded container, one per user. All content that Loop stores in SharePoint Embedded containers count against the tenant's SharePoint quota. All your governance and compliance processes apply the same way they would to a user's OneDrive. Management and graph APIs for these containers will soon be accessible to tools like AvePoint, ShareGate, your in-house tooling, and others.
IT Admin controls
Copilot Pages are rolling out to M365 Copilot users today and soon for M365 subscribers. Because they are .loop files, you can control them using Loop admin switches. Note that disabling Loop in your tenant does not disable Copilot Pages. We added a new switch specifically for Copilot Pages to ensure they're easily controlled in your organization.
Copilot Pages are default enabled in your tenant (like all Loop integrations). The diagram shows the existing controls and highlights the new Copilot Pages control:
This article covers the Cloud Policy controls for all Loop components, but we'll cover the "B" cloud policy explicitly here.
B: Create and view Loop files in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (Not Configured == Enabled) | To change the default configuration for Copilot Pages, follow these instructions:
- Sign in to https://config.office.com/ with your Microsoft 365 admin credentials.
- Select Customization from the left pane.
- Select Policy Management.
- Create a new policy configuration or edit an existing one.
- From the Choose the scope dropdown list, choose either All users or select the group for which you want to apply the policy. For more information, See Microsoft 365 Groups for Cloud Policy.
- In Configure Settings, choose this setting: For Create and view Loop files in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat:
- Enabled: Copilot chat experience is available to the users.
- Disabled: Copilot chat experience isn't available to the users.
- Not configured: Copilot chat experience is available to the users. Save the policy configuration. Reassign priority for any security group, if required. (If two or more policy configurations are applicable to the same set of users, the one with the higher priority is applied.)
- Save the policy configuration.
- Reassign priority for any security group, if required. (If two or more policy configurations are applicable to the same set of users, the one with the higher priority is applied.)
In case you create a new policy configuration, or change the configuration for an existing policy, there can be a delay in the change being reflected as described below:
- If there were existing policy configurations prior to the change, then it may take 90 mins for the change to be reflected.
- If there were no policy configurations prior to the change, then it may take 24 hours for the change to be reflected.
Manage Pages content
All Copilot Pages support the capabilities listed here. In summary, that includes admin toggles, GDPR and EUDB compliance, Intune device management, Conditional Access policies, Information Barriers, Customer Lockbox, individual file recycle bin, version history, audit logs, eDiscovery, export, legal hold, retention policies, sensitivity labels, and data loss prevention.
For many organizations, these capabilities are more than enough for the default Enabled state of Loop experiences. For larger organizations with advanced governance, sharing, and management tools, the following additional capabilities coming in Q4 CY2024 may be of interest to IT Admins:
- Retention labels at the file level
- Programmatic API access to content in SharePoint Embedded containers (enables third-party Governance, Management, and Compliance tools)
- Guest/external access via Entra B2B config for tenants with sensitivity labels
- SharePoint Admin Center columns to identify user-owned containers
New user-owned storage containers
The diagram illustrates where Copilot Pages are saved, in a new user-owned SharePoint Embedded container. This content is lifetime-managed with the user account and is deleted when the user account is deleted from the organization. There is a default timeline where it is first soft deleted (can be recovered by an IT Admin) and then purged.
Similarly, when a user leaves, there is an IT Admin workflow to enable access to these containers before deletion so that valuable content can be copied to new locations. The capability to see another user's Copilot Pages in the Loop app that were assigned before deletion is scheduled for Q4 CY2024.
User-owned containers will be identifiable in the SharePoint Admin Center by two new columns: Principal Owner and Ownership Type. Principal owner will be set to the username when the container is user-owned. And Ownership Type will be User.
Quota
All use of SharePoint Embedded storage counts against your tenant's SharePoint quota. This is documented here.
Purview and Compliance
There are several compliance and manageability capabilities built into the SharePoint platform that Loop fully supports. Please see this learn article for an inventory. In the next sections, we'll summarize the top areas we get questions about.
Legal Hold, eDiscovery, and export
Because .loop files are just like all the other files in your SharePoint ecosystem, Purview understands them and supports them natively with very little change. You can place SharePoint Embedded containers on legal hold using the URL to the container just like placing a SharePoint site on hold. You can search for content to place on hold using full text search in Purview. You can export the content in a review set that includes .loop files and automatically convert to .html for offline readable format using Purview Premium.
If you use third-party tools for eDiscovery or export for compliance, programmatic API access to content in SharePoint Embedded containers is coming in Q4 CY2024
Multi-Geo
The user-owned SharePoint Embedded container that holds Copilot Pages is created in the user's preferred data location.
Sensitivity Labels and Data Loss Prevention
Two ways to control over sharing in your organization are fully supported in .loop files. The first is sensitivity labeling, which you can configure per Copilot page. And, if Copilot finds content that has a source label higher than the page, when adding it onto the page by pressing “Edit in Page,” it will automatically upgrade the sensitivity label. Sensitivity Labels can control things like external sharing rights, encryption of data, and more.
The second is data loss prevention, a security conscious scanner that detects very sensitive information and immediately blocks all sharing and triggers the owner of the file to remove it before full collaboration can be restored.
Audit
Because all .loop files are stored in the SharePoint ecosystem, full audit activity is available in the unified audit log that SharePoint events are already part of. Creates, updates, reads and deletes are all logged with attribution.
Governance Tooling
Governance of a user-owned container is a lot simpler than shared content like an M365 group or a SharePoint site, or even a shared Loop workspace, since it is typically lifetime managed with the user account and no additional regular governance is required. However, if you use third-party tools for governing user-owned containers, programmatic API access to content in SharePoint Embedded containers is coming in Q4 CY2024.
We hope this summary leaves you feeling confident about Copilot Pages in your organization.
Major updates to the Copilot Success Kit
As we continue our journey to empowering you and your organization with AI experiences, we are thrilled to announce several significant updates to the Copilot Success Kit.
The Copilot Success Kit is designed to:
- Accelerate your time to value with Microsoft 365 Copilot.
- Enable your progressive skilling journey with AI tools.
These updates are part of our ongoing commitment to support our community and ensure you have access to the latest resources and guidance.
Interactive Scenario Library Enhancements
Our scenario library is a primary tool for helping business leaders understand how to best leverage AI for measurable value in their organizations. For Wave 2 we have added new industry and functional use cases. This update also includes Subject Matter Expert videos that showcase new value in various applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. These videos are designed to help you understand how to leverage Copilot in different scenarios and maximize its potential.
New content and features
- The Implementation Summary Guide for Leaders has been updated to provide clearer guidance on the three essentials for Copilot success: Leadership, human change, and technical readiness.
- The User Enablement Guide has been updated to include guidance on leveraging Microsoft Viva to drive healthy usage and user satisfaction. This comprehensive guide provides detailed instructions and best practices for enabling users to adopt and embrace AI capabilities.
- The Technical Readiness Guide has been refreshed with updated Microsoft Copilot Studio and App Assure guidance. This guide focuses on the technical readiness aspects of implementing Copilot and provides valuable insights to ensure your organization is ready to leverage AI effectively.
- The Accelerate Copilot with Microsoft Viva guide demonstrates how features and functions across the Viva Suite can accelerate your implementation of Copilot. This includes updated training content and user onboarding toolkits, designed to empower your workforce and drive successful AI usage.
- The Use Microsoft Viva Amplify for your Copilot rollout guide provides examples of how Microsoft Digital, our IT organization who empowers our workforce, used Viva Amplify to implement Copilot in our organization. Learn from our experiences and best practices.
- Delivering business results with Microsoft 365 Copilot helps you understand the crucial role of functional business leaders in driving successful AI adoption in your organization and provides specific guidance on how to engage them in your AI transformation journey.
- The Get Started with Microsoft 365 Copilot in Excel guide, included in the Trainer Kit within the Success Kit, provides practical examples for both new and power users of Excel.
Upcoming events and training
To support your adoption efforts, we are hosting a series of events and training sessions in the coming weeks and months. Watch our Copilot Adoption Hub and Microsoft Community Learning channel for more information.
We are excited to provide these guides and based on customer feedback believe they will enhance your experience with Copilot. Stay tuned for more information and be sure to join our upcoming events to learn more about how you can leverage these new resources to drive success in your organization. Comment below and in our community to give your feedback on how we can continue to improve our resources to support your journey.
Download the kit and more adoption resources on our Copilot Adoption Hub at https://adoption.microsoft.com/copilot.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Wave 2: AI Innovations in SharePoint and OneDrive
Today, Satya Nadella and Jared Spataro introduced Wave 2 of Microsoft 365 Copilot innovations, including new Copilot agents that automate and streamline processes. Now anyone can easily create an agent with specific subject-matter expertise—from a coach to a brainstorm partner to a field-service technician. These updates represent a big stride forward in helping drive customer value with Copilot, and SharePoint and OneDrive will play a key part in this wave of Copilot innovations.
SharePoint has become the foundational content management platform for enterprises―powering OneDrive, SharePoint sites, Teams, Loop, Stream, and more. It facilitates team collaboration, business processes, knowledge management, and employee communication with robust content services. With hundreds of millions of active users adding over 2.5 billion new files daily, SharePoint is a wealth of valuable organizational knowledge and insights that users can now harness with Copilot agents.
We are excited to announce the public preview of Copilot agents in SharePoint, a new experience that enables any user to quickly create and share agents right from within SharePoint for specific purposes. With a few clicks, you can create and share a Copilot agent in SharePoint―no coding skills required, all while respecting the organization’s security policies. These agents can work on your behalf answering questions about source material, reasoning over that material, and acting like a well-informed teammate would. Copilot agents in SharePoint will enter public preview in early October.
OneDrive is the common files experiences for Microsoft 365 and is the common place you get to all your content, either standalone, in Teams, Outlook, or the Microsoft 365 app. This is why we are also excited to announce Copilot in OneDrive. With it, you can efficiently summarize, get answers from, and compare your files in OneDrive faster than ever. These features are rolling out now and will be generally available by the end of September.
Copilot in SharePoint is now rolling out to customers, with additional features coming later this year. Copilot in SharePoint helps site creators author pages and create stunning sites, using AI and natural language. Simply explain the page you need, and Copilot builds it for you.
Super charge productivity with Copilot agents in SharePoint
Create an agent in just a few clicks: Creating a Copilot agent in SharePoint is a simple starting point for users looking to use AI tools tailored for their particular needs. Make Copilot your own. Use it to collaborate with others using the same relevant knowledge base and make critical decisions efficiently, or to spend less time consuming information so you can focus on more meaningful work. And you can create these agents right from where you’re already working in SharePoint.
Copilot agents in SharePoint work for you, your team, and cross-functional collaborators to help enhance knowledge sharing and teamwork. Let’s say you want to create a Copilot agent for a project you’re kicking off this quarter with a few other teammates. From your SharePoint document library, select only the folders or files you want. Then, with one click, you can create and immediately begin using your new agent. It reasons over the scoped set of SharePoint content to answer your questions, summarize information, or provide valuable insights, giving the most current and accurate response.
Secure by design: Creating an agent is as straightforward as creating a file. Agents in SharePoint are saved as Copilot files stored in the site where they’re initiated, ensuring consistent management and governance with site content.
Anyone with edit permissions on a SharePoint site, such as a site member, can create an agent scoped to the content they choose, and the agent will adhere to each user’s SharePoint permissions and the organization’s security policies. These Copilot agents, along with your other Microsoft 365 data, stay within the Microsoft 365 trust boundary.
Customize your agent: To further customize the agent you created in SharePoint, click the edit button to add more files, update the branding, modify starter prompts, and more. You can easily enhance your agent in Copilot Studio with more advanced customization, such as adding actions to automate workflows or additional data sources beyond SharePoint.
Share and collaborate: Similar to files in other Microsoft 365 productivity apps, you can easily add the agent to a Teams chat or share a link via email to collaborate with others. All you need to do to interact with the agent is @mention it.
Sharing this agent with collaborators for a specific project helps foster teamwork and knowledge sharing so you can all get insights and make decisions based on the same current, relevant information.
Built-in Copilot agent scoped to your SharePoint site: In addition to user-created Copilot agents, every SharePoint site will have a prebuilt Copilot agent grounded in all the content within that site. Any site member can use this Copilot agent to ask questions and gain insights from the site.
How to use Copilot agents: Here are a few examples that might inspire you to create Copilot agents from SharePoint for your own unique needs:
- Everyone can benefit from an onboarding or transition buddy. An agent can help you get up to speed in a new role or provide support and guidance to others as you transition to a new team.
- Marketing with a product launch agent enables a large, cross-functional team to filter and reason over various marketing documents to understand key dates and deliverables and make decisions or next steps.
- Sales teams can get a key advantage with a conversation agent. Copilot can use customer details and interactions to suggest pertinent questions and content, optimizing conversations and engagement
- HR can use an onboarding agent to guide new employees through company policies and provide them with instant, relevant answers.
- Customer service can find answers and respond to customer questions with a triage agent. It can also surface trends and suggest fixes for common issues.
- Engineering and product support can use a field incident report agent to analyze the types of issues coming in from the field and provide an analysis of what product issues should be prioritized.
Copilot agents in SharePoint make it easy to scale knowledge, enhance team collaboration, and drive operational efficiency from where you’re already working. It’s coming to public preview in early October, so give it a try in SharePoint soon.
Boost your efficiency at work with Copilot in OneDrive
Copilot in OneDrive is designed to help you rapidly find the files you need, discover content faster, and enhance your productivity to be more efficient―streamlining your daily tasks without ever opening a file.
Summarize files quickly: Faster extraction of key information in OneDrive is a productivity booster. With Copilot in OneDrive, you can summarize one or multiple files in your OneDrive web app without opening each file. Additionally, you can generate an FAQ from a document to use or share as a reference asset. For example, after returning from an extended vacation, you can summarize project plans and meeting notes to catch up on your work with one click in OneDrive
Compare documents with ease: Locating the right data or understanding the differences between multiple files is time-consuming. You can now select up to five files―even mixing formats such as Word docs, PowerPoints, and PDFs―and have Copilot offer a detailed comparison across all the files. This lets you get a high-level understanding of the information you’re working with.
Get answers on specific content: Sometimes you need to find a quick answer to a question or information that can help you with a project you’re working on. Now, you can ask Copilot questions about the information you need from the documents you choose to gain insights and do your best work.
The new Copilot in OneDrive features―summarizing content, asking questions about relevant files, and comparing documents―give you the most value out of your content.
Build SharePoint sites effortlessly with Copilot in SharePoint
Every month, millions of users create and edit sites and pages in SharePoint. Copilot in SharePoint now puts your words to work to create beautiful sites and pages. You can use AI and natural language to author pages and create content-rich sites.
Rewrite text to fit the perfect tone: Spend less time adjusting the messaging on your SharePoint sites and pages, and let the rich text editor give you suggestions to make your text more engaging.
Use natural language to create beautiful pages: Easily create visually appealing SharePoint pages. With Copilot, you can type in the kind of content you want to create, including the language, tone, and information, and it will do the work for you. You can also provide existing content―like a Word document or PowerPoint presentation―to Copilot, and it will transform that content into a beautiful page.
Copilot in SharePoint leverages all the features of the new SharePoint user experience designed to enable you to make more compelling, visually appealing content. With this capability, you can:
- Apply branding and theming
- Adjust typography and fonts
- Create a grid and layout
- Add videos and imagery
- Use animations and motion
Using Copilot in SharePoint ensures your sites incorporate the newest design elements while staying true to your company brand.
Get started today
We are excited for you to begin using OneDrive and SharePoint features that are part of this next wave of Copilot innovation. You can experience many of these new capabilities that are rolling out today and preview others in the coming weeks.
- Watch for the public preview of Copilot agents in SharePoint in early October.
- Join Copilot agents and SharePoint product experts on October 16th for an exclusive Meet the Makers episode.
- Copilot in OneDrive is rolling out now and will be fully available by the end of September.
- Learn more at Microsoft OneDrive: AI Innovations for a New Era of Work and Home on October 8th.
- Text rewrite capabilities of Copilot in SharePoint are rolling out now, with natural language page creation coming in early 2025.
Work Smarter: Copilot Productivity Tips for Planning Events
September tends to bring many back into the flow of work, drawing Summer (or Winter, if you're in the Southern hemisphere) to a close. Here, the faint scent of spiced coffee in the air is also a reminder that we’re fast approaching the holiday season - a critical time for businesses to launch offers and events to entice customers and generate sales.
September is thus a perfect time to get plotting, and a strong workback schedule can be incredibly helpful in ensuring that you’re focusing your time and activities to maximum effect. Your day is already packed and there aren’t moments to waste.
Today, let’s explore how Copilot in Loop can help you with project management to keep you and your team organized and on track, whatever the moment.
Tip 1: Create a good prompt
Prompting should be like having a conversation, using plain, clear language and providing context like you would with an assistant. But being clear on what you are trying to achieve. For simplicity, think of a prompt has having 4 primary ingredients:
These core ingredients, applied to any prompt you might give Copilot, should help Copilot provide you with much better responses. To learn more about prompting fundamentals, check this out.
Tip 2: Create a workback schedule using Copilot in Loop
If you’re unfamiliar with it, Microsoft Loop is a fantastic tool included in Microsoft 365 Business Standard and up, that can take collaboration to the next level by simplifying content sharing and co-creation.
To begin, create a new Loop page and open Copilot by selecting the “Set up your page with Copilot” button at the bottom.
In this example, I’m going to put in the prompt:
“I want to hold a big in-person marketing event on December 20 that would kick off a holiday sale for my new line of products. Please create a workback schedule for me that tracks actions I should take to get ready for the event. Put them in a table with sections, and make columns for action, responsible owner, progress, and next steps.”
In seconds, I now have a great start to an event plan that I can then fine tune with my specific activities and use to make sure I’m organized and focused on tasks that work towards my goal.
Tip 3: Share the plan and collaborate easily
I can invite collaboration in a number of different ways. Selecting Share on the top right, I can choose to share this page as a Loop component.
I can then paste the component into an email or Teams chat, allowing others to seamlessly edit and collaborate without needed to ever go into the Loop page itself.
These tips can be applied to just about anything you’d like to plan or collaborate on, whether it’s a marketing event, a holiday party, or business trip to meet customers.
I’d love to hear what other ways you might find this helpful to you!
Using Copilot to Demo Copilot
In today's fast-paced digital world, creating compelling demo content is essential for showcasing the capabilities of various tools and technologies. Microsoft Copilot can significantly streamline this process. In this article, we will explore how to create sample demo content using Microsoft Copilot, providing you with a step-by-step guide to make your demos more effective and engaging. We’ll explore three scenarios that make great Copilot demonstrations – Meeting Recaps, Excel, and Outlook.
Demonstrating Meeting Recap
By now, you probably know that Microsoft Teams Premium automatically creates helpful Recap notes from your recorded meetings (also known as Intelligent Recap). Here's an example:
When demonstrating this feature, it’s often best to use fictitious information in a demo tenant. However, the most effective examples often come from real-life meetings, as they involve multiple participants discussing actual topics, making the summaries far more relevant.
Luckily, we don’t always have to rely on real-world meetings to demonstrate this feature if we let Copilot generate a conversation for us. To get started, ask Copilot to create a fake script of two people chatting about a project. For example, we could say:
The result might look like this:
Once Copilot generates the initial content, review it carefully. While Copilot is highly advanced, it's essential to customize and enhance the content to ensure it aligns with your objectives and resonates with your audience. Add any specific details, examples, or anecdotes that will make the demo more relatable and engaging. Remember, the goal is to create content that not only informs but also captivates your audience.
Once we have our script, we can use the following steps to leverage it for our Meeting Recap:
- Paste your script in something that has Read Aloud features. While Copilot is certainly able to read aloud its responses, you might consider pasting the script into Microsoft Word, where there are controls to adjust the speed of the reading, as well as the type of voice used.
- Set up a new Teams meeting in your demo tenant and invite a second persona that you are also able to impersonate.
- Use one device to join as the demo user and another to join as the second user. This could be a laptop and a phone with Teams Mobile.
- Ensure both devices can hear a third device that's reading out the script. If you don’t have a third device, you could read the script aloud yourself.
- Record the meeting with each device's mic picking up the script. At this point, the tricky part is muting and unmuting at the right times for each "speaker" to make sure speaker attribution occurs correctly.
When finished, you'll have a neat Recap like the one shown at the beginning of this section.
If you're using Copilot for Microsoft 365 (integrated with Teams and other M365 apps), you can even ask extra questions about the meeting. For example, I wanted to check the tone or sentiment:
(we can be confident Copilot will notice this sentiment by deliberately modifying Copilot’s generated script to include some anxious phrasing)
Using these steps, we now have a completely simulated meeting with a recap, and even AI-generated follow-up tasks, ready for demonstration with no concerns about sharing real-world content.
Demonstrating Copilot in Excel
We can showcase Copilot in Excel by using simulated data. For example, we might request Copilot to generate mock data suitable for an accounting firm's use. For example:
In either case, we can now demonstrate the power of Copilot for Microsoft 365 in Excel by asking it to analyze the new sample data. For example, we might want Copilot to let us know the average amount of unpaid invoices…
…or perhaps ask Copilot in Excel to highlight the rows representing unpaid invoices:
Demonstrating Copilot in Outlook
Finally, we can showcase the impressive features of Copilot in Outlook, such as its ability to succinctly summarize lengthy emails, extract key points, and even draft responses, all tailored to the context and tone of the original communication, thereby enhancing productivity and streamlining communication workflows.
Emails we encounter daily contain a variety of nuances, and incorporating as many of these as possible into our sample content will enhance the quality of our demo materials. For example, consider this prompt:
This should produce a sample email with some sentiment, like frustration or anxiety, similar to the following:
After creating a handful of emails like this, ranging across different subjects and perhaps tailored to the industry or community of the persons to whom you’re presenting your demo material, we then have enough material to demonstrate effective Copilot scenarios like:
- Finding any recent emails that seem urgent or have a tone of frustration
- Finding emails that should be addressed immediately based on their content
- Listing emails in tabular form, with columns like “Need”, “Priority” or “Tone” that can be filled in based on the sample content
These queries can be run in Copilot for Microsoft 365 from the Teams, Windows, or browser interface, in addition running them using Copilot in Outlook on desktop or mobile devices.
Creating sample demo content using Microsoft Copilot can significantly enhance your ability to showcase tools and technologies effectively. By following these steps, you can leverage the power of AI to generate high-quality content, customize it to suit your objectives, and deliver engaging demos that captivate your audience. Embrace the capabilities of Microsoft Copilot and take your demo content to the next level!
-- For more info from me on collaboration with Copilot and Microsoft 365, follow me at Teamwork Cowbell (blog | vlog), on LinkedIn, or find more of my articles right here in TechCommunity.
Announcing support for Welsh and Catalan language in Copilot for Microsoft 365
We’re pleased to announce that Copilot for Microsoft 365 is now rolling out support for users working in the Welsh and Catalan languages, bringing the total number of supported languages and language variants up to 30.
Note that at this time, support for these languages in Excel and OneNote is delayed, with resolution expected in a matter of weeks. Also note that Copilot for Microsoft 365 may not yet understand every colloquial expression or linguistic convention these languages. We are continually refining Copilot’s language capabilities and encourage users to provide us with actionable feedback.
We continue to expand the list of supported languages in Copilot for Microsoft 365. That list is now available on our public roadmap as feature 411778.
Now available: Transparency Note for Copilot for Microsoft 365
We’re pleased to announce the availability of the Transparency Note for Copilot for Microsoft 365. This document serves as an important addition to our Responsible AI practices, is a further step towards our ISO 42001 certification initiative, and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the maintenance of trust and accountability for the AI services we provide.
The Transparency Note for Copilot for Microsoft 365 serves as a simple, central document that explains how our AI-powered productivity tool integrates large language models (LLMs) with Microsoft 365 apps. It covers key features such as document creation in Word, presentation facilitation in PowerPoint, data insights in Excel, email management in Outlook, and conversation summaries in Teams, among others. The note also highlights the importance of understanding the capabilities and limitations of the tool, focusing on the entire system including the technology, users, and deployment environment.
There are also technical details in the note, including information on how Copilot for Microsoft 365 grounds its responses using data from Microsoft Graph and Bing and the extension of Copilot functionality through third-party applications. The note discusses Microsoft’s responsible AI practices and checks such as red team testing and ongoing improvements, to help ensure that the tool is used safely and ethically. And the note shares a summary of best practices for using Copilot for Microsoft 365 with an emphasis on human oversight and review to mitigate potential risks.
The document also discusses performance considerations, legal and compliance considerations, and the importance of user training. It outlines use cases for Copilot for Microsoft 365 tool and discusses tools and dashboards Microsoft provides to help organizations evaluate usage and impact on an ongoing basis.
Throughout the Transparency Note, readers will find helpful links to additional documentation on topics covered within. This makes the Transparency Note an excellent resource for Microsoft customers, partners, and even employees looking for a starting point from which they can quickly discover all the ways in which Copilot for Microsoft 365 can transform the way they work.
To read the Copilot for Microsoft 365 Transparency Note: aka.ms/M365CopilotTransparencyNote
Work Smarter: Copilot Productivity Tips for Analyzing Competitors
As a small business owner, you know how important it is to keep an eye on the market and your competitors. You want to stay ahead of the curve, identify opportunities, and avoid pitfalls. But how do you find the time and resources to do that? How do you sift through the vast amount of data and information available online?
That's where Copilot can help. Copilot is a powerful AI assistant that can help you with various tasks, from organizing your inbox to creating presentations. But did you know that Copilot can also help you analyze market trends and competitors? In this blog post, we will share with you two ways to use Copilot to unlock insights and gain a competitive edge.
Tip 1: Ask Copilot who your current competitors are in your area
One of the first steps to analyze your market is to identify who your current competitors are. You may have a general idea, but you may also miss some new entrants or niche players. Copilot can help you discover your competitors by using natural language queries.
In your internet browser, navigate to bing.com and select the Copilot icon. From there, type in a prompt like "Who are my competitors in the area of [your industry or product]?" For example, "Who are my competitors in the area of gourmet ice cream in the Seattle area?" Copilot will then search the web and provide you with a list of relevant competitors, along with their websites and brief descriptions.
You can then use this list to further research your competitors, or ask Copilot more specific questions, such as "What are the strengths and weaknesses of [competitor name]?" or "How does [competitor name] market their products?"
An image of Copilot in the bing.com user interface
Tip 2: Analyze competitors by asking Copilot to create a chart with strengths
Once you have a list of competitors, you may want to compare them based on their strengths and weaknesses. This can help you identify gaps in the market, or areas where you can improve your own products or services. Copilot can help you create a chart that compares your competitors based on various criteria, such as quality, price, customer service, innovation, etc.
Return to your conversation with Copilot. From there, type in a query like "Create a chart with the strengths of [competitor names] in the area of [your industry or product]." For this article, we continued with the yummy example of gourmet ice cream in Seattle. Copilot will then generate a chart in HTML format, with the competitor names as columns and the criteria as rows. You can then copy and paste the chart into a document, open the table in Excel, or ask Copilot to export it as an image or a PDF.
An image of Copilot results for the prompt "Create a chart with the strengths of some key gourmet ice cream competitors in the Seattle area"
You can then use this chart to analyze your competitors and see where you stand in the market. You can also ask Copilot to create similar charts with other criteria, such as weaknesses, opportunities, threats, etc.
We hope you find these tips useful and start using Copilot to analyze market trends and competitors. Stay tuned for more Copilot productivity tips next Monday to learn more ways to unlock insights and grow your business with Copilot!
How are you using Copilot? Let me know in the comments!
What's New in Copilot | August 2024
Welcome to the August 2024 edition of What's New in Copilot for Microsoft 365! Every month, we highlight new features and enhancements for Copilot for Microsoft 365, to keep Microsoft 365 admins up to date with Copilot features that help your users be more productive and efficient in the apps they use every day.
Let’s take a closer look at what’s new this month.
Admin and management capabilities:
- Copilot for Microsoft 365 Risk Assessment QuickStart Guide
- Additional language support for Copilot for Microsoft 365
- Microsoft Copilot Dashboard integrated with sentiment survey data from Viva Glint and Viva Pulse
- Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 is empowering the public sector
End-user capabilities:
- Improvements to Copilot for Microsoft 365 with Graph-grounded chat
- Pasting content becomes easier with Copilot in Word
- Support student learning with solutions to quiz questions using Copilot in Forms
- Summarize content over a specific period of time with Copilot in Teams
- New prompt collections for Sales, Finance, and the Energy Sector in Copilot Lab
Copilot for Microsoft 365 Risk Assessment QuickStart Guide
A new Risk Assessment QuickStart Guide is now available to assist organizations in performing a comprehensive risk assessment of Copilot for Microsoft 365. The document serves as an initial reference for risk identification, mitigation exploration, and stakeholder discussions. The guide includes:
- An AI Risks and Mitigations Framework: This framework outlines the primary AI risk categories and how Microsoft addresses them at both company and service levels.
- Sample Risk Assessment: This presents a set of real customer-derived questions and answers to assess the service and its risk posture.
The guide also includes links to a variety of additional resources that point you a broader, more detailed set of materials on Copilot for Microsoft 365 and AI risk management.
Additional language support for Copilot for Microsoft 365
Copilot for Microsoft 365 will soon support an additional 12 languages: Bulgarian, Croatian, Estonian, Greek, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Serbian (Latin), Slovak, Slovenian and Vietnamese.
In addition, we are also introducing support for Welsh and Catalan and are making improvements to the responses Copilot can provide for specific language variants including Dutch (Belgium), German (Switzerland), English (UK), Spanish (Mexico) and French (Canada). These improvements mean your users can anticipate responses that better reflect colloquial expressions, and linguistic conventions in these countries. As always, we are continually refining Copilot’s language capabilities and encourage users to provide us with actionable feedback.
These language updates are rolling out in September.
We’re excited to help people around the world do even more with Copilot in the workplace.
Microsoft Copilot Dashboard integrated with sentiment survey data from Viva Glint and Viva Pulse
Copilot survey results from Viva Glint or Viva Pulse will soon be integrated directly into the Microsoft Copilot Dashboard. This new integration streamlines the process for Copilot surveys initiated through Viva Glint or Pulse, providing a view into employee sentiment about Copilot adoption and impact. Users can start a new Pulse survey directly from the Copilot Dashboard and view results from multiple Pulse, Glint, or admin uploaded survey results. These updates are rolling out in September. Access to Viva Glint and Viva Pulse surveys require a premium Microsoft Viva Suite, Workplace Analytics and Feedback license or Viva Glint license. Admins will continue to have the ability to manually upload survey results.
Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 is empowering the public sector
Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 GCC will be generally available October 2024, subject to US Government authorization. This AI assistant for work is designed to boost productivity and foster innovation within the public sector by integrating large language models with your organization's data and the Microsoft 365 Apps people use every day.
Additionally, Microsoft Copilot in Microsoft 365 GCC High and DOD will be generally available in Summer 2025, pending US Government authorization.
Improvements to Copilot for Microsoft 365 with Graph-grounded chat
Several improvements to Copilot for Microsoft 365 Graph-grounded chat are coming in September.
In Outlook, Graph-grounded chat will be able to reason over a user’s archive mailbox, expanding coverage to all the email content in their primary mailbox. Users will also be able to navigate to specific folders or sub-folders to get responses that prioritize emails in those folders.
In Teams, users can ground conversations in Microsoft Teams group chats to quickly find and use relevant information when crafting prompts.
When using Graph-grounded chat, users will see significant improvements to the ability to reason over large files as a grounding source for prompts. Users will also be able to paste more content in the Copilot search area with an increase from 2,000 characters to 16,000 characters.
Pasting content becomes easier with Copilot in Word
Now, when users paste content into Word, they will see expanded paste options with Copilot that enable them to quickly and easily improve their documents. When pasting content, users can use Copilot suggestions to easily re-word it, transform it into a table or list, and more. This feature is available today for web, and rolling out soon for desktop and Mac.
Support student learning with solutions to quiz questions using Copilot in Forms
With Copilot in Forms quizzes, teachers can easily generate step-by-step solutions to each question. When students turn in quizzes, if teachers give students the option to immediately view their results, students can check their scores to see what they've mastered, and further study the step-by-step solutions supported by Copilot, helping them learn from their mistakes. This feature is rolling out in August.
Summarize content over a specific period of time with Copilot in Teams
Users no longer need to manually scroll and search through extensive chat histories. Now when they activate Copilot in chat, they can use time-based phrases like "yesterday," "last month," "6 months ago," or " December 2023" in prompts. Copilot will efficiently locate and provide insights on information from the time period specified. This feature started rolling out in August. Learn more about using Copilot in Microsoft Teams chat and channels.
New prompt collections for Sales, Finance, and the Energy Sector in Copilot Lab
New functional prompt collections tailored for sales, finance, and the energy sector are now available in Copilot Lab. This expansion of our functional prompt collection, which started releasing in May, is designed to inspire and guide users to create their own high-quality prompts specific to a role or industry.
For example, sales professionals will find prompt suggestions such as, Draft a strategic account plan template tailored for [customer name] that aligns with our sales targets and their business objectives. The plan should be written from a Sales Account Executive perspective, and it should also include a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, key stakeholder mapping, and a timeline of engagement activities leading up to the final pitch. Please format this as a structured document with clear headings and action items.
Finance professionals will find prompt suggestions such as, Generate a comprehensive risk assessment report based on the risk evaluation data provided in this [document]. Categorize risks into financial, operational, and strategic types, and suggest mitigation strategies.
Professionals in the energy sector will find prompt suggestions such as, Provide an analysis of the development concepts that have been successful for other reservoirs in the Permian Basin. Break your analysis into manageable sections and use specific examples to illustrate your points.
This is the second set of collections, after our first set of collections started rolling out in May. New collections will continue to be added in the future. You can also explore newly added prompts across Copilot for Microsoft 365 apps including Planner, Microsoft Forms, SharePoint, and OneDrive. Visit Copilot Lab today to elevate your prompt creation journey.
Did you know? The Microsoft 365 Roadmap is where you can get the latest updates on productivity apps and intelligent cloud services. Please note that the dates mentioned in this article are tentative and subject to change. Check back regularly to see what features are in development or coming soon.
Work Smarter: Copilot Productivity Tips for Creating Presentations
Here’s the unfortunate news: collecting information from various sources and creating presentations with that information can be a very time-consuming task for your sales & marketing employees. Whether it's personalizing sales presentations or converting financial data into executive briefs, your employees can spend countless hours each week crafting engaging slide decks that reflect your brand's identity.
But here’s the good news: Copilot in PowerPoint can reduce the time your team spends on these tasks. Instead, they can spend that time on more impactful work, like building relationships with potential customers and making critical decisions based on the insights they’ve collected.
As a marketer, I understand the challenges of creating time-consuming presentations in PowerPoint. This week, I'd like to share with you three specific tips for using Copilot in PowerPoint to help you create compelling slides with ease.
Let’s jump right in!
Tip 1: Create presentations using brand templates
If your company uses an existing slide template, you can create a presentation using Copilot in PowerPoint that leverages that theme so you stay aligned with your brand.
First, open an existing presentation with your theme or create a new presentation using a theme or template from File > New or Office.com.
Then within PowerPoint, select the Copilot button in the Home tab of the ribbon and either enter your prompt or select “create presentation about” to create a first draft of your presentation using your theme or template.
You can then use the prompt in Copilot in PowerPoint to quickly add new slides to your presentation while maintaining your existing theme or template. For example, you could enter a prompt that says, “Add an agenda slide.” Or, if you wanted to address the pain points of a potential customer’s industry, you could type “Add a slide about the top 5 challenges of the health care industry.”
Read more about using your organization’s branding with Copilot in PowerPoint.
Tip 2: Create presentations from Word & PDF documents
If you have an existing Word or PDF document, you can instantly create compelling slides using that content. Point Copilot in PowerPoint to your document, and it will generate slides, apply layouts, and create speaker notes for you – all in minutes.
Select the Copilot button in the Home tab of the ribbon and click or type “Create presentation from file”. If the document you want from the picker doesn’t appear, you can start typing any part of the filename to search for it or type a front slash (/) to cause it to pop up.
![An image of Copilot in PowerPoint prompt options with a red box around the "Create a presentation from [file]" prompt.](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/613501i7D718F6E5DC3A2DA/image-size/medium?v=v2&px=400 "Picture7.png")
Copilot works best with well-structured Word documents that are less than 24 MB. Use Word Styles to help Copilot understand your document’s structure and how to convert it into presentation slides. If there are images you would like included in your presentation, be sure to include them in your Word document. Once you’ve chosen your document, select “Send” and Copilot will draft your presentation for you! You can then edit it to suit your needs.
Read more about using existing documents to create presentations using Copilot in PowerPoint.
Tip 3: Add images to your presentations
Copilot in PowerPoint can make your presentations more visually compelling as well. Use it to suggest stock images for your presentation by using the Copilot prompt to “Add an image” related to your topic, and it will go through the stock images and select an image to add from that collection.
You can also use the web version of Microsoft Copilot to create unique, new images for your presentation. Ask Copilot to “Create an image” and it will create an AI-generated image that you can insert into your slides. The more specific your prompt is, the better result you’ll get. For example, use longer, more descriptive prompts with adjectives, locations and artistic styles such as “digital art” or “photorealistic.”
Read more about adding images to your presentations with Copilot in PowerPoint.
How do you use Copilot in your day-to-day? Let us know in the comments!
Work Smarter: Copilot Productivity Tips for Social Media Marketing
I thought it'd be fun this week to run a bit of an experiment and use Copilot to help me figure out how to best amplify this blog, while hopefully showing you some prompts along the way and inspiring you to think about how you could use Copilot in your daily tasks!
Social media is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes, but especially so for small and medium-sized businesses that rely on it as a means to reach new customers and drive sales. But Marketers are always pressed for time, and juggling strategy and content creation can be overwhelming and time-consuming. How do you create engaging content, reach your target audience, and measure your results? How do you balance your social media presence with your other tasks and priorities? Today, I'll show you how I used Copilot to help me generate and execute ideas for social media marketing, how you can too.
Tip 1: Figuring out where and what time to post
Not everyone might even know where to start with social media marketing. With so many platforms out there, I got Copilot to help me with some initial research. Accessing Copilot, I asked Copilot to "Search the web for social media platforms where I should make a post about my Microsoft Tech Community blog that shares Copilot tips. Compare the top 5 platforms based on predominant audience type, level of professionalism, number of users, typical amount of engagement. Respond with a table comparing the spart features of each product, using checkmark and X icons."
Almost as critical to where to post, is when to do so. I want as many people as possible, around the world. In the same chat session, I ask Copilot a follow-up question: "What's the best time to make a post on LinkedIn to share my new blog that I wrote on the Microsoft Tech Community. I live in Washington, so please suggest times in Pacific Time. I would like to maximize global viewership and engagement."
Tip 2: Figuring out what to post
This is where things got a little interesting. I’m drafting this blog in Word before publishing it on Tech Community. In my Word file, I select Copilot on the right of the toolbar. Knowing Copilot will reference the content in the current doc, I'm able to ask: “What are some short posts I could make on LinkedIn about this blog?”
It was much quicker to review these options drafted by Copilot, and then hone in on refining one I like, as opposed to starting from scratch. I also asked: “What are additional hashtags I could use that are relevant to this blog?”
Just like that, I have drastically cut down the amount of time needed to put together social posts for this blog.
Tip 3: Challenge yourself to think differently with Copilot
Just as important to the prompts and tips in this blog, is that Copilot gets me to think differently about solving complex problems. Instead of relying on my own assumptions or biases (or traditional web search), I am building new habits of using Copilot to generate different perspectives, hypotheses, and ideas and then applying my expertise to formulate my solution. It's good to remember too, that you can also have iterative conversations with Copilot, asking follow-up questions, clarifying your goals, and refining your inputs as part of the process.
How are you using Copilot - let me know in the comments!
Updates to Microsoft Copilot to bring enterprise data protection to more organizations
Next month, we are making several updates to the free Microsoft Copilot service for users with a Microsoft Entra account to enhance data security, privacy, and compliance and simplify the user experience. For users signed in with an Entra account, Microsoft Copilot will offer enterprise data protection (EDP) and redirect users to a new simplified, ad-free user interface designed for work and education.
Enterprise data protection
For users signed in with an Entra account [1], Microsoft Copilot will offer enterprise data protection. EDP will be available for these users at no additional cost. EDP refers to controls [2] and commitments, under the Data Protection Addendum and Product Terms, that apply to customer data for users of Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Copilot [3]. This means that security, privacy, and compliance controls and commitments available for Copilot for Microsoft 365 will extend to Microsoft Copilot prompts and responses. Prompts and responses are protected by the same terms and commitments that are widely trusted by our customers—not only for Copilot for Microsoft 365, but also for emails in Exchange and files in SharePoint.
With EDP in Microsoft Copilot:
- We secure your data: We help protect your data with encryption, at rest and in transit, rigorous physical security controls, and data isolation between tenants.
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Your data is private: We won’t use your data except as you instruct. Our commitments to privacy include support for GDPR, ISO/IEC 27018 [4], and the Data Protection Addendum.
- Your access controls and policies apply to Copilot [5]: Prompts and responses are logged, retained, and available for audit, eDiscovery, and advanced Microsoft Purview capabilities. The specific controls will vary depending on the underlying subscription plan.
- You are protected against AI security risks: We help safeguard against AI-focused risks such as harmful content and prompt injections.
- Your data isn’t used to train foundation models: Prompts and responses are not used to train foundation models.
Simplified experience
We’ve also responded to customer feedback with a new simplified, ad-free Copilot user interface designed for work and education. And to help people get started quickly, we’re introducing prompt examples relevant to work and education scenarios.
Starting in mid-September, you will be able to experience Microsoft Copilot at Microsoft.com/copilot and in the Microsoft 365 app, and it will be coming soon to Microsoft Teams and Outlook. To ensure people across your organization have easy access to Microsoft Copilot and can benefit from the security and experience updates to Copilot, enable in-app access today.
The option to pin Copilot can be found under Settings on the Copilot page in the Microsoft 365 admin center (Global Admin permissions required).
To learn more about these updates, head to our FAQ. And be sure to check back here for more announcements and updates in the weeks to come.
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[1] Government cloud customers and students under 18 are not yet eligible.
[2] The specific controls will vary depending on the underlying subscription plan.
[3] The use of the term EDP is not meant to limit the benefits offered under the Data Protection Addendum and Product Terms. The specific controls will vary depending on the underlying subscription plan.
[4] Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 runs on the ISO 27018 certified Microsoft 365 platform. Microsoft Copilot will start rolling out to the same platform in the second half of September 2024 for users signed in with a Microsoft Entra account.
[5] EDP experience may vary based on your Entra account service SKU.
Grow your Business with Copilot for Microsoft 365 - August 2024
Welcome back to Grow Your Business with Copilot for Microsoft 365, a monthly series designed to empower small and midsized businesses to harness the power of AI at work.
My team works with a wide range of small and midsized businesses. And while each is unique in their own way, we’ve found that regardless of size, industry, or market, they basically want the same thing: to grow. To attract more customers. To boost revenue. To scale efficiently.
Make sure to also check out our weekly Copilot productivity series that just launched, as well as the new Copilot Success Kit, your one-stop shop for getting ready and implementing Copilot.
PKSHA Technology - Embracing AI
Staying on the cutting edge - PKSHA Technology is doing just that by using the power Copilot for Microsoft 365 to grow their business and evangelize AI to their customers so they can do the same.
PKSHA Technology is a midsized company based in Tokyo, Japan. PKSHA develops algorithmic solutions and AI technologies that help companies become more efficient and improve their processes – they believe algorithms can solve some of the world’s biggest challenges. With effective roll out techniques, PKSHA leveraged Copilot to create new hire shortcuts, improve their customer management, and shorten the process from product roadmap to feature enhancements.
Onboarding Shortcuts with AI
As PKSHA experienced rapid growth and hired new employees, and like most businesses, they found pain points in the onboarding process. It was difficult to ensure new hires had access or could find the information they needed. Onboarding new employees and getting them up to speed can also be a very demanding process for your current employees.
With the help of Copilot, PKSHA employees task Copilot to search for the information they need. This ultimately shortens the time for new hires between their first day on the job to making a true impact! It also frees up time for those tasked with onboarding them into role, taking advantage of the fact that much of the company internal intel is now at their fingertips with Copilot.
There are many ways that Copilot can help accelerate onboarding. For example, while attending a team meeting, using Copilot to ask clarifying questions. The “personal chat” with Copilot allows you ask questions about the meeting while not interrupting the flow of the meeting. As a new hire, creating documents, proposals, or paper can be hard as you are still learning the tone, voice, and preferred format of your new company. Using Copilot in Word, you can reference other documents to get to your first draft faster. Managers are also able to use Copilot to create onboarding documents and processes much faster to help employees orientate themselves to their new organization.
Customer Management
High-touch customer service can be a very time-consuming task that requires thorough preparation and detailed follow-up communications. Prior to Copilot, PKSHA Customer Success specialist, Ms. Takeuchi, would spend hours preparing information prior to calls and afterwards transcribing notes and documenting follow-up actions. Now, she uses Copilot to quickly assemble materials in advance, organizes to-dos and shares action tasks with customers immediately after the meetings. With her administrative workload considerably reduced with Copilot in Teams, Ms. Takeuchi is able to dedicate more time focusing on her customers and activities that matter the most, maximizing care, attention, and service quality.
Product Development
A streamlined customer feedback loop that feeds into an issues list and ultimately product enhancements... sounds like an operational dream. With Copilot, PKSHA is making that dream closer to a reality. The PKSHA team leverages Copilot in Teams and Excel for gathering customer intel and feedback. By using Copilot in Teams to summarize and organize product feedback they receive to easily surface product needs and create a centralized log of possible product improvements. This process creates a shared knowledge base that team members across their product groups can reference, instead of disparate information silos, resulting in greater coordination and faster delivery of product enhancements. In parallel, the customer success team also uses Copilot in Excel to identify trends in the customer data. These trends help the team create meaningful recommendations for their customers. With Copilot, the team overall saves up to 4 hours of time spent on data analysis.
Creating AI Champions
When introducing any new technology tools in the workplace, it’s crucial to have the right adoption plan in place. Often a pilot group is part of any successful roll out plan. The pilot approach is baked into PKSHA’s vision for their company. PKSHA utilizes new AI solutions internally first to better evaluate how they can solve client needs with those AI solutions. In order to both test and drive the internal adoption of AI, PKSHA created their Future Work Black Belt Team. Creating an AI leadership team is a best practice that Microsoft has witnessed across its Copilot customer base. Read more details about how to stand up your own AI Council here.
Accelerating AI innovation with Copilot
The productivity and collaboration benefits of Copilot enable the team at PKSHA to focus more on their core mission of creating better AI solutions and technologies. Just like PKSHA is all about harnessing the power of algorithms to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges, Copilot gives them the power to fuel their innovation, creativity and efficiency amidst their AI development.
We are so excited to see PKSHA and other small and medium companies harness the power of Copilot to grow! Tune in next month for another example of how Copilot helps unlock more value and opportunity. If your company has used Copilot for Microsoft 365 to grow and you’d like to share your story, we’d love to feature you! Comment below to let us know you're interested and a member from our team will get in touch!
Want to try out some of the ways PKSHA used Copilot for Microsoft 365? Check out the following resources:
- Visit Scenario Library use case on using Copilot in onboarding
- Check out the new SMB Success Kit and accelerate your Copilot adoption today
- Read the full PKSHA story here
For adoption content visit Microsoft 365 Adoption - Get Started
For the latest SMB AI insights follow Microsoft 365 blog
Angela Byers
Microsoft
Senior Director, Copilot & Growth Marketing for SMB
Meet the team
The monthly series, Grow Your Business with Copilot for Microsoft 365, is brought to you by the SMB Copilot marketing team at Microsoft. From entrepreneurs to coffee connoisseurs, they work passionately behind the scenes, sharing the magic of Copilot products with small and medium businesses everywhere. Always ready with a smile, a helping hand, and a clever campaign, they're passionate about helping YOUR business grow!
How Microsoft deploys foundation models
The foundation models that power Microsoft’s AI experiences are evolving constantly, becoming more powerful and efficient. In recent months, we’ve received questions from customers about which foundation model or models Microsoft deploys in its Copilot for Microsoft 365 service.
Today, Copilot for Microsoft 365 uses a combination of foundation models, allowing us to match the specific needs of each feature – e.g., speed, creativity – to the right model.
We are consistently evaluating and aligning the capabilities of both existing and new foundation models. When we can demonstrate that any model enhances the capabilities of Copilot for Microsoft 365, we will make necessary changes to incorporate that model and improve our customers’ experiences.
Regardless of the specific foundation model used, we never use your customer data to train those models. Your data is encrypted while it is in transit and at rest and is processed in alignment with the same terms and conditions that apply to all the content your organization generates in our Microsoft 365 services.
Now Available: the Copilot for Microsoft 365 Risk Assessment QuickStart Guide
Copilot for Microsoft 365 is an intelligent assistant designed to enhance user productivity by leveraging relevant information and insights from various sources such as SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook, Teams, Bing, and third-party solutions via connectors and extensions. Using natural language processing and machine learning, Copilot understands user queries and delivers personalized results, generating summaries, insights, and recommendations.
This QuickStart guide aims to assist organizations in performing a comprehensive risk assessment of Copilot for Microsoft 365. The document serves as an initial reference for risk identification, mitigation exploration, and stakeholder discussions. It is structured to cover:
- AI Risks and Mitigations Framework: Outlining the primary categories of AI risks and how Microsoft addresses them at both company and service levels.
- Sample Risk Assessment: Presenting a set of real customer-derived questions and answers to assess the service and its risk posture.
- Additional Resources: Providing links to further materials on Copilot for Microsoft 365 and AI risk management.
Copilot for Microsoft 365 Risks and Mitigations
Bias
AI technologies can unintentionally perpetuate societal biases. Copilot for Microsoft 365 uses foundation models from OpenAI, which incorporate bias mitigation strategies during their training phases. Microsoft builds upon these mitigations by designing AI systems to provide equitable service quality across demographic groups, implementing measures to minimize disparities in outcomes for marginalized groups, and developing AI systems that avoid stereotyping or demeaning any cultural or societal group.
Disinformation
Disinformation is false information spread to deceive. This QuickStart guide covers Copilot for Microsoft 365 mitigations which include grounding responses in customer data and web data and requiring explicit user instruction for any action.
Overreliance and Automation Bias
Automation bias occurs when users over-rely on AI-generated information, potentially leading to misinformation. The QuickStart guide discusses methods of mitigating automation bias through measures such as informing users they are interacting with AI, disclaimers about the fallibility of AI, and more.
Ungroundedness (Hallucination)
AI models sometimes generate information not based on input data or grounding data. The QuickStart guide explores various mitigations for ungroundedness, including performance and effectiveness measures, metaprompt engineering, harms monitoring, and more.
Privacy
Data is a critical element for the functionality of an AI system, and without proper safeguards, this data may be exposed to risks. The QuickStart guide talks about how Microsoft ensures customer data remains private and is governed by stringent privacy commitments. Access controls and data usage parameters are also discussed.
Resiliency
Service disruptions can impact organizations. The QuickStart guide discusses mitigations such as redundancy, data integrity checking, uptime SLAs, and more.
Data Leakage
The QuickStart guide explores data leakage prevention (DLP) measures including zero trust, logical isolation, and rigorous encryption.
Security Vulnerabilities
Security is integral to AI development. Microsoft follows Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) practices, which include training, threat modelling, static and dynamic security testing, incident response, and more.
Sample Risk Assessment: Questions & Answers
This section contains a comprehensive set of questions and answers based on real customer inquiries. These cover privacy, security, supplier relationships, and model development concerns. The responses are informed by various Microsoft teams and direct attestations from OpenAI. Some key questions include:
- Privacy: How personal data is anonymized before model training.
- Security: Measures in place to prevent AI model compromise.
- Supplier Relationships: Due diligence resources on OpenAI, a Microsoft strategic partner.
- Model Development: Controls for data integrity, access management, and threat modeling.
By utilizing this guide, organizations can better understand the AI risk landscape integral to understanding Copilot for Microsoft 365 in an efficient manner enabling enterprise deployment. It serves as a foundational tool for risk assessment and frames further dialogue with Microsoft to address specific concerns or requirements.
Additional Resources
In addition to the framework and the sample assessment, the QuickStart guide provides links to a host of resources and materials that offer further detailed insights into Copilot for Microsoft 365 and AI risk management.
Work Smarter: Copilot Productivity Tips for Inbox Management
No matter if you're an inbox-zero enthusiast or someone who lets emails pile up, one thing is certain: managing emails can be time-consuming and draining. Whether it's personal or work-related, we all face the challenge of a busy inbox. Let Copilot in Outlook assist you in organizing your emails, enhancing your communication, and freeing up your time for what truly matters.
As part of a new weekly series that provides Copilot productivity tips, today our team at Microsoft will share with you three specific ways to use Copilot in Outlook. We launched this blog so you can start every week with more ways to save time at work.
Read along for Copilot tips in Outlook!
Tip 1: Organize my inbox
A quick way to tame that wild inbox is to create systems and categories. This not only allows me to tackle emails one category at a time but lets me prioritize which group I should respond to first.
In Outlook, navigate to the upper right corner and select the Copilot icon. From there will drop down four prompts, select the second one, “Organize my inbox.”
The prompt will now appear in the prompt box for you to fill in the details. For example, I want to make sure I catch up with anything that came in directly from my manager. I could ask Copilot to “Create an inbox rule to categorize all emails from Angela Byers as blue.”
From there, Outlook will bring up the rules box to confirm your directive.
I used to find creating rules a bit of a chore but that has since changed. I now have different rules to categorize emails by subject and by sender, and it's helped me ensure I never miss an important email. The color coding is also visually *chef's kiss*. Rinse and repeat for that email inbox of your dreams!
Tip 2: Catch up
Have one of those days where your email is busting at the seams? Use this productivity tip to get a summary of your emails from Copilot. Navigate to the upper right corner and click the Copilot icon.
Once the Copilot chat has opened, key in this prompt: “Catch me up on emails from the past day. Organize and summarize by topic.”
(I can't show you a screenshot of my inbox or the results, but just give it a try and let me know in the comments what you think).
Tip 3: Draft with Copilot
Now that your inbox is color coded and you’re received a download of your recent messages, it’s time to save some time actually drafting emails. Copilot helps me get more efficient by taking what I hope to convey in the prompt and writing a first draft for me.
In Outlook, you can start a new email (either a fresh email or hitting reply to an existing thread) navigate to the middle of the menu ribbon and select the Copilot logo, from there a drop-down menu will appear, select Draft with Copilot.
Having Copilot work out a first draft saves me an underrated amount of time. I find decision-making much quicker when I have something to react to than when I have to draft something myself.
We hope you can apply these tips throughout the week to tame your Outlook inbox! Stay tuned for more productivity tips next Monday to learn additional ways to unlock more value with Copilot for Microsoft 365!
What’s new in Copilot | July 2024
Welcome to the July 2024 edition of What's New in Copilot for Microsoft 365! Every month, we highlight new features and enhancements for Copilot for Microsoft 365, to keep Microsoft 365 admins up to date with Copilot features that help your users be more productive and efficient in the apps they use every day. And don’t miss the new monthly series designed to empower small and midsized businesses to harness the power of AI at work, Grow your Business with Copilot for Microsoft 365.
Let’s take a closer look at what’s new this month:
Admin and management capabilities:
- Enable a Copilot adoption community in Viva Engage
- Expanded availability of the Microsoft Copilot Dashboard
- Mitigate oversharing risk with extended IT controls for SharePoint Advanced Management
User capabilities:
- Turn prompt inspiration into action with Copilot Lab
- Enhance data understanding with Copilot in Excel
- Craft and organize emails faster with Copilot
- Improved document summarization in Copilot in Word
- Create quizzes using Copilot in Forms
- Improve centralized communications with Copilot in Viva Amplify Editor
- Improvements based on your feedback
Enable a Copilot adoption community in Viva Engage
Network admins and corporate communicators can enable a Viva Engage community specifically built to support adoption of Microsoft 365 Copilot. The Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption community makes it easier for your users to ask questions, seek support from peers and IT admins, and learn best practices for Copilot. The Copilot Adoption community is now generally available for Viva and Copilot customers. Learn more about how it works.
Expanded availability of the Microsoft Copilot Dashboard
The Microsoft Copilot Dashboard is now available as part of Copilot for Microsoft 365 licenses and no longer requires a Viva Insights premium license. We are now rolling out the Microsoft Copilot Dashboard to Copilot for Microsoft 365 customers who have over 100 assigned Copilot licenses or 10 assigned premium Viva Insights licenses.
With this update, the Copilot Dashboard now provides data for all Copilot license holders, providing greater visibility into adoption and impact at your organization. We’ve also streamlined admin controls for easier management and customization.
Mitigate oversharing risk with extended IT controls for SharePoint Advanced Management
Search and Copilot only return content to which users have permission, however, users may inadvertently be given access to more content than they need. SharePoint Advanced Management extends traditional IT controls for content and access governance in to help you manage your organization’s data. Beginning next month, content owners and creators will be able to better protect content through its lifecycle with these simple, powerful tools that help mitigate oversharing risk via both Search and Copilot.
Data access governance reports are a collection of reports that help you discover SharePoint sites that contain potentially overshared or sensitive content, so you can assess and apply appropriate security and compliance policies. Our newest report reflects the latest state of permissions in the entire tenant to help identify sites that have a greater count of permissioned users than the number specified by the SharePoint admin. This feature is rolling out in August.
Site access review will help admins discover potential oversharing within their tenant. SharePoint admins will be able to request site owners to review permissions using the report’s specific context. Site owners will receive a corresponding email that redirects to a site that clearly displays the sharing and permissions, along with actions to take. This feature is rolling out in August.
Turn prompt inspiration into action with Copilot Lab
Copilot Lab empowers users to confidently start their AI journey and maximize the potential of Copilot in their daily tasks with curated prompts. Soon, with a simple click, users will be able to take any prompt from the Copilot Lab website and run the prompt in Copilot with Graph-grounding chat, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel by selecting the “Try in” button within each prompt card. This feature will begin rolling out in August.
Users can visit Copilot Lab today to explore our latest prompt collection or check out Copilot Lab in their favorite Microsoft 365 apps or on mobile to get inspired right in the flow of work.
Enhance data understanding with Copilot in Excel
Copilot in Excel helps users explore and understand data. Now, users can make sense of their data more easily with new features that enable previews of requested changes and support for complex conditional formatting.
Now when users ask Copilot to make changes to table data, Copilot provides a description of the planned changes along with a button to apply the change, providing the user with more information to decide whether to proceed with the update. Users can refine changes and apply them when they’re ready. This feature is rolling out in July.
Conditional formatting can be particularly helpful for users when shaping a worksheet. Now, when users set a conditional format rule, Copilot can include a preview of the conditional formatting style that will be applied and a formula explanation when available. This feature is rolling out in July.
We’ve also added more support for complex conditional formats, so users can ask Copilot to highlight rows or columns based on a combination of inputs. For example, to do this a user can prompt Copilot: "Highlight rows where 'priority' is 'critical' and 'status' is not 'done'.” This feature is rolling out in July.
Soon, users can ask Copilot to add a single formula to summarize column data into one cell. Currently, full column calculations produce a unique result in each row, but this new feature gives users the option to calculate all data in a column together to return one result. This feature is rolling out in August.
Craft and organize emails faster with Copilot
Draft by Copilot is a feature to improve and simplify the process of drafting emails. Users can now ask Copilot to draft an email using the right-hand side chat by selecting the Copilot icon on the top right of the app. Copilot will recognize which email a user is reading, so they can prompt Copilot to help draft a response by asking something like, “Reply to this email confirming...” and Copilot will continue developing a draft in the compose window. Using the same chat experience, users can also ask Copilot to help organize email by using a prompt such as “Move all email from sales@contoso.com into my Sales folder.” Both features will roll out in July.
Improved document summarization in Copilot in Word
Now with Copilot in Word, users can summarize documents that contain up to 80,000 words (depending on language), about four times more words than Copilot was previously able to summarize. Learn more here. This feature is rolling out in July for web, desktop, and Mac.
Create quizzes using Copilot in Forms
Copilot in Forms helps users quickly and easily create forms and surveys. Now, Copilot can help users create quizzes with correct answers based on their intents and inputs, making it perfect for teachers, trainers, or anyone looking to assess knowledge in an engaging and interactive way. This feature is rolling out in July.
Improve centralized communications with Copilot in Viva Amplify Editor
We’re bringing the superpowers of Copilot directly into the Viva Amplify editing experience to revolutionize the way users create and enhance content by providing writing assistance for all communications. Users can simply click the Copilot icon for help with content, style, rewrites, and tone. Copilot in Viva Amplify will be available in preview in August.
Improvements based on your feedback
We continue to collect feedback from IT Pros and end users of Copilot for Microsoft 365. Thanks to your input, we have developed and rolled out many new capabilities and features over the last few months.
You asked for better transcript management, and we rolled out improvements to the view, download, and delete experience of Teams meeting transcript files, explicit consent for transcription in Teams meetings when applied by policy, tenant-wide policy for permission to download meeting transcripts and user-level controls for who can view and edit meeting transcripts.
You also asked for better summarization, and we rolled out summaries based on multiple emails, presentations and Teams chats, referencing multiple files, draft based on text, list, or table selection, support for complex formula columns from multiple tables in Copilot for Excel, and the ability to summarize content in Word with less than 200 words.
In addition, other features we developed to address your feedback include Restricted SharePoint Search enables you to disable organization-wide search and select a set of curated SharePoint sites, and support for Immersive Reader in Word.
Did you know? The Microsoft 365 Roadmap is where you can get the latest updates on productivity apps and intelligent cloud services. Please note that the dates mentioned in this article are tentative and subject to change. Check back regularly to see what features are in development or coming soon.
Grow your Business with Copilot for Microsoft 365 - July 2024
Welcome to Grow Your Business with Copilot for Microsoft 365, a monthly series designed to empower small and midsized businesses to harness the power of AI at work.
My team works with a wide range of small and midsized businesses. And while each is unique in their own way, we’ve found that regardless of size, industry, or market, they basically want the same thing: to grow . To attract more customers. To boost revenue. To scale efficiently.
But in many businesses today, people struggle to get the day-to-day work done. They don’t have the time and creative space to explore innovative ideas that unlock growth opportunities.
That’s where Copilot for Microsoft 365 can help. Companies are already using Copilot to unlock new opportunities to transform and grow their businesses.
For example, Joos, a small company based in the United Kingdom, is using Copilot to expand into North American and Europe.
Working big while staying small
Joos – a market leader in the power bank sharing industry – is using Copilot to boost their productivity and collaboration. By harnessing the power of Microsoft’s secure, comprehensive AI, they are growing their business faster than they otherwise could.
Joos supplies mobile charging stations, solving phone battery anxiety for users on the move. Customers can rent a power bank, charge their devices while on the go, and return it to any Joos station within the network. Since it was founded in 2018, Joos has expanded its reach into more sectors, including healthcare, transportation, retail and hospitality.
Joos, which has around 45 employees, adopted Copilot as a solution to help them improve efficiency without sacrificing innovation or customer engagement. Copilot is helping them work big while staying small!
Grow your customer base
For Joos, a major benefit of Copilot is boosting the productivity of their demand generation efforts. They’ve been able to use that time savings to initiate new ways to grow their customer base even further.
Dominic Comley, the Director of Global Operations, said that as Joos worked to expand the business, the team needed to pitch to new customers and foster relationships. Creating sales pitches, doing market research and creating new marketing materials took them several hours every week, because the team would customize the items within each sector they targeted.
One of the reasons that Joos chose Copilot for Microsoft 365 as its preferred AI tool is because they wanted a unified solution that integrated with the productivity tools their employees already used every day. They knew that Copilot could take their productivity to the next level.
Joos employees immediately started using Copilot in PowerPoint to create branded sales pitches. They use quick content editing and rephrasing to keep each presentation feeling unique and add branded elements automatically rather than searching through asset libraries.
Jeannette Ikonga, Head of Client Success & Customer Experience, said Copilot helps their company be more productive in their marketing efforts.
“Being such a small team, we don’t have a dedicated marketing department. We all pitch in to take on that role,” she said. “Having Copilot link to our SharePoint makes it so much easier to draft marketing articles, press releases and social media content.”
Ikonga said Copilot also enables Joos to expand their marketing efforts further to help grow their business. It helps with outreach to prospective customers in new industries by helping employees research those industries and clients in a fraction of the time it took before.
“If I’m crafting a sales page for hospitals, I can ask Copilot for the pain points in particular environments, and it will search the internet for me. It’s helping me do research and create my presentations at the same time,” she said.
Collaborate more efficiently
Joos’ 45 employees are spread out across Europe, North America, Ghana and China. One of their main challenges is working across time zones, since some team members are 13 hours apart, Comley said.
To accommodate the gap in time zones, Joos employees took detailed meeting notes so colleagues could stay up to date without joining every meeting. However, because of the team’s small size, senior employees often had to manually take the notes themselves, which is not always the best use of time.
“We rotated writing minutes between employees,” said Comley. “But when it’s your turn, you’re not able to participate as effectively when you’re concerned with getting all that information down.”
Now the team uses Copilot in Teams to quickly generate meeting summaries, suggest action items and summarize chat conversations. This has been a major asset in improving meeting productivity and collaboration at Joos.
Ikonga said the integration with Copilot in Microsoft Teams has been a massive game changer for collaboration and sharing across the company.
“The fact that Copilot quickly generates meeting recaps with notes and action items has actually changed the way we structure our meetings,” she said. “We can review the recaps and see where we’ve veered off topic, so we’ve streamlined our agendas to be more effective and skip over the redundancies.”
After the meetings, the team uses the automatic translation function to localize those meeting recaps into other languages. They previously had relied on a manual transcription service that was time-consuming and often inaccurate.
“Being able to immediately communicate with our team in China, without hiring a translator, is a great benefit,” Comley said.
Since implementing Copilot, Joos has significantly improved team collaboration and efficiency. The company is actively working on its expansion across North America and Europe.
“Since Copilot helps us communicate so well across time zones and languages now, we have a foundation for expanding into Canada,” said Comley. The framework with Copilot is helping them foster a team among French-Canadian speaking Canadian customers and co-workers, he explained.
Companies on the grow!
The productivity benefits of Copilot enable the small team at Joos to shift their focus from routine tasks to new efforts that help them expand their business. Just like Joos is all about powering people on the go, Copilot gives them the power to fuel their productivity, creativity and collaboration amidst its global expansion.
We are so excited to see Joos and other small and medium companies harness the power of Copilot to grow! Tune in next month for another example of how Copilot helps unlock more value and opportunity. If your company has used Copilot for Microsoft 365 to grow and you’d like to share your story, we’d love to feature you! Comment below to let us know you're interested and a member from our team will get in touch!
Want to try out some of the ways Joos used Copilot for Microsoft 365? Check out the following resources:
- Learn how to use Copilot in marketing
- Use Copilot to build a customized pitch
- See how Copilot works alongside you in PowerPoint
- Make your meetings more efficient with Copilot in Teams
Check out some of these additional resources to learn more:
- For the latest product news follow What’s new in Microsoft 365 Copilot blog
- For adoption content visit Microsoft 365 Adoption - Get Started
- For the latest SMB AI insights follow Microsoft 365 blog
Coming soon: We're introducing a weekly Copilot productivity tips series just for YOU!
Angela Byers
Microsoft
Senior Director, Copilot & Growth Marketing for SMB
Draft with Copilot in Word on a selection of text, a list, or a table
If you are a document creator, you know how challenging it can be to produce high-quality, engaging, and informative content. You must research, write, edit, format, and proofread your work while keeping your audience and purpose in mind. Sometimes, you may need to generate new content from existing sources, update your content to suit different contexts, organize your content more clearly, or transform your content into different formats or languages.
To support these workflows, it’s often easier to reference or build upon existing content. That’s why we’ve added the ability to draft with Copilot based on a specific selection in your Word doc. This will help to:
- Refine, rewrite, or paraphrase an existing selection
- Elaborate on, expand upon, or explain your selected content in more detail
- Enhance your content with statistics and additional information
Here are some use case examples of how Draft on Selection can help you as a document creator. All you need to do is select the content you want to work with and choose the “Make changes” option that appears.
Transform content into different formats or languages
Sometimes, you may need to transform your content into different formats or languages, such as converting a paragraph into a bullet list, or translating a paragraph into another language. For example, you may need to take a list and expand it to a paragraph with some added context or take notes and turn them into well-formed thoughts with references and statistics.
To do this, simply select the content you want to transform, and type in the prompt that describes the nature of the proposed change. Draft will use natural language generation to transform your content accordingly.
Update content to suit different contexts
Sometimes, you may need to update your content to suit different contexts, such as different audiences, regions, or purposes. For example, you may need to update your content to reflect a US audience's needs, such as changing the currency, spelling, or cultural references. Instead of manually editing your content or using a generic find-and-replace tool, you can use Draft to update your content contextually.
To do this, simply select the content you want to update, and type "update this selection to reflect a US audience" in the prompt. Draft will use natural language understanding and cultural awareness to update your content accordingly. For example, if you select the text “The programme costs £50 per month and includes access to a variety of online resources. You can cancel anytime without any hassle. Please note that this offer is only valid for UK residents.”
Draft with Copilot may update it to: “The program costs $65 per month and includes access to a variety of online resources. You can cancel anytime without any hassle. Please note that this offer is only valid for US residents.”
Organize content more clearly
Sometimes, you may need to organize your content more clearly, such as adding headings, bullet points, or paragraphs. For example, you may need to take the text in a table and turn it into sections of content with section headers. Instead of rearranging and formatting your content manually, you can use Draft to organize your content automatically.
To do this, simply select the content you want to organize, and type "take the text in this selected table and turn it into sections of content with section headers" in the prompt. Draft will use natural language processing and document structure analysis to organize your content logically and coherently. The example below illustrates transforming a table outlining various figures of speech into clear paragraphs structures with headings.
Try Draft with Copilot on selected content today
Using Draft with Copilot on selected text, a list, or a table can help you with your content creation tasks. Whether you need to generate new content, update, organize, or transform your content, Draft with Copilot can do it for you with ease. You can use this to create high-quality, engaging, and informative content for any audience, purpose, or context, and save time, improve quality, enhance creativity, and increase productivity.
This is our first iteration on draft on selected text, a list, or a table and you can expect continued enhancements over the coming months that will include:
- An affordance to more quickly and directly replace the original selected content with the new output
- The ability to attach and reference additional content from other files in this workflow; as you can already do using Draft with Copilot in blank document or new line scenarios.
We are also exploring additional functionality to preserve the formatting of original selected content or direct Copilot to apply formatting to newly generated content and as other modalities and capabilities become available with Copilot these will become available for Draft with Copilot as well.
OneNote Copilot now supports inked notes
Update Sept 17th, 2024: OneNote Copilot supports inked notes are now rolled out and generally available to all eligible users on the current channel with a Microsoft Copilot Pro or M365 Copilot for Enterprise subscription.
We released OneNote Copilot in November 2023, and initially this feature could only read and analyze typed text. But now Copilot is able to analyze both typed text and handwritten (inked) notes in OneNote, both via the ribbon and from the canvas!
How it works
To access OneNote Copilot via the ribbon:
- Open OneNote and navigate to a section of handwritten ink.
- Select the Copilot icon on the ribbon to open the Copilot pane.
- Ask Copilot a question about your handwritten ink notes.
To access OneNote Copilot via the canvas:
- Select a group of ink strokes with touch, pen, or mouse.
- Click on the Copilot icon to open the dropdown menu.
- Select one of the Copilot menu prompts and let Copilot do its magic — summarize, rewrite, or even generate a To-Do list!
Scenarios to try
- Ask Copilot a question about your OneNote notebook that contains handwritten and text notes to get an answer instantly.
- Prompt Copilot to summarize your inked notes in preparation for a meeting or an exam.
- Select To-Do from the Copilot menu on the canvas to create a task list based on the content of your handwritten notes.
Availability
This feature is available to Insiders running OneNote on Windows Version 2404 (Build 17628.20006) or later.
Copilot for Microsoft 365 now supports Traditional Chinese
In our Tech Community blog dated April 29th, 2024 we announced 16 new supported languages for Copilot for Microsoft 365. We also announced the availability of Traditional Chinese but stopped short of offering full support while we worked out some known issues. Today, we’re pleased to announce that traditional Chinese now meets our quality standards and we are formally adding it to the list of supported languages.
Administrators and users are not required to take any actions to use Traditional Chinese with Copilot for Microsoft 365. We are continuously refining responses in every language we support and are looking forward to adding support for even more languages in the coming months.
Did you know? The Microsoft 365 Roadmap is where you can get the latest updates on productivity apps and intelligent cloud services. Check back regularly to see what features are in development or coming soon
Learn how Copilot agents enhance collaboration within your team on Microsoft Teams
Microsoft brings you the goodness of Copilot across apps that you use with Teams. Several of the apps available to you are meant to enhance your productivity. Some of these are now Copilot enabled. What does that mean? They can be used with Microsoft 365 Copilot chat. You can easily invoke these apps on the Copilot chat, use it seamlessly across M365 products and enhance your productivity. This integration of Copilot with some of these apps is going to make searching, querying, and getting prompt support on next steps super intuitive. These will be available to all our users with Copilot license, starting from mid-September. More details are shared below in the form of examples in the subsequent sections.
Benefits of using Copilot agents
Using Copilot agents can significantly enhance your overall Teams experience. They help automate routine tasks, improve efficiency, and foster a more collaborative environment. Best practices include regular updates, leveraging analytics for insights, and encouraging user feedback to refine functionalities. To further enhance your Teams experience, we've curated a selection of innovative Copilot agents that address various business needs. These agents re designed to streamline processes, foster collaboration, and provide valuable insights, helping your organization run more smoothly and efficiently. Below, we introduce four transformative Copilot agents that can elevate your team's productivity and engagement.
Identifying Copilot agents in Teams Store
To maximize the capabilities of Teams, it is essential to incorporate the right Copilot agents tailored to your business needs. Teams Store is the gateway to accessing these powerful tools. Here's how you can identify and select the most beneficial Copilot agents:
Teams Store navigation:
Open your Teams application and navigate to the App Store by clicking on the "Apps" icon located on the left sidebar. This will take you to the main interface where you can browse through a wide range of applications, including the Copilot agents. Every Copilot agent contains a Copilot logo, making it easy to spot them among other apps in the app store. This logo serves as a visual indicator that the agent is powered by Copilot's advanced capabilities.
Copilot agents category:
From the app store landing page, you can go directly to the Copilot agents page from the left tray. This dedicated page provides a curated list of all available Copilot agents. Here, you can explore detailed descriptions, and installation instructions to find the right tools for your organization.
Installation and permissions
Once you have identified a suitable Copilot agent, select ‘Add’ on its description page to start the installation. In case the app is unavailable to you, it might show ‘Request’. Trigger the flow and request your admin to enable the app. Your admin can review the permissions requested by the agent, as this will outline the data it will access and the functionalities it will integrate within your Teams environment.
Enabling and using Copilot agents
1. Enable Copilot agents via Plugins [refer image below]
After you have installed, some of the Copilot agent might not be auto-enabled for usage. You may have to go to the Microsoft 365 Copilot chat and enable them through a toggle. You can find this on the bottom right of the Copilot chat. The chat is present on the top of all your chats page on Teams. Once you open the plugin page on this chat from the bottom right as show in the image below - you will see a curated list of plugins. To enable or disable an agent, click on the toggle button next to the respective plugin. You can acquire more plugins through the side panel.
2. From the Right menu on Copilot chat
Not all apps can be enabled through command invocation and Copilot agents chat. You can find these distinct types of agents in the right menu on the Copilot chat. You can access the right menu on the Copilot chat to find available agents directly from the menu. This method offers a centralized location to manage all your Copilot agents, allowing for streamlined configuration and oversight.
3. Invoking by command
After installing and enabling the , you can use it with a command. Users who like command-line interactions can activate Copilot agents by typing '@' and the agent name on the Copilot chat. This approach is particularly helpful for experienced users who know the specific tools they require.
4. From the agent’s chat
Open the chat area within Teams and navigate to the installed Copilot agent tab. Simply click on the desired agent to enable it. This method provides a quick and efficient way to activate necessary tools without leaving the chat interface, ensuring seamless integration into your daily workflow. Refer the image below to know about this.
5. From the command-line on the Copilot chat
Some Copilot agents can be invoked from the command-line on the Copilot chat. After accessing the Copilot chat, type '@' followed by the agent name in the input field. Once the agent is activated, you can then type in specific prompts to trigger the desired actions.
Four Copliot agents and practical case studies
To further illustrate the ability and versatility of Copilot agents, let's delve into four prominent apps: Microsoft Meetup, Proximity Matrix, Viva Goals, and Mural. Each of these agents offers unique functionalities that can be enhanced through targeted prompts. Below, we examine individual case studies demonstrating how these prompts can be effectively utilized.
Microsoft Meetup
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Overview: Microsoft Meetup is designed to simplify the process of organizing and managing meetings, ensuring seamless coordination among team members. |
Case Study: Knowing guests for the today
Jane, a project manager, uses Microsoft Meetup to keep track of her guests for the day. She has previously invited and scheduled several meetings with different stakeholders using the agent. To see who all the guests for the day are, she types '@Microsoft Meetup' into the Copilot chat, which activates the agent and shows the view prompts option. She clicks on 'View prompts' to see the sample prompts. She then clicks on 'List my guests for the day,' which triggers the agent to display a list of all the guests she has invited, along with their names, roles, and meeting times.
Matrix
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Overview: Priority Matrix is a smart tool for managing high-impact work, improving team productivity and focus. Track personal tasks, balance workloads, and align team goals easily. |
Case Study: Managing personal and team tasks
John, a team leader, seeks better management of personal and team tasks. On the chat page of Priority Matrix in Teams, he activates the agent, views the prompts, and clicks 'Open PM' to see the integrated projects in his workflow. He can use the 1-on-1 view to access Outlook emails, calendar events, OneDrive files, and Planner tasks all together.
Viva Goals
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Overview: Viva Goals is a powerful tool for setting, tracking, and achieving organizational goals, aligning team efforts with strategic objectives. |
Case Study: Seeing snapshot of goals
Sarah, who leads the marketing team, used Viva Goals to set ambitious quarterly objectives. She wanted to track the progress and alignment of her goals with the company's vision. She goes to the chat page of the Viva Goals agent and selects the option 'Show me snapshot of my goals.' The agent shows a dashboard with the status, completion rate, and impact of her goals, and feedback from her team members.
Creately
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Overview: Creately Teams is a collaborative diagramming tool that allows teams to create and share diagrams, flowcharts, and mind maps with ease.
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Case Study: Checking project management templates
David, a product manager, needs to set up a project timeline using the available templates for a new feature launch. He selects 'Show Project Management Templates' from the given options. The agent provides numerous templates, shapes, and icons, allowing him to create a concise and professional timeline. Additionally, he can invite his team members to collaborate and give feedback on the diagram, ensuring everyone stays aligned.
These case studies highlight how Copilot agents can be harnessed to streamline tasks and enhance productivity through targeted prompts.
What’s New in Microsoft Teams | August 2024
August is here, and so are some new features and enhancements that make Microsoft Teams even more powerful and easier to use!
In July, we shared ways you can customize how you express yourself in chat, new options for personalizing your gallery views, and more. There were some great new features to explore, and we have plenty more to share this month.
Two that are sure to create waves are using Copilot to search your chat history using time-based phrases (e.g., “last month”), and Channel cards that show a snapshot of key information about the channel. Read on to find out more about those features and see what else we’re unveiling in these categories:
Meetings, Mesh in Teams, Webinars, and Town Halls
Chat and Collaboration
Time-based prompts in Copilot in chat
There's no need to manually scroll and search through extensive chat histories. Now when you activate Copilot in your chat, you can use time-based phrases like "yesterday," "last month," "6 months ago," or " December 2023" in your prompts. Copilot will efficiently locate and provide insights on information from the time period you specify. Learn more.
Request to join a shared channel via channel link
It is now easier for users to access relevant shared channels and for channel owners to manage memberships. Users that share the same tenant can request to join a shared channel by using the channel's share link. Channel owners will receive the join request and can easily approve or deny requests. While fostering efficient collaboration in organizations, this feature also helps to reduce administrative tasks for channel owners.
Channel cards
Now you can get a quick overview of a channel using its channel card. Hover over the channel name in the header, or wherever the channel is mentioned, to see important information, such as the channel description, last activity time, team name, and membership information, helping you quickly understand the context and purpose of the channel. The card also provides easy access to notification settings, owner channel management, and the channel roster.
Apps now supported in group chats with external users
You can now access applications in group chats with individuals outside your organization, allowing for improved collaboration and productivity. Group chat participants from the tenant hosting the chat can install, remove, or update applications for use by all members. All participants can use apps shared by people in other organizations in group chats hosted by those organizations. The installation of apps within these chats will adhere to the app policies of the organization that creates the chat. Learn more about external collaboration access.
Show/hide discover feed
Discover feed delivers a personalized, relevance-based feed of Teams channel content to make it easier for you to stay informed and engaged with the content that matters to you most. You can now show or hide the discover feed by going to settings > general and setting the toggle to on or off. Learn more.
Meetings, Mesh in Teams, Webinars, and Town Halls
Intelligent meeting recap with AI-generated notes and tasks for GCC environment
AI-generated notes and tasks within intelligent meeting recap are now available in the Government Community Cloud (GCC) environment. Intelligent meeting recap streamlines post-meeting processes by providing a comprehensive recap of meeting events, identifying follow-up tasks, summarizing key points, and granting quick access to essential meeting details. This update adds to the features already available to GCC customers within intelligent recap, which include personalized timeline markers, speaker timeline markers, chapters, and topics. A Teams Premium GCC license or a Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 GCC license is required.
Intelligent meeting recap for unscheduled townhalls for Android devices
Intelligent meeting recap enables unscheduled town hall participants using Android devices to browse meeting recordings by speaker name and topic title. Intelligent recap is an AI-powered feature from Microsoft Teams that will help users catch up on missed meetings with AI-generated notes, follow-up tasks, name mentions, topics, chapters, speaker identification, and more. Teams Premium users can find it on the new 'Recap' tab in the Teams calendar event detail and in chat.
Town hall reactions
Town hall participants can now send and see reactions (for example “like”, “love”, “applause”, “laugh”, or “surprised”) to express themselves in real-time during a town hall. Attendees can select the reaction they wish to temporarily display to the presenters and other attendees via the actions ribbon at the top of the town hall window. Reactions appear as a continuous stream on the side of the screen, giving real-time representation of participant sentiment. Reactions allow organizers and presenters to gauge how the audience is reacting to content. Reactions are available in town hall instances created by a user with a Teams Premium license.
Teams webinar creation and registration APIs
Customers and developers can now use new APIs to create, update, and delete webinars. They can also register attendees to existing webinars. Webinar Creation and Registration APIs is included in all Teams licenses.
Town hall Graph APIs
Graph APIs in town halls allow organizers to create, update, publish, and delete town hall events. Organizers can also get and list Town Hall Sessions, get, list, and create presenters, and create or update presenter profile photos. Graph APIs are included in all Teams licenses.
Town hall export Q&A questions
After an event, organizers can now export attendee questions as a .CSV file. This can help organizers understand the types of questions asked, document and catalog those that have been answered, and get a better understanding of the general sentiment of a town hall. The data can also be shared on a SharePoint site or through email with attendees. Export Q&A questions is included in all Teams licenses.
Cross-Room reaction visualizations for hosts
Mesh event hosts can now see attendees’ raised hands and reactions across all rooms in multi-room events. Multi-room events occur when a Mesh event exceeds 16 attendees, helping to scale these inclusive events to larger audiences. This feature allows hosts to determine the sentiment in events and bridge the experience gap by giving them the ability to see reactions coming from across multiple different rooms in a single event, helping presenters to easily gauge participant feedback from all attendees in larger-scale events. The cross-room reaction visualization for hosts is available in Teams Premium.
Teams Rooms and Devices
Find certified for Teams devices for all types of spaces and uses at aka.ms/teamsdevices.
Join Zoom meetings with an ID and passcode from a Teams room on Android
If your organization has enabled Direct Guest Join meetings for Teams Rooms on Android, you can now join Zoom meetings with an ID and a passcode. To be configured, this feature requires a Teams Rooms Pro license. Learn how to enable Teams Rooms devices to join third-party meetings - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn.
Custom background for Teams Rooms on Android using Teams admin center
This new feature for Teams Rooms on Android enables IT admins to upload custom background images from the Teams admin center. Custom backgrounds can showcase your brand identity or provide support information in your Teams meeting rooms. The main room display, extended room display, and touch console can each have its own custom background image. PNG, JPG, and JPEG, formats are supported. This feature is available with the Teams Rooms Pro license.
Text and UI resizing for Teams Rooms on Windows
With text and UI resizing for Teams Rooms, IT admins can now adjust the size of the text and all other UI elements on the front-of-room display by changing the display scaling settings. Text and UI elements are resized and adjusted for all supported display resolution and scaling combinations, including 1080p resolution at 100-150% scaling, and 4K resolution at 100-300% scaling. This capability is extended to support touch boards.
Yealink CM20 Ceiling Audio System
The Yealink CM20 Ceiling Audio System is a comprehensive package designed as the core audio setup for large conference rooms. It is equipped with CM20 ceiling microphones, CS10 ceiling speakers, Yealink AVHub and a RCH40 E2 switch. One AI-Powered Ceiling Audio package handles standard large rooms, while two can cover extra-large spaces. Each package runs independently, ensuring secure and stable audio. Learn more
Logitech Rally Bar + Mic Pods for Teams Rooms on Windows (with Lenovo Core)
Transform any mid-sized room to a Microsoft Teams Room meeting place with this newly certified for Teams, all-inclusive room solution from Logitech, featuring Rally Bar, Logitech Tap, 4 Rally Mic Pods, and Lenovo Core mini PC. Rally Bar's motorized PTZ camera, room-filling speakers, and a sensitive microphone array deliver a premium user experience that’s easy to install and manage. In addition, the Rally Mic Pods expand your audio coverage with beamforming microphones. Premium materials, thoughtful cable management, and a sleek 10.1” touch controller integrate beautifully into the modern workplace. Learn more
Yealink Teams Phone MP E2 series
The Yealink Teams Phone MP E2 series is equipped with support for the Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP) and Android 13. Designed for common areas, front desks, and offices, the Yealink Teams Phone MP E2 Series provides seamless collaboration. Learn more.
Teams Phone
Callback for call queues
Eligible callers waiting in a call queue can now receive a callback to their phone number when an agent becomes available. Callers become eligible for a callback based on conditions configured by admins such as exceeding a certain wait time, the number of calls in the queue, or the calls-to-agent ratio. Eligible callers will be given the option to request a callback after the music on hold finishes playing, and admins can customize the messaging, key press, and notification email for failed callbacks. Learn more about how to configure callback for call queues here.
Microsoft Teams in-depth: Learning content on demand
Make collaboration easier and smarter. Stay focused, work together, and achieve more with one platform for all your communication needs. That’s what Microsoft Teams is all about. We’re all about clarity and familiarity with the product, how it works, and how our team goes about continuously shaping it into THE smart place to work. And we want you to stay informed along the way.
This article contains ten in-depth videos about Teams – now on demand and embedded below. You’ll discover Teams core improvements, capabilities and upcoming features, insights into AI/Copilot + Teams, Microsoft Mesh scenarios, Teams Rooms tips and tricks, extensibility updates, and more.
All content is as it was presented during the Microsoft 365 Community Conference, presented by top product makers from Microsoft.
Note: Beyond the Teams content below, you can view all recorded sessions on demand now within the full Microsoft 365 Community Conference playlist on the Microsoft Community Learning channel on YouTube. You'll find keynotes, general sessions, and numerous breakout sessions in their entirety. Additionally, this subset playlist has all ten of the Teams sessions.
An overview of Teams in the era of AI
“The future of work with Microsoft Teams” presented by Sumi Singh, Corporate Vice President of Teams Engineering, and Derek Snyder, Senior Director of Microsoft 365 Marketing. Hear about the latest innovations and roadmap for Microsoft Teams. You will also discover how we are investing in cutting-edge AI features that enhance teamwork, see demos showcasing how your whole organization can work smarter, and learn how Teams is expanding to support customer-facing roles with new solutions. Watch below:
Get to know how AI and premium features improve the way you work
"Harnessing Copilot and AI for Teams meeting effectiveness" presented by Shiraz Cupala, Partner Group Product Manager. Discover innovative ways Microsoft uses the power of AI to make your meetings more engaging and effective. You’ll learn about the use of Copilot in Teams meetings to summarize key discussion points—including who said what and where people are aligned or disagree—and suggest action items, all in real time during a meeting. This session helps you understand productivity with Copilot in Teams meetings to have more effective meetings or catch up on ones you missed. Watch below:
"Teams Premium Unveiled: Optimizing AI, Productivity, and Security" presented by Margi Desai, Product Manager II, and Mansoor Malik, Principal Group Product Manager. Unlock the potential of Teams Premium and learn how it can boost your organization's productivity through intelligent, secure, and personalized meeting experiences. This session includes live demos, a fireside chat with our customer, Nestlé – sharing insights from their Teams Premium pilot experience – plus Q&A. The session helps you understand licensing nuances, navigating deployment, and gaining clarity on distinctions between AI in Copilot and Teams Premium. Watch below:
Learn more about the core of new Teams and distinct solutions
"New Teams Productivity presented by Ease and Speed" presented by Kay Davis, Principal Design Manager, Chandra Chivukula, Partner Director of Engineering, and Aarthi Natarajan, Corporate Vice President of Engineering. In this session you’ll learn all about new Teams, including the new simpler UI and greatly improved performance. You'll go behind the scenes to look at how the new Teams makes it's easier than ever to supercharge collaboration and productivity. Watch below:
"Microsoft Teams: Small Business’s Big Partner in Success" presented by Abhijat Kanade, Principal Group Product Manager, and Arun Das, Principal PM Manager. Discover how Teams can revolutionize the way small businesses collaborate, communicate, and grow. Learn about features tailored specifically for small businesses, and how Teams can streamline operations, foster innovation, and drive business success. Watch below:
"Modernizing Customer Care presented by new Queues app in Teams" presented by Sean Gilmour, Principal PM Manager, and Aamer Kaleem, Principal PM Manager. Explore how the new Queues app in Teams can modernize your customer care operations. The demand for Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) has rapidly increased. Businesses in almost every industry have invested in modernizing their customer care and service operations by adopting cloud-based solutions. Discover the strategy for Teams Phone and what is on the horizon with enhanced native Teams capabilities and Contact Center integrations for first- and third-party solutions. Watch below:
Microsoft Mesh | Connect your workforce with avatars and immersive 3D spaces
"Deploying, Scaling, and Managing Microsoft Mesh in Teams for your Enterprise" presented by John Campbell and Brandon Bray. Learn how to enable immersive 3D experiences for your Enterprise. We'll cover how Mesh makes it easy for IT admins to introduce the magic of 3D to their organizations, including examples of existing rollouts, managing VR devices like Meta Quest headsets, and we'll wrap with an overview of our Mesh Toolkit and best practices around creating custom 3D experiences that are tailored for your company. Watch below:
"How all Teams users can connect better presented by Avatars and Immersive Spaces in Teams" presented by Mansoor Jafry, Principal Group Product Manager. Feeling video fatigue? Hear how to use Avatars in Teams meetings. Avatars for Microsoft Teams adds a new layer of choice to your meetings. By customizing your avatars the way you want to look, you can be yourself and let people get to know you in a conversation, even with your video turned off. Learn how to leverage the Lakehouse - a social and team bonding 3D experience with immersive spaces in Teams. Watch below:
Extend Microsoft Teams
"Building Collaborative apps in Teams to Bring People Together" presented by Loki Meyburg, Principal PM Manager. In this session, you will gain insight into developing compelling, high value collaborative apps for Teams. Teams enables you to collaborate around apps by sharing, discovering, notifying, and collaborating on app content in various contexts. You'll learn tips and tricks for leveraging our extensibility tooling and how to build and design experiences that foster collaboration. Discover tools and resources for developers, such as Figma UI Kit, Teams Toolkit for Visual Studio Code, and Developer Portal. Be aware of what’s coming next, such as app rating and review, adaptive card styling, permissions and consent, and instant app tabs. Watch below:
Get to know Microsoft Teams Rooms
"Reimagining back to work presented by hotdesking and BYOD rooms" presented by Christian Schacht, Principal Lead Product Manager. As employees come back into the office, the need for improved hotdesking and ad hoc and huddle experiences increases. During this session, you can learn about how Teams is making it easier for employees to get back to the office and for IT admins to gain improved insights as to how employees are collaborating in hybrid environments and leveraging office assets including desks, equipment, and rooms. Watch below:
Microsoft Teams | The smart place to work
Transform the way you work with next-generation AI capabilities and bring together your physical and digital worlds.
The new Teams experience is reimagined from the ground up making it faster, simpler, and smarter. We have a unique approach with Teams to bring together collaboration tools from across Microsoft, the industry, and custom applications into a unified experience across any device from phones to room systems inside and outside your organization.
New Teams now has full feature parity for almost all features including custom line-of-business apps, third-party apps, breakout rooms, 7x7 video, call queues, PSTN calling, contextual search in chats and channels, cross-post a channel conversation, and more. We have focused on providing high-quality performance and enhancing the basics in areas such as reliability, security, and IT management to make sure that new Teams meets the evolving requirements of your organization.
Our new app is built on a foundation of speed, performance, flexibility, and intelligence—delivering up to two times faster performance while using 50 percent less memory so you can save time and collaborate more efficiently. We have also streamlined the user experience so that it is simpler to use and easier to find everything in one place. These enhancements also provide the foundation for game-changing new AI-powered experiences, such as Copilot for Microsoft Teams.
Check out our new Teams adoption page for more resources and subscribe to the Teams blog. Follow us on Twitter: @MicrosoftTeams and let us know your feedback and feature requests.
Unified Teams app for work, personal, and education accounts is now available on all platforms
Microsoft Teams has transformed the way we connect and collaborate at work and in our lives. To date, there have been two Teams apps on Windows 11 – one for work or education and another for personal use.
We’re thrilled to share that today the unified Teams app is now available on Windows 11, Windows 10, and Mac. This update brings work, personal, and education accounts into a single Teams app.
All your accounts in one place
To add or access additional accounts, select your profile picture in the upper right corner when signed into Teams. Work, personal, and education accounts will open in side-by-side windows from a single Teams app.
Additionally, we know that many users have multiple Teams accounts, so we made it simple to choose your preferred account when joining a Teams meeting. You can also join as a guest without signing in. Whether you’re joining a call to connect with a customer or discuss your school’s fall fundraiser, simply select your preferred account the moment you join the meeting.
Teams for personal use
All users, including those on Windows 10 and Mac, can now connect and collaborate with anyone, anytime - for free – when signing in with a personal email. Schedule free meetings and invite participants with a simple join link. Or create a Community to bring your group together, such as your fantasy football league or your school’s parent organization, in a shared space with calling, chat, file sharing, and more. Get Started with Communities in Teams.
Enterprise administrators who have set sign in restrictions for their users will have these restrictions respected. Learn More.
Get Started
The updated Teams desktop app supporting all account types is now available, joining our mobile apps on Android and Apple. If you already have Teams on desktop, your app will automatically update. You can also download the app today here.
What’s New in Microsoft Teams | July 2024
Welcome to July’s update on Microsoft Teams, where we share some of the new features and improvements that are making collaboration easier and more enjoyable. This month, we have exciting enhancements for your meetings, chats, and communications that will help you personalize your experience, stay organized, and express yourself better. For example, you can now use custom emojis and reactions to express yourself and reflect your team’s culture. You can also enjoy a more engaging and inclusive meeting experience with the new meeting gallery, which places all participants in equal-sized tiles and can automatically highlight certain participants to enhance the meeting experience. And for Teams Rooms on Windows, you can benefit from speaker attribution enhancements, enabling Copilot and meeting recaps to understand who said what in recaps and insights. These are just some of the highlights that I'm most excited about, but there's much more to explore in this update.
Meetings, Mesh in Teams, Webinars, and Town Halls
Chat and Collaboration
Custom emojis and reactions
Bring more creativity and expression into your conversations with custom emojis and reactions. Upload your own custom emojis or reactions to personalize the conversation, reflect your team’s culture, efficiently share status, or share a lighthearted reaction. Once uploaded, custom emojis can only be used within the user's tenant, but once they are sent, they are visible to all members of the chat. IT admins can decide who has permission to create custom emojis, delete custom emojis, or turn off the capability altogether. Learn more.
Search result suggestions
Enhance your search experience with message suggestions. As you type in the search bar, you'll see recent chat message suggestions pop up along with other type of search results, helping you find relevant messages quickly. A new search results filter 'messages', enables you to see recent message result suggestions. These suggestions include details such as the sender's name and profile picture, the context of the message, the date it was sent, and icons indicating the presence of web-links or file attachments. This new feature streamlines your search, making it easier to locate the exact message you need.
Enhanced sound notification controls
Stay focused, prioritize quickly, and avoid distractions by customizing the sound of your notifications. Go to Settings-> Notifications and activity tab, and under Sound assign different sounds to different kinds of notifications, such as urgent messages and priority contacts. Or mute notification sounds when you are busy or in a meeting. Tailor your notification experience to help you stay on top of what matters most.
Turn on/off notifications for a channel post
Stay in control of your Teams notifications by turning on or off notifications for a specific channel post. Tailor your notification preferences, ensuring that you stay informed on topics important to you. To manage notifications, click on the ellipsis (three-dot menu) in the top right corner of a post. If you are following the post, you will see "Turn off notifications." If you are not following, you will see "Turn on notifications."
Teams cross-cloud guest access on web
We are extending existing guest access functionality to the web, allowing guests between tenants across Microsoft clouds who access the Teams app from the browser to participate in rich collaboration experiences in chat, meetings, channels, and teams. Guests can participate in a full collaboration experience including audio/video, screen share, file share and both 1:1 and 1:many chat. Admins can establish trust between tenants and across the Microsoft clouds via Entra B2B and Cross Tenant Access Settings.
Meetings, Mesh in Teams, Webinars, and Town Halls
Meetings: New meeting gallery in Teams meetings
The new meeting gallery provides you with a simpler, more predictable meeting presence, while enabling you to personalize the view to suit your needs. The new gallery places everyone in tiles of equal size whether their camera is turned on or off. While the default gallery size is 16 participants, you can customize the number of participants visible on your screen (up to 49) to best fit your preference. The new meeting gallery will automatically optimize the visibility of certain participants to improve meeting engagement, like those with a raised hand and active speakers. You can also choose to prioritize participants who are on camera to better connect with your teams. Additional customizable views available in the new meeting gallery include the ability to hide yourself from the main gallery or remove yourself from the main gallery (only visible to you). The new gallery experience in Teams meetings is now available.
When a Teams Room joins a Teams meeting, the video tile of the room automatically enlarges, offering a more inclusive experience for participants who are joining online. Remote attendees now have a clearer view into the room and can more easily spot who is speaking. To adjust the tile size, simply choose your preference from the more options (...) menu by hovering on the room name.
Events: Presenter orderability on event page in webinars
Event organizers can now customize the list of presenters in the webinar event page via drag and drop functionality to mirror the intended order of presenters within a given event. This option can be found under the "Presenter Bio" section of the webinar set-up dialog box and can be customized until the start of the event.
Events: Manage what attendees see updates for town hall and webinars
It is now easier for event organizers to toggle presenters on and off during town hall events and webinars in the Manage screen. Presenters will now have a “live” indicator on their video feed when they have been brought on screen. Toggle the indicator off to remove their video from the event. This feature can accommodate up to seven presenters at a time. "Manage what attendees see" functionality and control is included in all Teams licenses for town hall and requires a Teams Premium license for webinars.
Events: Town hall events in Government Community Cloud (GCC)
Government users can now set up and host large scale events across a GCC organization with the familiar Teams app using town hall. Town hall capabilities in GCC include a new meeting template, capacity for up to 20,000 attendees, third-party eCDN support, green room access, the ability to “manage what attendees see,” RTMP-in, live translated captions, and more. Moderated Q&A will also be available in the near future. GCC will be available in Teams and Teams Premium.
Microsoft Mesh: Event templates in Teams Premium
Events organizers no longer need to create each new event from scratch. Organizers can now use turnkey event templates to quickly create an event with the capabilities they need already configured. The first two templates available are the Meadow and Oasis environments with the screenshare object included in both. The Meadow environment is a larger, more open environment for experiences like few-to-many events, while Oasis is a good fit for small to medium meetings and presentations. Both environments come with a screenshare panel already placed and ready to display content.Further customization is always possible via the Mesh app to add additional content like videos, images, or text too. Event templates are available in Teams Premium.
Microsoft Mesh: Revisit event links in Teams Premium
A much-awaited feature for events is now available. Use past links you’ve received when you created your event, or share the link with others, to rejoin old events. Simply select the link to open the Mesh application and rejoin your past events. The ability to revisit previous event links is available in Teams Premium.
Microsoft Mesh: More avatar reactions
New avatar reactions allow users to be more expressive. Avatar reactions allow attendees and presenters to gauge how events and meetings, and their content, are being received by participants. The additional avatar reactions can be played in immersive space (3D) view in Teams and in Mesh events.
Microsoft Mesh: Avatar personal boundary
Avatars now have a personal boundary to prevent other people from walking through avatars or standing too close. This helps to increase comfort and safety while in immersive spaces. Avatar personal boundary is available in all Mesh experiences.
Teams Rooms and Devices
Find certified for Teams devices for all types of spaces and uses at aka.ms/teamsdevices.
Speaker recognition and Copilot benefits for all Teams Rooms on Windows
Now, everyone, regardless of microphone types in the room, can benefit from precise speaker attribution in transcripts in Teams Rooms on Windows. With this update, everyone can benefit from detailed meeting recaps and use Copilot, so they can find out who said what and get insightful responses to queries. Microsoft’s cloud-based intelligent speaker recognition analyzes the distinct vocal characteristics of each speaker, such as pitch, tone, and speaking style. First brought to Teams Rooms on Windows, the feature will expand to Teams Rooms on Android devices and the Teams desktop for bring your own device (BYOD) meeting spaces later this year.
IT admins can learn more on activating voice profiles and enhancing the Teams meetings experience with Copilot at aka.ms/speakerecblog. Users can quickly create their voice profile at aka.ms.voiceprofile.
Sennheiser TeamConnect Bar M
Newly certified for Teams, the TeamConnect Bar M is a feature-rich, all-in-one device for mid-sized meeting rooms and collaboration spaces. The TC Bar M includes six microphones and four speakers to deliver Sennheiser audio quality to every meeting. Integrated beamforming technology enables freedom of movement and seamless transitions between presenters, and is complemented by advanced AI video features such as auto-framing and person tiling. The flexibility and audio clarity of TeamConnect Bar Solutions facilitate high-quality experiences for everyone, whether they are in-room or remote. Learn more.
Jabra PanaCast 50
Newly certified for Teams, the Jabra PanaCast 50 intelligent camera supports Microsoft Multi-stream IntelliFrame and features a unique 180° field of view. This provides a panoramic view and close-ups of recent speakers. People recognition technology creates a more inclusive environment by identifying individuals, displaying their names in the meeting roster, and name tagging them on the Teams meeting stage. Combined with intelligent speaker capabilities, the Jabra PanaCast 50 delivers the best AI integration for both end users and IT admins. Learn more.
Yealink WH64 Headset
Newly certified for Teams, the Yealink WH64 Headset is designed for modern professionals who need flexibility and comfort. This headset features wireless technology, catering to flexible working styles, and its ergonomic design provides all-day comfort.
Teams Phone
Explicit consent recording meeting policy support on Teams phone devices
A pop-up notification will appear on your certified Teams phone device when someone starts a recording or transcription, allowing you to accept or decline. This feature is turned off by default but can be enabled by admins in the Team admin center. No content will be captured without consent. Learn more.
Private line on Teams phone devices
Have a dedicated secondary phone number for incoming calls that only select callers can use to reach you directly, without going through delegates, administrators, or assistants. Calls received to your private line can now be received on either the Teams desktop app or a certified phone device. Configure private lines with PowerShell, and easily distinguish the call with a unique notification. Learn more.
Updated People app on Teams phone devices
Manage your contacts more easily and quickly on Teams phone devices with the People app. This update allows you to seamlessly switch between different contact lists and create contact groups. Learn more.
Detailed call history on Teams phone devices
Easily keep track of your calls and see how they are handled. You can see if a call was ignored, missed, or forwarded, and what type of call it was, with clear labeling for different call types. To access your call history, navigate to the Calls tab on your Teams phone device. Learn more.
Call transfer improvements on Teams phone devices
Transfer calls more easily and efficiently. You can access your speed dials during transfer, avoid keyboard overlap on touch phones, and use hard keys on non-touch phones to complete the transfer. Learn more.
Move ongoing calls from the Teams app to the native dialer on your mobile device
Teams Phone Mobile enables you to have a single number as your Teams number and mobile number for flexible, reliable, and secure calling, across locations and devices. As a Teams Phone Mobile user, you can now effortlessly switch an active call from the Teams app to your mobile device's native dialer, ensuring a smooth and uninterrupted call experience.
Prompt Like a Pro: 8 Tips and tricks for working with Copilot in Teams
UPDATE: As of September 16th, 2024, Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 is now Microsoft 365 Copilot. Any mentions of Microsoft Copilot in this blog refer to Microsoft 365 Copilot.
As a reminder, to have access to these features you need a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license!
How to prompt like a pro
Writing great prompts is the key to having better interactions with Microsoft Copilot in Teams. Just like talking to a co-worker, clear communication and certain techniques can help you get better results from some prompts than others. In this edition, we highlight how to prompt like a pro for Copilot in Teams – first by summarizing how and where Copilot can assist you in Teams, then by guiding you through 8 tips to elevate your prompting skills and how you interact with Copilot.
Utilize the following tips and tricks to build your Copilot foundation and start prompting like a pro!
Copilot for Microsoft 365 in Teams
Open Copilot for Microsoft 365 in Teams by navigating over to the chat app in Teams and clicking on the Copilot icon. Here, Copilot will use data grounded in the Microsoft Graph that searches across your Microsoft 365 apps to better personalize its answers. You can draft content, catch up on what you missed, and get answers to questions supported by data from PowerPoint and Word files, Outlook emails, and more - all securely grounded in - and powered by - your work data.
Tip #1: Include more specifics and details in your prompts. This can look like clarifying how Copilot can meet your needs or referencing files, meetings, or contacts that Copilot can leverage to provide a richer output. For example, instead of asking Copilot a simple prompt like "summarize the Fundraiser meeting," ask it to "Recap the Fundraiser meeting and suggest an agenda for a follow-up meeting based on any outstanding items. Include a table that shows action items and who is responsible for each item." The more detailed the prompt, the better Copilot’s outcome will be!
Copilot in the compose box
Copilot also assists you in crafting more polished and effective messages, straight from the text compose box in your chats and channels. It goes beyond spell-checking and grammar correction; Copilot will suggest improvements, rewrites, and adjustments to enhance the clarity, tone, and impact of your messages. Whether you’re quickly responding to your coworker or sharing a detailed project update with a manager, Copilot has your back. You can navigate to the message compose box anywhere you can write text in Teams and start crafting your message. After you have a suitable rough draft, click on the Copilot icon in your chat box, press “Rewrite,” and watch your message instantly transform!
Tip #2: The “Adjust” option allows you to adapt a message to whatever audience you are talking to, from a co-worker to a friend, your larger team, or even your manager. Simply choose from the range of options in the “Adjust” menu and change the length (concise or longer) or the tone (casual, professional, confident, or enthusiastic) of your message.
Tip #3: Use the "custom tone" option to finetune your message's tone, include additional context, translate a message, and make your writing more inclusive or persuasive! For example, you can prompt that you want Copilot to make your message “longer, cheerful, and convincing” and Copilot can apply those changes instantly in the compose box - without you needing to leave your flow of work.
Copilot in chats and channels
If you’re checking the latest messages in a group chat or seeing what the newest updates are in your project’s channel, Copilot is there to transform the way you work. From an open chat or channel select the Copilot icon to expand a dedicated Copilot window to pull information from the specific chat or channel you are in. Did you just get back from a week off work and want to know what you missed? Or if your name was mentioned and why? Copilot quickly analyzes past messages, files sent, and other relevant information to provide answers to whatever you need help knowing about your chats and channels.
Tip #4: Catch up on information faster by asking Copilot for key takeaways from a chat or specific information you missed. You can even reference a chat participant in your prompt - like asking "What files has Erin shared?"
Tip #5: Copilot can help you with personal tasks and action items you might have missed. Instead of asking “What were the follow-up items,” make it personal! Ask "Do I have any follow-up items?" or "What is my highest priority task?"
Tip #6: Copilot in chats and channels will give better responses with more specific directions. Try sending it this prompt detailing how you want to receive information: "Create a table with everyone's action items. Include the action item, person's name, and due date."
Copilot in Teams meetings
Copilot in Teams meetings helps you catch up, brainstorm, and get to decisions faster. Simply join your meeting\ and click on the Copilot icon to begin using Copilot. Copilot will need transcription to run (unless it’s set to “Only during the meeting” by the organizer). Clicking on Copilot will prompt you to start the transcript if it hasn’t started already.
Copilot can help you catch up on anything you’ve missed in the meeting so far, suggest questions to ask the other meeting participants, and more. It can even organize the ideas shared during the meeting in an easy-to-read table that you can share after the meeting. Copilot expands on the built-in summaries provided by intelligent meeting recap by enabling you to ask any question about the meeting, helping you get deeper insights into the topics you’re interested in. For the best experience, ensure that recording or transcription are turned on for your meeting. To use Copilot in Teams meetings without retaining a transcript of the meeting discussion, meeting organizers can set Copilot access to ‘Only during the meeting’ from the meeting options. When selected, users will only be able to interact with Copilot during the meeting, and they won’t be able to access Copilot, their previous interactions with Copilot, or intelligent meeting recap after the meeting ends. Learn more here.
Tip #7: Go beyond meeting summarization by using Copilot to help drive alignment and improve meeting outcomes. During a meeting, use prompts such as “What questions are unresolved?” and “Suggest follow up questions” to help improve meeting efficiency and productivity.
Tip #8: Ask Copilot to format and categorize the discussion points to help you stay organized with next steps. After the meeting, use prompts such as “List different perspectives by topic” or “List the pros and cons of the [INSERT TOPIC] decision in a table format” to visualize the discussion points in new ways that help you stay on track.
Extra prompting guidance
A lot goes into the foundation of a good prompt. For example, including a detailed persona - as laid out in this template - can help anchor Copilot into a specific mindset and expertise that you're looking to deliver in your prompts.
Additionally, see this sample prompt used to gather insights for team brainstorming sessions with leadership. Not all prompts need to be this long but pay attention to the detailed persona and context added to the prompt which helps drive easily referenceable output in a table format.
Finally, make sure to iterate and regenerate. Often, your first result isn’t the final or best response. If you’re not satisfied with the results Copilot gave you, revise your prompt, follow the best practices laid out in this blog, and try again. Working with Copilot is all about building your conversation, and figuring out what communication style works best for your scenario is key to prompting even better with Copilot in Teams.
Additional resources
If you want to learn more about how to take your prompting skills up a notch and achieve better business outcomes with Copilot, we highly encourage you to read the article Five tips for prompting AI, which dives into the structure of a prompt for better communication. And for more examples of prompts that Copilot can help you with, check out Copilot Lab! Filter by specific Microsoft 365 apps to learn what kinds of prompts to use for a variety of different work scenarios and get tips for better optimized prompts with Copilot!
What’s coming next
If you’re already using Copilot in Teams, share your favorite Copilot in Teams tips and tricks in the comments for the chance to get featured in a future “Prompt Like a Pro” blog! And be sure to follow the Teams MTC site so you never miss upcoming blogs. Happy prompting!
*To reference a specific person, file, or meeting with Copilot for Microsoft 365 in Teams, simply add a “/” to your prompt.
Copilot in Teams is constantly evolving and improving thanks to your input and feedback. If a Copilot prompt does not work the way you expect it to, let us know how by using the thumbs-down button that appears after a response.
Get the most out of any Teams Rooms meeting with speaker recognition and Copilot
AI-powered speaker recognition technology has now expanded to all Teams Rooms on Windows devices, regardless of the microphone type. This was previously only available with intelligent speaker equipment in the room. Now any Teams Room on Windows can enhance meeting experiences with precise speaker attribution and intelligent insights from Copilot. Everyone can be recognized and get the most from Copilot with our cloud technology, Teams Rooms devices such as Surface Hub 3, and other devices certified from partners.
Microsoft’s intelligent speaker recognition analyzes the distinct vocal characteristics of each speaker, such as pitch, tone, and speaking style. We think of it as a voiceprint for each participant, akin to a fingerprint for their voice.
There are several benefits to enrolling your voice to enable speaker recognition. Background noise is suppressed so that calls and meetings are easier to hear with noise suppression using voice isolation. Intelligent recap and Copilot are enabled because speakers in meetings are identified and whatever they say is attributed to them in the transcript.
In a hybrid meeting without speaker recognition, the video and audio feeds of participants in the room are assigned to the location (e.g., Conf room 1245) rather than each speaker. This makes it difficult to identify individuals’ contributions, summarize everyone’s perspectives, or address action items.
With speaker recognition, Teams Rooms can identify speakers during live transcription in shared meeting rooms, ensuring clear and precise voice capture for every participant. This allows you to effortlessly track who said what during the meeting through the meeting transcript and to enable intelligent meeting recap and Copilot.
Getting started is easy for IT and individual users
Identifying each speaker is a crucial input for Copilot in Teams. It utilizes the meeting transcript so it can deliver summaries, insights, and action items. End users can easily create a voice profile in the Teams desktop. Go to aka.ms/voiceprofile to quickly set it up.
For organizations, an IT admin needs to enable voice enrollment using Teams meeting policy and PowerShell scripts. For admins to enable an organization’s users and Teams Rooms, there are three easy steps:
- Connect to Teams PowerShell
connect-MicrosoftTeams - Enable speaker recognition for the Teams meeting policy that is assigned to your Rooms
Set-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity MTRRoomsUS -roomAttributeUserOverride Attribute -AllowTranscription $true - Enable enrollment for the Teams meeting policy that is assigned to your users
Set-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity USUsers -EnrollUserOverride Enabled -AllowTranscription $true
Note: Please replace “-Identity MTRRoomsUS and USUsers” with the correct policy names for which you want to enable this feature. Alternatively, you can use the Global policy.
Get the information and enrollment scripts you need to enable voice profiles, speaker recognition, and the intelligence of Copilot in your organization at Overview of voice and face enrollment - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn.
Even if you are still waiting for approval to use voice and face enrollment, you can turn it on now for the Teams Rooms you have. This will immediately distinguish individuals from the room and help users get the most out of intelligent recaps and Copilot.
Biometric profile security you can count on
We know security and privacy is of the utmost importance for organizations. Microsoft takes our commitment to ensure data security, including biometric profiles, very seriously.
The voice and face data for users is encrypted at rest and in transit and is protected by Microsoft's security and privacy policies and practices. The voice and face data for users is stored in the same region as their Microsoft Teams data and storage is GDPR compliant. Users can unenroll their voice or face profile at any time. Profiles are automatically deleted when a Teams account is deleted or if not used for one year. Learn more about data handling and retention practices here.
Get started today
We are excited to make this cloud-powered feature available now for all existing microphones first on Teams Rooms on Windows. Later this year, this feature will extended to Teams Rooms on Android and the Teams desktop for bring your own device (BYOD) meeting spaces.
While we're delighted to extend the capability of speaker recognition to more rooms, it's important to note that the quality may not match that of an intelligent speaker device. Intelligent speakers are designed with multiple microphones to provide high-quality audio, maximizing accuracy in recognition and transcription and boasting an industry-leading reduction of word error rate. In rooms where top-quality transcription and attribution are imperative, it’s worth it to assess the benefits of integrating intelligent speaker hardware certified for Teams. Find devices certified for Teams at aka.ms/teamsdevices.
Use these resources to enable voice profiles, speaker recognition, and Copilot for your organization’s meetings now:
Overview of voice and face enrollment - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn
Manage voice recognition technology controls for an Intelligent Speaker
What’s New in Microsoft Teams | June 2024
In June, we introduced exciting enhancements to Microsoft Teams. I regularly use Copilot compose to help make my draft messages clearer and in the tone that I’m aiming for. Additionally, the new meeting organizer controls let me manage access to meeting transcripts, recordings, AI-generated recaps, and Copilot. Even simple updates make a big difference in my daily work, like the ability to mute and unmute myself from the Windows taskbar.
The monthly blog covers everything from chat to meetings and town halls, from Teams Phone to Teams Rooms, and more. Whether you're a regular Teams user, an IT administrator, or a frontline manager, you'll find something new and exciting. And every month we highlight new devices that are certified and ready to use for Teams. You can find more devices for all types of spaces and uses at aka.ms/teamsdevices.
Read on to discover new ways to increase your productivity.
Meetings, Mesh in Teams, Webinars, and Town Halls
Fundamentals
New VDI solution for Teams
We have redesigned the existing VDI optimization for Teams, which will enables enhanced performance (e.g., faster meeting joins, new codecs), reliability (higher success rates for creating and joining meetings and screensharing), and supportability (via Teams admin center and Call Quality Dashboard). This new optimization offers additional features such as advanced meeting capabilities, and a simpler app update experience.
Chat and Collaboration
Customize your draft message when you compose with Copilot
You can now instruct Copilot to adjust your draft message however you'd like. To try it out, write a message in chat or channels, open Copilot beneath the message box in Teams, choose to adjust the message with a custom prompt, and type your own prompt, like “add a call to action” or “make it persuasive" or "convert my message into a list and add inclusive language." Copilot will adjust the message accordingly. This feature requires a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license. Learn more here.
Intelligent message translation in chats
When you get a message in a different language, you will see a suggestion to translate the message into your preferred language. Additionally, in your translation settings, you can select which languages you don't want to translate, and whether to translate messages automatically. These features reduce the need for manual translation or switching between apps, streamlining the workflow, saving valuable time and enhancing communication and collaboration across different language speakers. Learn more.
Slash commands
Slash commands provide a quick, user-friendly, and consistent interface to take command of your actions fast. Instead of multiple mouse clicks to perform a task, like when you need to open a chat in a new window, add a code block, navigate to settings, or change your presence, you can simply type a slash in the compose box, select a command, and complete your task quickly.
Meet now in Teams group chat
If you need to discuss and brainstorm with your team, start a quick and informal huddle using meet now in a group chat. Meet now in group chat enables ad-hoc calls in real time with your team, providing an alternative to a formal, scheduled meeting. Regardless of your whereabouts, you can start a call as spontaneously as dropping by your colleague’s desk. The chat is part of your ongoing group chat thread so the content stays in its context and you can find the information when you need it. With meet now it is easier to see if colleagues are talking about an issue in real-time and giving an easy to way to join.
Co-edit code blocks
Save time by using Loop components to share and co-edit code in Teams, instead of sending many code blocks. Just insert your code into a Loop component or turn a native code block into one. Then, anyone who can access the Loop component can review and co-edit it, making communication clearer and faster.
Unfurling permalinks to see code previews
You can now share code with your team in chat more easily by pasting a permalink that shows a rich preview from Azure Dev Ops. The receiver can view the code in Azure DevOps. This helps your team understand the context without leaving the chat.
Streamlined compose box
The compose box UI has been updated to improve your messaging experience, making it simpler and more intuitive to craft and send messages. The redesign offers a cleaner layout and better-organized options directly from the compose box, enabling quick access to frequently used functions like message editing, emoji insertion, Loop components, and Copilot assistance. To explore a wider range of tools and features, such as file attachments, video clip recording, or adding apps to the conversation, click on the plus sign to access the extended menu.
Enhancements for multi-tenant organization (MTO) users
We’re introducing new improvements to support consistent and seamless collaboration experiences for users in different tenants within the same parent organization, such as conglomerates or organizations that have merged. These improvements include:
- The "External" label will be removed from the chat list and chat header, so you will no longer see it when collaborating with users from other MTO tenants.
- Users can view richer profiles for people from other MTO tenants, including their profile picture and contact information. These profile pictures are now shown consistently throughout the Teams UI.
- Users can share files with other MTO users in 1:1 and group chats.
- Users can access all their chat threads with new messages from one place, directly from their home tenant, with no tenant switching required.
- MTO admins now have an option of configuring text-based labels for each participating tenant, which will then be displayed for each user from respective tenants. Learn more here.
Meetings
Extend Copilot in Teams meetings capabilities with a Copilot for Sales plugin
Now, you can extend the power and knowledge of Copilot in Teams meetings for your sales organization by enabling a plugin to connect to Copilot for Sales. With this plugin, Copilot can process conversations in real time and return insights to sellers, such as an overview of an account opportunity, based on your organization’s Copilot for Sales data. Copilot can also suggest dynamic prompts for querying account information when sellers mention keywords and names during a discussion. You can enable the plugin with just a few clicks, and sellers can turn it on from the Copilot plugin menu. Copilot’s ability to intelligently surface data and insights from your organization’s Copilot for Sales knowledge base during customer meetings can transform your sellers’ efficiency and drive better meeting outcomes. This feature began rolling out in June.
Meeting organizers can manage access to meeting recording, transcript, and AI-generated insights
Meeting organizers now have an option to manage which attendees have access to the meeting recording, transcript, and AI-generated insights that are based on the transcript, like Copilot queries and intelligent meeting recap. Meeting organizers can select from three options: (1) Everyone (2) Organizers and Co-organizers, or (3) Specific People. By default, access is set to ‘Everyone,’ but meeting organizers can change this before the meeting starts. This new meeting option is currently rolling out to Copilot for Microsoft 365 licensed users and will be available to Teams Premium licensed users next quarter.
Meeting notes powered by Loop are available for Channel meetings
Meeting notes powered by Loop are already an essential feature in scheduled meetings, but now they are available in Channel meetings. Participants can collaborate on the agenda, take notes together, and track follow-up tasks in the same place. Because meeting notes are Loop components, they stay in sync across all the places they have been shared. Meeting notes eliminate the typical bottleneck of a single note-taker for capturing the agenda and notes, and makes notes visible to everyone, improving accuracy and inclusion at every stage of your meeting.
Meeting notes powered by Loop are available to Government Community Cloud (GCC) environments
Meeting notes powered by Loop are now available to our GCC customers. Meeting notes enable meeting participants to co-edit the meeting agenda, notes, and tasks in one place. Because meeting notes are Loop components, they stay in sync across all the places they have been shared.
Presenters can move the presenter toolbar and optimize video in Microsoft Teams screensharing
Now, when you share your screen in a Teams meeting, you can easily move the Presenter toolbar to any place you want on your screen so that you can still see the important areas of the screen when you’re presenting. We’ve also added a new feature to the Presenter toolbar in Teams that lets you manually optimize video playback when screensharing. Use the ‘Optimize’ button on the Presenter toolbar to make sure your content runs as smoothly as possible.
Enhancements to meeting transcript file storage and management
We are excited to share that we are standardizing the storage of meeting transcript files to OneDrive for Business, and bringing parity to the file management experience for meetings with only transcription enabled and meetings with both transcription and recording enabled. This change will simplify the management of meeting transcript files. The changes included in this rollout are:
- Meeting transcript files for transcription-only meetings will start saving to the OneDrive for Business folder of the meeting organizer (for scheduled meetings, Meet Now, Townhall, and Webinar).
- In the coming weeks, we will deprecate the storage of meeting transcript files in Exchange Online. But, starting with this rollout, all Teams client actions and entry points will only point to transcript file saved in the OneDrive for Business folder.
- Until the deprecation of storage in Exchange Online is complete in the coming weeks, with this rollout, when the meeting organizer or co-organizer deletes the transcript in the Microsoft Teams app, this will delete both copies of the transcript (from OneDrive for Business and Exchange Online).
- Default permissions are updated so that only meeting organizers and co-organizers have permission to download or delete the meeting transcript file, while meeting participants only have viewing permissions for the transcript in Teams client and Stream.
- Meeting organizers can update file permissions in Stream and select which participants have permission to download, view, and edit the transcript in Stream.
- The existing admin policy for default expiration time for meeting recordings will now also apply to the meeting transcript files stored in OneDrive for Business for transcription-only meetings.
- Customers who use Microsoft Purview can now use auto-apply retention label policies (requires one of the E5/A5/G5 SKUs) to set explicit retention & expiration controls on Teams transcripts stored in OneDrive for Business in addition to recording.
Expanded admin policy for who can download meeting transcripts
The existing admin policy to block permissions for the download of meeting recordings is expanding to include blocking permissions to download meeting transcript files (stored in OneDrive for Business) for any users within the tenant. This policy applies to new meeting transcripts across the entire organization. Administrators can exempt people who are members of specified security groups from the policy. This allows admins to specify governance or compliance specialists who should have download access to meeting transcripts. This control will be available through the SharePoint Advanced Management add-on license.
Require participant consent for meeting transcription
The meeting policy that requires explicit consent to be recorded is expanding to include transcription. When the policy is applied, a notification will pop up when the recording or transcription is initiated, requesting consent of all participants to be transcribed and recorded. Before a user gives consent, the user cannot unmute, turn on camera, or share content in the meeting.
Mute and unmute yourself from Windows taskbar in Microsoft Teams
We know there are times during a Teams meeting when you need to multitask – we all find ourselves needing to toggle to a different screen or pull up a document. Getting back to the Teams meeting to mute or unmute yourself can be difficult. In the new Teams experience on Windows, you can now see your microphone and your mute/unmute status from the Windows taskbar. From there you can also mute and unmute yourself by clicking the microphone icon. Now it will be much easier to control your microphone during a Teams meeting while multitasking.
SMS notifications for staff-scheduled appointments in Bookings
You can now set up SMS text notifications in Microsoft Bookings to be sent to the person for whom an appointment is scheduled. This is a welcome change to the current feature, which only sends SMS notifications when appointments are scheduled by an attendee via a published booking page. With this update, SMS confirmations and reminders can be sent to attendees even when appointments are booked by a scheduler or a staff member through the calendar scheduling experience in Bookings. This feature is available to Microsoft Teams Premium license holders.
New avatar wardrobe options for Mesh in Teams
It is important for your avatar to look and interact like you would. In May, we released new wardrobe options, more professional attire, and improved texture, fit, and color of the clothes available in the Avatar Builder.
Mac access for Mesh in Teams
Beginning rollout to general availability in June, Mesh will be accessible via Mac.
Disable social share of Teams webinars for individual event attendees
With disable social share of webinars for attendees, Teams webinar organizers can prevent attendees from sharing the webinar event page to social networking sites for public events post-registration. This allows organizers to more closely control their specific audience for an engagement to those intended attendees.
Teams Rooms and Devices
Find certified for Teams devices for all types of spaces and uses at aka.ms/teamsdevices.
Multi-panel check-in on Teams panels
In a conference room with multiple panels, check-in and room release are synchronized across all panels for accurate reflection of the room's status and availability.
Bookable desks
Teams lets users automatically reserve desks on the spot when they connect to the monitor or other equipment at a desk and share their location to collaborate better with others in the office. This feature enhances hot desking or hoteling office experiences. For IT teams, this also means they can track desk peripherals in the Inventory provided in the Microsoft Teams Rooms Pro Management portal.¹ IT admins can take advantage of automatic device discovery in the Teams desktop or use the free PowerShell Script to collect and import device data when setting up desks. Get started with bookable desks at aka.ms/desksetup.
Poly Studio Base Kit G9 Plus
Newly certified for Teams, the Poly Studio Base Kit G9 Plus for Microsoft Teams Rooms is a reliable, high-performance video conferencing solution for your meeting spaces. Purpose-built for collaboration, the HP Mini IP Conferencing PC with 13th Gen Intel® Core™ i7 processor with extra layer of security by HP SureStart pairs with Poly TC10 IP touch controllers over Ethernet, up to 4 controllers, and enables flexible room deployment from small to large spaces, ready to be paired with certified USB audio and video devices. The included Poly Lens Room lets you easily add rooms for management and monitoring. Learn more here.
AVer CAM520 Pro3
Newly certified for Teams, the AVer CAM520 Pro3 is a versatile Full HD PTZ video conference camera with a 36X total zoom, upgraded AVer SmartFrame, Preset Framing, Smart Composition, and a Sony WDR Sensor. It also provides three output options, including HDMI, for versatile streaming. What sets the CAM520 Pro3 apart is Smart Composition, an embedded AI feature that instantly captures meeting participants' images to enhance video conferencing for meeting equity in medium to large meeting rooms. Learn more here.
Sennheiser TeamConnect Bars
Newly certified for Teams, Sennheiser TeamConnect Bars (TC Bars) enable Microsoft Teams users to experience hybrid meetings that combine high-quality Sennheiser audio with 4K Ultra HD video. Teams Connect Bars are plug-and-play devices for a quick start via USB. Beamforming technology, like in TeamConnect Ceiling solutions, allows movement and seamless presenter transitions. The AI camera features auto-framing and person tiling, and full-range stereo speakers ensure natural speech and intelligibility. Learn more about TeamConnect Bar Solutions (sennheiser.com).
Q-SYS VisionSuite
Newly certified for Teams, the Q-SYS VisionSuite enhances the visibility of participants in the room, providing a more natural viewing experience for remote attendees and enabling teams to feel connected and engaged, regardless of their location. Designed for high-impact spaces, it features best-in-class presenter tracking (driven by this newly certified AI-based accelerator appliance), intelligent audio-based automatic camera switching, flexible camera options, and vision-driven room automation. Learn more here.
Lenovo Wireless VoIP Headset
Newly certified for Teams, the Lenovo Wireless VoIP Headset is designed for modern, open hybrid workspaces. Its ergonomic design makes it easy to wear for extended periods, and you can enjoy 31 hours of talk time between charges.
Logi Zone 305 Headset
Newly certified for Teams, the Logitech Zone 305 headset is a lightweight headset ideal for mass deployment to everyone who needs great audio and a reliable connection for call or video meetings. With 20 hours of battery life, its lightweight design provides long-lasting comfort.
Teams Phone
Intelligent call recap
Intelligent call recap brings one of the best AI features in meetings to calling. Intelligent call recap provides AI-powered insights and recaps of your VoIP and PSTN calls in Teams, helping you to stay focused during important conversations and save time on coordinating next steps. This feature is available for Teams Premium and Copilot for Microsoft 365 users.
Stream music for callers on-hold
Admins can configure streaming music on hold through integration now available with Easy On Hold. Easy On Hold offers different subscriptions, which allows admins to choose from a curated list of licensed music or create personalized voice recordings to provide callers with help information while they wait. Once the streaming content is set up using Easy on Hold’s administration tool, a URL for the streaming source is provided, which can then be used to configure your Teams call hold policy with PowerShell. An Easy On Hold subscription is required to enable this feature. Learn more about how to configure music on hold.
Easily manage Do Not Disturb presence status when screen sharing
We're introducing a setting that allows you to opt-out of your presence automatically transitioning to Do Not Disturb when presenting or screen sharing. When this setting is enabled, you will be able to continue to receive call notifications when presenting, without having to manually adjust your presence status.
Calling features and contact management on non-touch phones devices
We’re expanding the capabilities available on non-touch phone devices and adding support for calling features such as park/unpark calls, busy-on-busy end user settings, auto restart, and the ability to manage contacts and contact groups, allowing you to access the same functionality and convenience as touch phone devices.
Platform
Simplifying the personal app header
For designers of personal apps for Microsoft Teams, this new feature displays a new simplified header bar in your personal apps on Microsoft Teams desktop and web clients. With this change, the 'About' tab and other utility actions will be moved to the overflow menu. In addition, the 'Chat' tab will be moved to a right-hand side panel for apps that support it. Learn more about designing personal apps for Teams here.
Easier discoverability of Workflows templates
Users can see which Workflows template was used when they receive a Workflows card in chats and channels. Teams Workflow cards posted from a template will now include a link to the template used. Users will be able to open the Workflow template and create their own automated Teams Workflows to save them time when completing routine tasks.
New contact center solution certifications
The Teams contact center certification program ensure that contact center solutions work smoothly and dependably with Teams by requiring them to pass third-party testing. We have recently certified IP Dynamics, as a trusted ISV Contact Center partner. With this new addition, there are now 27 Contact Center certified solution partners, and more on the way. Sign up to become a Microsoft Teams certified contact center partner.
Frontline Worker Solutions
Shifts plugin for Copilot for Microsoft 365
Frontline teams can now harness the power of Copilot for Microsoft 365 with the new Shifts plugin. Both managers and workers can ask Copilot to show them their shifts schedule for their specific team, as well as open shifts and time off. With quick insights at their fingertips, frontline teams can manage schedules with more agility and speed so they can focus on critical tasks. Shifts plugin for Copilot is now generally available with both the Copilot for M365 license as well as Microsoft Teams E and F-SKU licenses.
Speech-to-text for Teams Walkie Talkie
Walkie Talkie users on Android and iOS devices can now view captions on the walkie talkie home screen, as Walkie Talkie in Teams will automatically convert speech to text.
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1 To access the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal customers are required to have at least one Teams Rooms Pro or Teams Shared Devices license on their tenant.
The future of Microsoft Teams in VDI
Today we embark on another chapter of the Microsoft Teams story in VDI, with the public preview of a new optimization architecture that brings closer alignment between physical and virtual desktops.
Last year we released a fully revamped Teams app, built on the premise of speed, performance, flexibility, and intelligence, providing a foundation for game-changing new AI-powered tools. Now we are bringing a new media engine that will elevate the user experience in virtual desktops with new features, and further quality, performance and reliability improvements.
Before Microsoft embarked on this journey, we listened to several years’ worth of customer feedback. We collated info from tech support cases. We discussed with IT Admins how they troubleshot. Many of these learnings were incorporated gradually into the existing optimization architecture, stabilizing the platform and paving the way for the transition to the next generation of our technologies. Then, we reviewed our roadmap delivery in the past years, and extrapolated the work required for upcoming features and how we could release them faster.
As a result, Teams in VDI has been re-architected from the ground up, along four major pillars. In this post I will share insights into the goals and expected benefits of the modularization and decoupling that have been implemented for VDI customers.
The public preview applies to Azure Virtual Desktops / Windows 365 and Citrix DaaS/CVAD, for Windows endpoints.
(News will follow shortly for our VMware customers).
Benefits of the new VDI solution for Teams
- Additional features: New media engine that replaces WebRTC, called SlimCore (which is the native media engine used today in the new Teams desktop client) will allow parity between the native Teams app and VDI Teams. While not all new features can come day-one to VDI, we are no longer limited to what WebRTC supports, hence feature gaps can be closed quicker.
- Performance improvements: The same quality and reliability you experience in native Teams client for Windows is now enabled for VDI. With this we are reducing time to join a meeting and call drops, higher success rate when creating or joining a meeting or screensharing, latest codecs and more.
- Auto-updates and decoupling: Microsoft keeps SlimCore evergreen on the user’s device. Whenever you update new Teams on the virtual desktop, Microsoft updates the media engine transparently and automatically for the user (and the Admins), without prompts or reboots. Thanks to this mechanism we can guarantee higher quality since we avoid having newer Teams versions interact with outdated stacks in RD Host/Client or Citrix VDA/CWA. New features can be introduced in Teams+SlimCore directly, without upgrading your VDI infrastructure.
- Streamlined support: With almost no dependency on VDI Partner’s stack, Admins only need to call Microsoft for any issues encountered, who owns the solution end to end. We reviewed the mean time-to-resolution of all the cases we had in the past and plotted a new course. We aim to reduce incident severity, frequency, and likelihood of service downtimes. And we are also doubling down investment on self-help / troubleshooting, with vast documentation on this topic.
Architecture
The new architecture has several key differences from the existing optimization, which relied heavily on our VDI Partner’s stack:
First, you should not expect any changes on new Teams: version 24124.2315.2911.3357 is already bundling all necessary code (vdiBridge in the diagram) for offloading Audio/Video/Screensharing to the new media engine.
The biggest changes are on the client-side. It has been very expensive for IT Admins to keep upgrading the Remote Desktop client or the Citrix Workspace app every time there was a new feature, and this was only exacerbated in BYOD.
To put this problem behind us for good, we are introducing a new client-side plugin (MsTeamsPlugin.dll in the diagram) responsible for virtual channel establishment with Teams on the Server (if you are a Citrix customer, don’t forget this Studio policy), and subsequently for media engine downloading.
Remote Desktop clients for Windows 1.2.5405 or Windows App 1.3.252 (or higher) are bundling this plugin already! Just upgrade to those versions are you are ready to go. And by enabling auto-update on the RD Client or Windows App, you always guarantee to have the latest plugin.
Citrix Workspace app for Windows 2402 can present a UI to the user for opt-in installation. Citrix IT Admins can also deploy this plugin (MSI-based installer) out-of-band on top of any CWA higher than 2203 LTSR / 2302 CR using this link. Global App Config Service is also a viable option for plugin deployments.
The deployment of the plugin is envisioned to be a one-time thing: we have limited the amount of code and logic on it so we can avoid asking customers to constantly upgrade it.
Once a plugin ‘makes it’ to the client, Teams will send instructions for the specific media engine version that it needs and the plugin will do the rest: it will contact Microsoft’s public CDN, download an MSIX package and automatically stage/register it on the user’s device. No reboots or Admin privileges!
Whenever you upgrade Teams on the Server, a new media engine version will be deployed on the client. No more upgrades required on your VDI stack (Server or Client). Plugins are backward and forward compatible with SlimCore versions, and Plugins will clean up unused or obsolete SlimCore versions as well.
Why is this important? Our telemetry showed that version drifts between Teams and deprecated media engines in the RD client / Citrix Workspace app that were not kept up-to-date (one, two or even three years behind sometimes!) were the main sources of issues / regressions.
In contrast, with the new optimization, we have Teams and SlimCore tidally locked, simplifying testing and aligning it with the exact combinations that customers will deploy.
Types of traffic handled by the new Media engine
There are some changes on this area, so make sure you have a conversation with your networking team. ID 11, 12, 47 and 127 must be reachable from the branch office.
On the endpoint, SlimCore is responsible for:
- Interactive Connectivity Establishment (ICE) for STUN and TURN procedures
- Real-time media (audio, video, screensharing) using SRTP (over UDP or TCP).
Where bandwidth isn't limited, Teams optimizes media quality, including high-fidelity audio, up to 1080p video and screensharing resolution, and up to 30fps (frames per second) for video and content. All the same media codecs we use in the native Teams desktop client for Windows are now available for VDI. Hardware acceleration for GPU-enabled devices is also available. Customers looking to implement Quality of Service / DSCP marking on top of the media can now do so from Teams Admin Center. - Signaling (this is a key difference when compared to the existing WebRTC-based optimization) using UDP 3478 with fallback to HTTPS.
For more details, please visit Microsoft 365 URLs and IP address ranges - Microsoft 365 Enterprise | Microsoft Learn.
New features
On top of all the features that are already supported with the current WebRTC-based optimization, we are adding a long-awaited set of new ones:
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Advanced meeting capabilities
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Telephony and voice capabilities
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Better supportability
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(*) for a full list of Premium features that are supported/unsupported, please check out our official documentation
Get started today
Today marks a new era for VDI, we have started the rollout of the new optimization (it takes a few days to propagate to 100% of the users).
And we are just getting started.
As we progress from public preview to GA, we will continue to add more blogs about different topics (supportability and troubleshooting, performance, single server scalability testing, quality of service, and more).
I would encourage you to try out the new optimization architecture and share your thoughts with us. We look forward to hearing from you and helping you get the most out of Teams!
If you’re an admin, learn how to enable the new optimization for Teams today.
Prompt Like a Pro: Transform your messages with Microsoft Copilot in Teams
UPDATE: As of September 16th, 2024, Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 is now Microsoft 365 Copilot. Any mentions of Microsoft Copilot in this blog refer to Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Effective and efficient communication is key when it comes to managing your workday. Whether you’re collaborating with colleagues, discussing project details, or simply sharing updates in a chat, the way you convey your thoughts changes depending on who you are talking to. Microsoft Copilot in Teams’ chat and channels compose box is a powerful tool that helps take your messages to the next level. In this blog, we’ll cover what this AI-powered tool is, how to access and prompt with it, as well as an exciting new feature: Custom tone.
Rewrite your messages with Copilot in Teams chat and channels
Copilot can assist you in crafting more polished and coherent messages, straight from the text compose box in chat and channels. It goes beyond spell-checking and grammar correction; Copilot also suggests improvements, rewrites, and adjustments to enhance the clarity, tone, and impact of your messages. Whether you’re quickly responding to your coworker or sharing a detailed project update with a VP, Copilot has your back. If you have a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license, you can navigate to the message compose box anywhere in Teams and start crafting your message. To start rewriting click on the Copilot icon in your chat box, press “Rewrite,” and watch your message instantly transform!
Get more specific rewrites with “Adjust”
With just a couple of clicks, I was able to improve my message before sending it to my team, all thanks to Copilot. But this is just the beginning. Next to the “Rewrite” button is the “Adjust” option, which lets you specify how you want your message to be altered. This allows you to adapt that message to whatever audience you are talking to, from a co-worker to a friend, your larger team, or even your manager. Simply choose from the range of options in the “Adjust” menu and change the length (concise or longer) or the tone (casual, professional, confident, or enthusiastic) of your message.
Not only is this an easy way to perfect your messages, but it does so without requiring you to type in any prompts. Just choose how you want to modify your message and Copilot does the work for you! If you need further editing, you can always refine your message by stacking different tones and lengths together. “Rewrite” is available for times when you don't have any specific asks in mind for Copilot and want to use it more like a proofreader, and “Adjust” is there to give you specificity on what you want to change in your message. And remember, Copilot is the foundation of your message, but it is always important to proofread and confirm any generated content before you hit send.
Now available: Custom tone
While having Copilot do the work with those pre-set adjustment options is a great, no-prompt way to rewrite your messages quickly and efficiently, there is a new feature that allows you to tell Copilot exactly how you want to turn your writing into the best version of itself: Custom tone.
Custom tone takes everything touched upon with the “Adjust” feature and gives you the freedom to pick how Copilot can rewrite a message for you via an open prompt. With that comes the freedom to ask for multiple changes to be made, which Copilot will complete simultaneously in your rewrite. Do you want to add persuasive language to make your message more compelling? Or add additional context to your tone to give the right impression? Or turn a long sentence into a bulleted list before sharing it with your team? With custom tone, prompting how to change your message gives you the reins to make Copilot work exactly how you want it to.
Custom tone even allows you to bridge language barriers between global coworkers! Simply ask Copilot to translate your message to a specific language. For example, you can prompt that you want Copilot to make your message “longer and cheerful and in Spanish” and Copilot can apply those changes while translating instantly in the compose box - without you needing to leave your flow of work. Now, Copilot in Teams allows you to reach global audiences like never before, making it easier to write and receive messages adapted to you.
Teams messages - your next superpower
A lot of our workday is spent responding to messages in Teams. That may mean you are swamped with messages waiting to be responded to, some that are truly urgent and get buried by all your other unread chats and channels. With Copilot, you can respond faster and more effectively, driving collaboration forward. It helps reduce complexity for you as a writer, making it easier to land your message with each audience, faster. And you benefit as the message’s receiver, too – a message that is easier to understand allows you to act on it more deliberately. Thanks to Copilot, writing messages in Teams has never been easier, and it’s all thanks to an AI feature - powered by you.
Additional resources
For more examples of prompts that Copilot can help you with, check out Copilot Lab! Filter by specific Microsoft 365 apps to learn what prompts to use for meetings, in chats, and get tips for better optimized prompts with Copilot!
What’s coming next
If you’re already using Copilot in Teams, share your favorite prompts in the comments for the chance to get featured in a future “Prompt Like a Pro” blog spotlighting some community favorites! And be sure to follow the Teams MTC site so you never miss upcoming blogs. Before you know it, you will be prompting like a pro as well!
Copilot in Teams is constantly evolving and improving thanks to your input and feedback. If a Copilot prompt does not work the way you expect it to, let us know how by using the thumbs-down button that appears after a response.
Enhance productivity with devices certified for Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is the hub for teamwork, enabling effortless communication and collaboration. By using devices certified for Microsoft Teams, you can elevate your meeting and calling experience. These devices are carefully tested and certified to ensure they complement the Teams environment and make every interaction more engaging and productive.
Why use devices certified for Teams?
Devices certified for Teams are specifically designed to enhance your Teams experience. Let’s explore some the benefits below:
- Quality and Compatibility: These devices undergo thorough testing and certification to ensure they meet the highest standards of quality and reliability, delivering high-fidelity audio and HD video to ensure clear and effective communication. You can easily get started without any configuration required for these devices to work with Teams.
- Firmware Updates: All devices support firmware updates to ensure you have access to the latest features and performance improvements.
- Easily access Teams features: Personal peripheral devices are equipped with the Microsoft Teams button, which are designed to streamline your workflow by providing quick access to essential Teams functions. Let’s explore the functionality below:
- Bring up the Teams App.
- Join a Meeting.
- Raise Your Hand within a meeting.
Optimized performance and reliable calling with phone devices certified for Teams
Certified phone devices for Teams deliver reliable and high-quality calling experiences with Teams, making it easy to make and receive calls. We’re committed to supporting reliable experiences on Teams phone devices and have made the following improvements to support uninterrupted experiences for our users. See the full list of updates here.
Simplified user experience
We continue to invest in new capabilities that create easy to use and consistent experiences for Teams phone devices users. The features below are only a few of the investments we’ve made to help users enjoy a unified experience that makes communication and collaboration easier.
- Enhanced user Experience: We have made updates to the user interface on the Calls app, and the Dialpad, to make it easier and faster for you to navigate and access the features you need. You can now switch between the Calls app and the home screen with ease and enjoy a Dialpad-only view in both portrait and landscape modes, to avoid typing errors.
- New call handling capabilities: We’ve introduced several new capabilities and improvements to help you manage your calls in less clicks. You can now set up call forwarding from the phone home screen, send incoming calls to voicemail, and update your caller ID to make a call on behalf of a call queue phone number.
Performance, reliability, and stability enhancements
We recognize the critical importance of device performance and reliability for our customers using certified phone devices for Teams. We are dedicated to delivering calling and meeting experiences that work when you need them and have made several investments to ensure reliable and consistent communications for our customers.
- Improved performance and reliability: We’re continuously monitoring reliability incidents and have addressed the top issues based on customer feedback. We have made improvements to the Teams app by organizing and updating its building blocks and resources. These updates have noticeably improved app performance, making the app faster to use and load.
- OS upgrade: In collaboration with our OEM partners, we are advancing support for Android OS 12 on phone devices, to ensure users have the latest security updates available.
While Microsoft Teams phone devices offer the most immersive Teams experience, we understand that numerous customers have prior investments in SIP devices. SIP Gateway allows these customers to utilize their existing telephony equipment as they transition to Teams Phone, ensuring that the fundamental calling features of Teams are accessible. Learn more about SIP Gateway and see the full list of supported SIP devices here.
Learn more
- Explore the comprehensive portfolio of devices certified for Teams here. Easily find and buy certified Teams devices through the Teams admin center or within the new device store in the Teams app.
- Stay up to date on the latest feature announcements for certified peripherals and phone devices.
Upcoming changes for creating and managing Teams Phone resource accounts
Microsoft Teams Phone is a cloud-based phone system that enables smart communication and effortless collaboration for Teams users. To enable Teams Phone features such as auto attendants and call queues, resource accounts are required. Resource Accounts These specific accounts are associated with these features and are not intended for actual users.
We are committed to providing secure and compliant services to our customers and users. As part of this commitment, we continuously identify areas of improvement for our security privileges for administrative roles in Microsoft 365.
Currently, Teams administrators can create and manage resource accounts without requiring any user management permissions in Microsoft 365. As part of our commitment to deliver secure solutions that meet the highest standards, we are implementing changes to the management of resource accounts. Going forward, Teams administrators will need to have user management permissions in Microsoft 365 to create and manage resource accounts. This change will take effect 3rd quarter of 2024.
This change will impact the Teams administrative experiences and workflows, as well as the Teams end-user features that depend on resource accounts. To prepare for this change, we have created the guidance below for Teams administrators:
- Ensure you have the appropriate user management permissions in Microsoft 365 to create and manage resource accounts. These permissions include User Administrator, Global Administrator, or custom roles that include the User Management permission. To assign these permissions, use the Microsoft 365 admin center or the Azure Active Directory PowerShell for Graph.
- Review the existing resource accounts in your tenant and make sure that they are configured correctly and assigned to the relevant Teams Phone features. Resource accounts can be viewed and managed in the Teams Admin Center or using PowerShell cmdlets.
- Update your processes and documentation to reflect the new requirements and best practices for creating and managing resource accounts. Resource accounts should have a clear naming convention and description that indicate their purpose and association with the Teams Phone features. Resource accounts should also have a valid license assigned to them, such as Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account
- Communicate the change and its implications to the relevant stakeholders and end-users in your organization. End-users may experience service disruptions or feature unavailability if the resource accounts are not created or managed properly by the Teams Phone administrators. For example, if a resource account is deleted or disabled, the associated auto attendant or call queue will stop working. If a resource account is not licensed or assigned to a phone number, the associated voicemail or conference bridge will not function.
Possible paths forward
To streamline the creation and management of resource accounts, Teams Phone administrators can consider the following options:
- Use split provisioning to divide the tasks of creating and configuring resource between user administrators and Teams administrators. Split provisioning is a process that allows user administrators to create resource accounts using the Microsoft 365 Admin Center or PowerShell, and then assign them to Teams administrators who can configure them using the Teams Admin Center or PowerShell.
- Use staged resource accounts to pre-create a set of resource accounts in bulk and then assign them to the Teams Phone features as needed. Staged resource accounts are resource accounts that are assigned a license and a phone number
- Use Privileged Access Management (PAM) to delegate the permissions and roles needed to create and manage resource accounts. PAM is a feature of Microsoft 365 that allows you to control who can perform certain administrative actions and when. With PAM, you can create policies that grant access to specific tasks or cmdlets for a limited time period and require approval from designated approvers. For example, you can create a policy that allows a Teams administrator to run the New-CsOnlineApplicationInstance cmdlet to create a resource account, but only after getting approval from a global administrator. To learn more about PAM and how to use it, see Privileged Access Management in Microsoft 365.
- Use Power Platform to create a custom solution that automates the creation and management of resource accounts. Power Platform allows you to build low-code apps that connect to various data sources and services. With Power Apps or Microsoft Forms, you can create a user interface that collects the required information for creating a resource account, such as the name, description, phone number, and license. Then, you can use Power Automate to trigger a workflow that validates the input, creates the resource account using Entra ID Connectors or Graph API, and sends a notification to the Teams Phone administrator. The created resource account will appear in the Teams Admin Center and can be managed from there. To learn more about Power Apps and how to use it, see What is Power Apps? and Create an app from scratch.
- Organizations may also decide to add Teams administrators to the User Administrator group.
We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we work to enhance the security and compliance of Microsoft 365 services. For more information and guidance on this change, please refer to the Teams documentation.
From Pixels to Presence: New Features Coming to Microsoft Mesh
In January, we announced the general availability of Mesh in Teams. We launched with the promise of unlocking deeper engagement for hybrid and remote teams across the world. Today, we're thrilled to unveil our latest advancements designed to optimize the avatar creation process with the help of AI and enrich your virtual collaboration.
AI-Enabled Avatar Creation
Our journey of reimagining virtual interactions began with digital avatars. Since the private preview of avatars in October 2022, we’ve added more lifelike skin, increased options for facial and body customization, and expanded hair style and skin tone options. However, with hundreds of combinations available, some users have expressed feeling a little overwhelmed when creating their avatar. We’re excited to announce that we’ve devised an AI-powered solution that makes avatar creation more efficient and more accurate. AI algorithms will analyze the visual features in your submitted photo to predict the best possible matches for your face shape, hair, eyewear, and facial hair. These best matches are combined to create three avatar options for you to choose from.
In public preview this month, simply take or upload a photo of yourself and let our AI-enabled technology¹ craft an avatar that represents you. Find more information about creating your avatar with a photo here. To manage avatars in Microsoft Teams, learn more here.
Show up the way you want
Avatars ensure everyone has a presence in the meeting room, even those who might not feel comfortable on camera. To accomplish this, it is important for your avatar to look and interact like you would. Beginning May 17th, explore the new wardrobe options, more professional attire, and improved texture, fit, and color of the clothes available in the Avatar Builder.
In July, we will add more avatar reactions as another way to express yourself in the 3D immersive spaces built into every Teams meeting. While you’re in an immersive space, select the “reactions” button in the menu bar at the bottom center of the immersive space view. Find the new emotes below the original Teams reactions and begin expressing yourself during meetings.
Tailored to your needs
Design for the workshop space is still in progress.
We launched Mesh in Teams with two ready-made 3D immersive spaces, Lakehouse and Oasis, built into your Microsoft Teams meeting². Each space was specifically built for different meeting scenarios. Lakehouse was created for social scenarios and is equipped with various interactive activities to encourage conversation and connection. Oasis offers different seating arrangements and room sizes to accommodate presentations and roundtable discussions. Beginning in August in public preview, we are releasing a new workshop environment, brainstorming sessions, and employee orientations. Let these curated 3D spaces elevate whatever moment you’re planning— whether it’s a networking event in Lakehouse, presenting a PowerPoint in Oasis, or hosting a breakout discussion in our new space.
Access these immersive spaces from the View menu³ in any Teams meeting via PC or Meta Quest VR Headset⁴ . . Mesh in Teams will continue to reach more users as Mac access begins rolling out to general availability in July.
Watch this video to learn more about how to join immersive spaces in Teams.
Enhance collaboration and interaction
In August in public preview, we will release content sharing improvements, including enhanced readability, to ensure ease of comprehension and enable productive discussions. Content refers to anything you can screenshare, whether that’s a PowerPoint presentation, Loop component, or website. With regards to engaging with other teammates in an immersive space, we will also release several avatar interaction improvements. This month, we’ve added different camera perspectives to view your avatar from (i.e., first person, third person, third-person wide view) and, in July, we’ll include improvements to avatar personal boundaries.
Expanded connection with custom experiences
This is a conceptual visualization of the upcoming event editing feature.
For those looking to deliver more customized or larger-scale events, we’re excited to announce several features coming to the Mesh app⁵ in early July.
First, we’ll release an improved customization experience with a more streamlined process for event setup, an easier way to place objects in the space, and event templates. We’ve also invested in new ways to enable presenters to connect more meaningfully with their audiences. Larger events require multiple rooms to accommodate more attendees. To support this experience, we will enable presenters to visualize reactions of every attendee across all rooms while they present to help capture important real-time audience feedback. If presenters prefer to make more intimate connections with smaller groups of participants, we are also releasing room hopping in August to allow presenters to move from room to room.
We’re excited that our new features improve one-time event experiences and are equally aware that one-time events are just one of the scenarios custom immersive experiences are built for. Imagine a learning-focused space with a multitude of organization specific resources or a collaboration-focused space crafted to imitate a control room with 3D models, product images, and screens of data. It may not be possible for an attendee to take in all of that useful information during one scheduled time block. In early July, attendees will be enabled to revisit event links whenever they want to revisit content and reconnect with their team.
These enhancements are just the beginning. We're committed to continuously evolving Mesh to provide you with the best virtual collaboration tools.
Learn more about getting started with Mesh in Teams and creating custom immersive spaces in our Mesh app here.
¹ Your photo is not retained or used for any other purpose. The create avatars from photo feature doesn't make any other predictions outside of your facial features. Learn more here.
² Find licensing information here.
³ Learn more about how to access Mesh in Teams from any Teams meeting here.
⁴ On the Meta Quest VR headset, Mesh in Teams is only accessible via the Mesh app. Learn more here.
⁵ Find licensing information here.
Announcing Microsoft Teams Webinar integration with HubSpot marketing automation
In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, organizations are constantly seeking innovative solutions to enhance their marketing strategies and lead management processes. The integration of HubSpot with Microsoft Teams webinars represents a significant new advancement in this domain for Teams webinar customers, offering a seamless blend of lead scoring and marketing automation capabilities that cater to the dynamic needs of our combined customers. This integration was built using the new Microsoft Teams webinar APIs in Microsoft Graph.
HubSpot, renowned for its robust B2B marketing automation platform, significantly amplifies lead scoring and prioritization, empowering sales teams to identify and engage with high-potential customers effectively. The Teams webinar connector serves as a critical tool in enabling this capability, facilitating the effortless import of data into HubSpot and enriching lead qualification with comprehensive webinar engagement insights. This integration not only fosters efficient marketing and sales alignment but also has the potential to drive revenue growth through strategic targeting and lead nurturing.
This new integration between Teams webinars and HubSpot enables organizations to harness the full potential of marketing events, transforming them into powerful instruments for lead generation and customer engagement. By using the event data generated by Teams webinars, businesses can craft personalized marketing campaigns that resonate with their audience and drive conversions. The integration enables syncing webinar registration and attendance details from Teams webinars to HubSpot marketing events, which can be used to segment contacts in HubSpot. With the integration, users can now:
- Sync webinar data such as event name, date, start time, end time, organizer, status, and description to HubSpot Marketing Events.
- Sync webinar activity data such as registrations, attendees, cancellations, no-shows, attendance duration, etc. and display this activity on contact pages.
- Create new contact records for registrants not yet in HubSpot.
Advantages to deploying the integration
If users have been hosting webinars on Microsoft Teams, historically they may not have had an easy method to import webinar data into HubSpot, leading to challenges in analyzing event performance and contact engagement. Now, users have the ability to sync webinar events and activity data to HubSpot, making it easier to centralize their marketing efforts, create new contacts, and perform data-driven customer outreach.
How can users get started?
For details about how to install the connector for Microsoft Teams events in HubSpot, see Connect HubSpot and Microsoft Teams. When the connector has been installed, users will see a new Webinar Settings tab in the HubSpot integrations/Connected apps available in their settings (within the HubSpot interface).
For administrators in Teams, users will see a Global Settings tab within webinar settings in Teams, from which they can manage account-wide webinars settings including permissions, a global sync toggle, exclusions, and individual user settings.
Users can control their own webinar sync settings via the My Settings tab for webinars they organize. Here, users will see a list of their webinars and can select which ones to sync. Users can also select to sync data from newly scheduled webinars by default.
For a detailed walkthrough that explains how to configure webinar settings, see Connect HubSpot and Microsoft Teams.
After webinar settings are configured, any webinars users choose to sync will generate a marketing event in HubSpot where they can see event-level information, such as the number of registrants, attendees, and cancellations. Properties such as event name, date, start time, end time, organizer, status, and description will sync from Teams to the event record in HubSpot.
In addition, event activity will auto-log on the contact pages of webinar registrants. If a webinar registrant is not already recorded in HubSpot, a corresponding contact record will be created.
For more information about configuring webinars settings, including permissions, see Use HubSpot and Microsoft Teams webinars.
For more information about HubSpot Marketing Events, please see Use marketing events.
Who has access?
This feature is only available to Microsoft Teams integration users whose admins have installed the integration using the Full Install option. If users have the integration installed under the Limited Install option, it needs to be uninstalled and reinstalled under Full Install . For help with the installation process, see Connect HubSpot and Microsoft Teams.
Conclusion
The integration of Microsoft Teams events with HubSpot's marketing automation platform gives a new additional capability set to Teams webinars as an event marketing solution. By seamlessly syncing webinar data, organizations can leverage targeted, data-driven marketing strategies to enhance lead generation and customer engagement. This integration not only streamlines workflow but also provides valuable insights, enabling businesses to deliver personalized experiences that captivate their audience and drive meaningful interactions.
Easily deploy and manage hundreds of Teams Rooms on Windows with Autopilot and Autologin
Deployment of Teams Rooms on Windows is getting a serious upgrade. As announced at InfoComm this week, Autopilot and Autologin for Teams Rooms on Windows is now generally available. It enables you to deploy at scale and configure Teams Rooms with minimal onsite interaction, which can help save you time and resources.
To enable Windows Autopilot and Autologin for your Teams Rooms, refer to the documentation or watch this video.
Configuration: What to expect
We’re hearing positive feedback from our customers. Here is what a few of them have to say:
- "So smooth and it only took 10min. Way better deployment experience."
- "We want to register all our existing devices to redeploy and make them manageable with the help of Intune."
Configuring requires many steps, but most steps are done only once or very rarely. A simple way to think of the steps are:
- Configure prerequisites for Autopilot
- Register Autopilot capable MTRs ideally through a partner, or by yourself in Intune
- Assign relevant management configurations to the devices
- Sync the Autopilot devices to the Teams Rooms Pro Management Portal and assign respective resource accounts to the devices.
Why would I use Autopilot and Autologin?
Whether you’re deploying dozens of new Teams Rooms on Windows or redeploying existing rooms, you can realize the many benefits of Autopilot and Autologin.
Pre-registration
Pre-registration of devices to your tenant enables management of the device before it powers on. Group the device, assign an Autopilot profile, assign device management policies, and associate the device to a resource account for Autologin. Imagine, you could have the devices registered to your tenant and configured in the cloud before they even show up to the site!
Rapid, touchless provisioning during site installation
Once the devices are on-site and ready for installation, the installer can simply unbox the device, plug in power and ethernet, turn it on, and walk away. The device will provision Windows, automatically, EntraID join, enroll in Endpoint management, update Windows and the Teams Rooms application, and finally Autologin to the associated resource account. From power-up to meeting-ready, touchless and in minutes.
Remote redeployment or recovery
By leveraging both the Intune and the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal, admins can redeploy or recover Teams Rooms on Windows with a few clicks (hopefully from a tropical beach)!
Firstly, in the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal, assign credentials to the target Autopilot device. This is also true for recovery of the device, where the intention is to Autologin to the previous account. Once credentials are successfully assigned, head over to Intune to perform a device reset with the “Wipe” action (make sure to use the right one!).
Logistics
A crucial part of what makes Autopilot and Autologin possible is the device registration process. Partners can register devices for customers if they have:
- Access to the Devices page for customers in Microsoft Partner Center, and
- Established a relationship must with the customer tenant.
If you currently order devices through a partner, ask if they meet those prerequisites.
Go try it!
We are excited to offer this new feature, and hope it saves you time and effort. We appreciate your input, so share your thoughts and questions on this blog post!
What’s new from Teams Rooms and Devices at InfoComm 2024
In our conversations with customers and partners, two themes consistently emerge: the impact of AI at work and the challenge of successfully navigating flexible work. We see these challenges as related: adopting AI will enable the improved transformation of our workplaces. This transformation lies not just in adopting AI, but in fully leveraging its benefits. Investing in AI opens unparalleled opportunities for productivity, creativity, and growth, setting the stage for a future where businesses and workplaces thrive and employees excel.
Reshaping the future with a Connected Workplace
We know that work is already being revolutionized by AI. In Microsoft’s annual Work Trend Index this year, we surveyed 31,000 people across 31 countries, analyzing labor and hiring trends from LinkedIn and productivity patterns of Microsoft 365 customers globally. We learned that for those surveyed, AI is not just about automating tasks. It expands capabilities and breaks through traditional limitations, providing both employees and organizations with a competitive edge. Employees are not waiting for their companies to adopt AI. Of the knowledge workers we surveyed, 75 percent say they’re already using AI tools at work, with usage nearly doubling over the last six months. And surprisingly, 78 percent of AI users are bringing their own AI to work.
At the same time, many organizations are struggling to revitalize workplace dynamics and team cohesion, with 43 percent of professionals reporting they feel disconnected from their companies.1 The Connected Workplace is where we’re headed. It's not just about how we work; it's about how we connect, regardless of where work is happening.
Connect with your voice to bring more intelligence into meetings
More than 70 percent of Fortune 500 companies are using Teams Rooms, and there are over 1 million Teams Rooms worldwide. But our customers are not only using Teams Rooms for in-person meetings – many of those rooms host hybrid meetings, with a mix of in-person and remote participants. Hybrid meetings are essential but can have limitations: with 48 percent of knowledge workers worldwide working from home at least one day a week,2 customers are struggling to efficiently capture and act on key insights in hybrid meetings.
We have a solution for that: to enable intelligent meeting recap and Copilot in every space, beginning with Teams Rooms. Meeting recap and Copilot rely on detailed transcripts with speaker attribution to deliver accurate summaries, insights, and action items. Individuals’ contributions are captured, and everyone has a voice.
For this reason, enrolling your voice is crucial. Learn how to enroll your voice at aka.ms/VoiceProfile.
This technology also helps to eliminate distractions during meetings. Teams uses your voice profile to isolate it when you’re speaking in bustling airports, busy cafes, or noisy shared workspaces.
As we’ve announced before, speaker recognition is coming to every Teams Room via the cloud. Now, this feature is in public preview. Soon, hundreds of thousands of rooms will be Copilot-enabled. And our timing couldn’t be better – Team Copilot, which will take notes during your meetings directly from the room, even without a scheduled or online meeting, is arriving soon. This means that Copilot will extend beyond online and hybrid meetings and even impromptu in-person meetings will now be able to also benefit from AI assistance. Just walk into a Teams Room, scan the QR code, and Team Copilot will automatically be part of the meeting.
AI-enhanced experiences for remote participants
AI isn't just improving work and connections. It's also solving visual challenges for remote participants. IntelliFrame individually frames participants to create easier engagement for remote attendees. Coming soon, automatic camera switching will enhance the capabilities of IntelliFrame. The feature optimizes views from multiple sources like multiple in-room cameras and laptop cameras, providing remote participants with enhanced interaction and the best view.
And coming soon, remote attendees can manually toggle between views they want to see with multiple camera view, offering customers flexibility and better engagement, wherever they are.
Expanded workplace solutions
We’re leveraging AI and new technologies to enhance workplace efficiency and collaboration from anywhere, not only in traditional meeting rooms. We see an opportunity for a new kind of Connected Workplace: an AI-powered work environment that empowers organizations with great meetings and better ways for people to connect in every space.
Bring your own device (BYOD) rooms
Now, BYOD rooms can enjoy better meeting experiences with features like:
- Shared display mode, which streamlines content sharing and ensures privacy for items on your desktop, is now available for Windows users, with Mac coming at the end of June
- Enhanced audio, with peripherals like intelligent speakers, enable speaker recognition so Copilot can bring greater productivity to your hybrid meetings
Bookable desks
There is a growing trend in workplaces. Organizations are moving away from assigned offices and desks to desks that are shared and bookable. Microsoft Teams brings intelligence to these spaces as well. Now, users can reserve a desk and make it their own by just connecting to a monitor or other peripheral on the desk. The desk is automatically booked for the day (time is adjustable).
To learn more about our new BYOD meeting rooms and bookable desk solutions, read our blog article that dives into the solutions we announced just a few weeks ago.
Inform and engage employees with digital signage in Teams Rooms
We’re delivering another way Teams Rooms can help your organization connect with a capability customers have long been waiting for. Coming soon, digital signage enables your Teams Rooms on Windows to become spaces where you can share dynamic content and timely information, allowing you to extend your organization’s communications to meeting spaces when your Teams Room devices are not in use. With digital signage in Teams Rooms, you can:
- Configure digital signage settings for your tenant, including enabling third party digital signage provider integrations and adjusting display period directly from Teams Rooms Pro Management
- Manage content seamlessly using third party content management systems. Our initial partners include Appspace and XOGO
- Display content from web URLs as digital signage sources in cases where you don’t use any of the supported digital signage providers.
While currently in private preview with limited customers, digital signage in Teams Rooms, including integrations with Appspace and XOGO , will be generally available in the third quarter of 2024 for Teams Rooms on Windows. Support for Teams Rooms on Android will follow in 2025.
Intelligence for IT in every space
With the addition of BYOD rooms and bookable desks to the Teams Rooms Pro Management service, IT admins will have more data and insights to help them track inventory and plan spaces intelligently.
- Auto-discovery from Teams desktop or bulk import now enables visibility of BYOD meeting rooms and bookable work desks in the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal
- Devices can be easily associated with rooms or desk pools, making them bookable resources for users
- Enhance shared spaces with usage reports for data-driven decisions and improved planning, gaining valuable insights for asset management.
Faster, easier deployment
And with Windows Autopilot (now available in public preview) and Autologin (general availability starting today), we’re making it more efficient for admins to set up Teams Rooms, reducing the time and effort from hours or days to under 1 hour. Read our blog post to learn more about Autopilot and Autologin for Teams Rooms on Windows devices.
Remote management in Teams Rooms
IT admins can now easily manage Teams Rooms and Surface Hubs from anywhere in the world, boosting their efficiency to save both time and money. IT admins can securely troubleshoot devices in Teams Rooms and configure software remotely via the Teams Room Pro Management portal, powered by role-based access controls. Remote management will give IT teams time back for more impactful work.
Enhanced cross-platform meetings via SIP join
With enhanced cross-third party platform meetings via SIP join, we're ensuring that no matter the meeting platform, collaboration is seamless and intuitive in an experience that feels like a native Teams Room. SIP-based conferencing services such as Google Meet, Zoom, Cisco Webex, Meet, Amazon Chime, RingCentral and others will be enabled for Teams Rooms on Windows later this year and for Android devices in 2025.
You’ll experience the look and feel of a Teams Rooms meeting with access to some third-party platform in-meeting controls (depending on the platform being used). Features include up to 1080p video quality, dual screen support, different meeting layouts, and HDMI ingest. This capability requires a SIP calling plan from a Cloud Video Interop (CVI) partner, which is currently available through Pexip.
Empowering partners and software developers
We’ve continued to collaborate with more device makers to improve security, ease of deployment, and seamless management. We’re thrilled to announce new partnerships with Barco, which will use the Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP) for all future devices, driving their innovative technology forward.
In the coming months, MDEP will introduce updates focusing on:
- Zero-Trust security: Ensuring every device is secure from deployment throughout its lifecycle.
- Next-Level deployment: Offering a scalable, low-friction, minimal-touch deployment solution.
- Premium device management: Prioritizing real-time monitoring and diagnostics for IT professionals.
Attending InfoComm this week? Say “Hi!” to some of our partners!
If you’re joining the fun at InfoComm, you won’t want to miss seeing what some of our partners brought to share.
The Surface Hub 3 and Salamander Lift and Tilt stand that were used in Ilya Bukshteyn’s keynote can be experienced up close at the Salamander Designs booth in the Central Hall, Booth #C8857. Check out the map below to find other Teams Rooms partners on the show floor.
The Connected Workplace is the future
As the Connected Workplace continues to evolve, we aim to lead its innovation. From coordinating and connecting with colleagues in the office with Microsoft Places to the speaker recognition that gives everyone a voice in a Teams Rooms to the immersive, virtual meeting spaces of Mesh in Teams, we are breaking new ground in finding ways for people to connect at work. For IT, we’re delivering valuable insights into space planning, usage, and organizational needs. We are excited about the future and committed to seamlessly integrating AI into our solutions, helping our customers become more efficient, creative, productive, and connected.
1 Work Trend Index Special Report: Hybrid work is just work. Are we doing it wrong? September 22, 2022. Microsoft Worklab.
2 Gartner Forecasts 39% of Global Knowledge Workers Will Work Hybrid by the End of 2023, March 1, 2023. Gartner®.
Microsoft Teams for SMBs at M365 Community Conference
It was wonderful to be a part of the M365 Community Conference that took place in Orlando, FL from Apr 30 to May 02, 2024. The event was a great success with over 3000 attendees. However, the highlight for the Teams SMB product team was the engaging discussions we got to have with small and medium businesses (SMBs) and partners who support SMBs.
Hearing directly from SMBs was incredibly valuable, as was receiving validation on how effective Teams already is for several of them. We also recognized the need to raise awareness of scenarios that are already supported, such as the ability to connect with customers and partners in different ways. We will take the insights from these discussions to guide our product roadmap.
We held several Teams SMB-focused sessions at the conference, including a breakout session (PDF available here) on how Microsoft Teams can be an ally for small businesses, aiding in business growth and operational efficiency. Here are some of the topics we discussed during this breakout session:
- Meetings: Enhancements to the meeting experience for external participants and the several meeting options available, including Microsoft Bookings and Virtual Appointments.
- Chats: The ability for an SMB to chat with customers and partners, and how attendees in an external meeting can continue the conversation via chat even after the meeting.
- Shared channels: The ability to create shared workspaces with partners and customers for structured, long-term project collaboration.
- Multiple accounts: The new Teams feature that allows staying signed into various organizations and accounts for seamless collaboration with several customers and partners.
- Teams Phone: Various telephony capabilities allowing SMB users to communicate from anywhere with a myriad of smart features.
- Teams-certified devices: The option to easily acquire Teams-certified devices directly from the Store within the Teams app.
- Google Workspace integration: How Teams can be used by Google Workspace users without the need to migrate their e-mail and calendar from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365.
- Setup simplification: Admin app in Teams that makes setup even more straightforward for very small businesses.
- M365 Copilot in Teams: How Copilot in Teams can supercharge productivity and save time. Copilot was covered in a lot more detail in the conference keynote – The Age of Copilots.
A video recording of the session will be shared within the coming month. Meanwhile, the keynotes and general sessions from the conference are already accessible on YouTube.
We are committed to supporting the growth of small and medium businesses, and eager to continue these dialogues. So, if you’re interested in a deeper connection with the Teams SMB product team, please refer to this post for more information.
Thanks
Abhijat Kanade
Group Product Manager, Microsoft Teams for SMBs, Microsoft
Intelligent shared space solutions with Microsoft Teams
In today's diverse work environment, we understand that there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to shared spaces and devices. Each organization has its unique spectrum of needs, and at Microsoft, we believe in providing solutions that cater to this variety. Our offerings are designed to adapt to different settings, ensuring that whether it's a shared workspace or a large conference room, the technology enhances collaborative experiences.
Shared spaces are hubs for collaboration, creativity, and connectivity wherever you are. From traditional conference rooms and boardrooms to small focus or huddle rooms, and even work and meeting spaces to which you bring your own device, AI is already improving how we work. Thought leadership on space planning and utilization, innovation from our OEM partners, and Microsoft solutions have helped customers reimagine how to make the most out of their shared spaces to meet present and future needs.
By implementing best practices and strategic approaches to enhance your shared spaces with Teams and Teams Room Pro Management, you unlock a host of tangible benefits. Boost collaboration, get actionable insights, and streamline space management for better efficiency.
Empower productivity and great meetings in every space
Microsoft Teams Rooms, an integral component of the Teams platform, is leading the charge in this transformation, providing a hub for hybrid collaboration that seamlessly integrates with the digital workplace. It remains the ultimate solution for maximizing collaboration and productivity in your shared spaces. Seventy percent of Fortune 500 companies are already utilizing Teams Rooms, and Microsoft Teams has been recognized by Gartner as a leader in the Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service for the fifth consecutive year. Customers are choosing Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Teams Rooms to successfully position themselves for the future of work.
As we talk to customers and better understand their needs, we continue to find new ways to innovate and deliver on those needs, catering to diverse budgets and space types. Whether with new entry-level Teams Rooms systems, which offer lower-cost solutions for focus and huddle rooms, or bring your own device (BYOD) meeting rooms solutions, providing better content sharing and collaboration, Microsoft Teams is still finding new ways to serve our customers.
Find a solution that best fits your needs
Customers often grapple with inconsistency, unpredictable meeting experiences, and a lack of visibility in shared spaces, posing significant challenges. Both end users and IT administrators seek solutions offering familiarity, ease-of-use, improved meeting experiences, and simplified inventory management.
Traditional and Signature Teams Rooms
Designed for the most inclusive hybrid meetings, Teams Rooms is the pinnacle of intelligence, inclusivity, and flexibility. These solutions boast audio and video (A/V) devices certified for Teams by an array of OEMs, delivering premium meeting experiences. Teams Rooms include compute with the benefits of one-touch join in the room, Front Row display, intelligent A/V processing power, and low-friction manageability for IT. With advanced A/V capabilities, and furniture and configurations that promote face-to-face engagement, your organization can engage in world-class meetings. We work closely with device partners to ensure seamless interactions no matter the OS or device type. Learn more about devices certified for Teams Rooms.
Entry-level Teams Rooms
Our customers tell us, “We love Teams Rooms, but some of our spaces need something more budget-friendly.” Entry-level Teams Rooms are the solution. Priced competitively at under $1,000 USD, they are perfect for upgrading bring your own device (BYOD) spaces and enhancing hybrid meeting experiences. These entry-level solutions come packed with Teams Rooms features like one-touch join and Front Row display, and offer great audio and video quality. Affordable and easy to deploy, they support user productivity while simplifying BYOD room upgrades. Installation is a breeze with a single USB cable, allowing organizations to seamlessly optimize shared spaces for enhanced collaboration.
Bring your own device (BYOD) meeting rooms
BYOD rooms are often used for impromptu meetings with 2-4 participants, where the organizer brings their own computer to run the meeting. About half of these rooms lack essential display or A/V equipment, making them inadequate for hybrid meetings in the modern workplace. The other half typically have a mix of peripherals, such as a large screen display or speaker puck, but the user experience can be inconsistent. Additionally, IT admins lack data on peripheral usage, making it challenging to optimize and support these spaces effectively. We are determined to make the experience in BYOD meeting rooms so much better.
Now, you can utilize laptops to connect quickly and easily to Teams meetings. Add peripherals to a room, like intelligent speakers, to boost audio and provide speaker recognition,1 which enables the meeting intelligence of Copilot. With Teams solutions, you can experience shared display mode, getting the privacy and meeting features you need to lead meetings confidently. IT teams also benefit from the automatic device discovery and inventory in the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal, where they can track peripheral usage, including number of devices, call quantity, duration, and performance with the Teams Shared Devices license add-on for the room.2
Bookable desks
Ever needed to grab a desk quickly? Bookable desks are shared work desks, also known as hot desks, touch down spaces, or hoteling environments. With Teams on their desktop, users can make a bookable desk their personal workspace by reserving it in advance or simply connecting to the monitor or other peripherals at the desk when they arrive. Voice isolation and noise cancellation in Teams enables crystal clear meetings even in busy, high-traffic spaces. Later this year, users will be able to automatically update their location, making it easier to connect with co-workers when in the office and find a meeting room with the Booking Assist feature, which makes smart recommendations based on locations of attendees. Later, with Microsoft Places (currently available for public preview), users can take advantage of enhanced room finding and intelligent booking experiences.
As with BYOD rooms, IT can keep a pulse on peripherals in these spaces with auto-device discovery and visibility in the Teams Rooms Pro Management inventory, a capability that is available now. IT admins will also benefit from the space and device usage data and insights for intelligent management and planning that are coming later this year.
Intelligence for IT across workspaces
IT admins often lack holistic inventory and management approaches across shared workspaces, sacrificing visibility into room and device usage. With Teams Rooms Pro Managment, IT teams can gain comprehensive insights into space and device utilization, leveraging AI for smarter planning. This enables IT to prioritize investments to align with business needs and budgets. Additionally, Microsoft Places elevates this intelligence, providing IT and real estate and facilities teams with tools for optimizing shared workspaces.
Gain insights and manage your spaces with Teams Room Pro Management
The best space and equipment planning starts with the holistic inventory, intelligence, and insights delivered in Teams Room Pro Management. Teams Rooms Pro Management provides comprehensive multi-OS, multi-brand device deployment, configuration, and proactive management capabilities for Teams Rooms. And, now with auto-discovery from the Teams desktop or bulk import for BYOD meeting rooms and bookable desks, devices in these spaces are visible and included in inventory in the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal,3 providing unprecedented insight for planning and asset management.
With this data, you’ll have more intelligence into which BYOD rooms and desks are great as they are, and which spaces are ready for an upgrade.
- You’ll be able to track inventory data. Track the inventory data of BYOD rooms and desks and their peripherals in the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal,3 enabling resource account configuration for rooms to make them visible and bookable.
- Room and device usage data provides insight for intelligent planning. Add a Teams Shared Devices license to your BYOD room or desk pool (coming later this year) to get analytics like space utilization, number of peripherals, call quantity, and performance via reports available in the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal. These insights will help you target spaces that are ready for an upgrade.
- Make data-informed upgrades to equipment and licenses. With insights and data, you can make informed decisions for equipment and space planning. It may be time for a next-gen peripheral, like an intelligent speaker or integrated video bar. Or, you may find some rooms need more – a one-stop room solution that delivers the compute and ultimate meeting, intelligence, and IT features for the space. The competitively priced, entry-level Teams Rooms device kits and a Teams Rooms Pro license could be the answer.
Easily associate devices with rooms or desk pools and make them bookable resources for users.
Take advantage of usage and utilization data to make data-driven decisions and improve your space planning.2
You can learn more about Teams Room Pro Management and how to get started at Microsoft Teams Rooms Pro | Microsoft Teams.
Start planning solutions for all your shared meeting and collaboration spaces
For BYOD rooms or desks with displays or other peripherals to connect laptops to, take advantage of the auto-discovery and inventory in the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal that comes with the core Teams user license. To make manual collection of devices in a space easier, customers and partners can utilize a PowerShell script. From there, you can begin gathering insights and intelligently planning which rooms are ready for more advanced solutions, like the analytics and reports unlocked with a Teams Shared Devices license, or the enhanced end user and IT experiences you get from an entry-level Teams Room.
Each space has different considerations and criteria when planning the right solution to best fit the need. If you have meeting and collaboration spaces without any display or in-room devices for users to connect to, think about how you can elevate that experience for users and start getting the intelligence IT needs for smarter space and equipment planning. Consider:
- How the space will be used, in terms of the type of meetings (e.g., team collaboration or executives and board members)
- The number of people that typically gather for the meeting type
- The mix of in-person and remote attendees
- The richness of the audio, video, and collaboration experience needed
- Budgets
- Usage data from the Teams Rooms Pro Management service and Microsoft Places
Microsoft and devices certified for Teams can help you update your shared spaces for hybrid and flexible work, enabling your users to have productive and engaging meetings and collaborate more effectively. By choosing the right Teams solution for your space and using Teams Room Pro Management to gain insights and manage devices, you can optimize your shared spaces and deliver a consistent and seamless Teams experience.
An authorized, expert partner can help you design and deploy your Teams solutions. You can find a partner in your area at Modern Work for Partners - Microsoft Teams Rooms Partner Locator. You can find devices certified for Teams at aka.ms/teamsdevices.
Resources:
- Get started with Teams Rooms
- Set up bring your own device rooms in Teams Rooms Pro Management
- Set up bookable desk spaces
1 Intelligent speaker support, via intelligent speakers or via cloud for existing devices, in a BYOD room requires the host to be licensed for Teams Premium or Microsoft Copilot.
2 BYOD meeting rooms and bookable desk pools require a Teams Shared Devices license to enable analytics and reports in the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal. Learn more at Microsoft Teams Shared Devices licensing - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn.
2 Access to the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal requires at least one Teams Rooms Pro or Teams Shared Devices license on the customer tenant.
Updates for Town Hall in Microsoft Teams and Teams Live Events
Our goal in Teams is to make hybrid work and communication easier and more inclusive than ever before. This pursuit is core to the effort we put into creating meaningful connections between people through our end-to-end events platforms, whether one-to-one meetings or large one-to-many hosted digital events. We introduced our new digital streaming event solution for large events, town hall, in September 2023. Town hall has continued to drive new, exciting experiences for our customers, such as the ability to bring multiple presenters on stage, send out attendee emails, and see real-time health analytics for the event. As we move forward, we are excited to continue to share our latest features with you and let you know what to expect from town hall in the next year.
Additionally, we will not retire Teams Live Events in September 2024, as previously announced. Town hall will continue to be the platform where our new features and value land, and we encourage Teams Live Events users to take advantage of these new innovations by upgrading to town hall when ready. We’ve spoken with customers and understand how important it is to ensure a smooth transition to town hall. We are committed to making it as easy and beneficial as possible for customers to experiment, adopt, and implement town hall as their destination for large-scale digital events, as well as allow customers to upgrade from Live Events to town hall on their own schedule. In the coming days, customers who are still using Teams Live Events, and wish to continue to do so past September 30th, 2024, will be able to schedule Teams Live Events instances beyond this date.
Updates about features that will be rolling out to town hall can be found on our town hall adoption page, and we will communicate future updates about Teams Live Events plans via blogs, MC posts, and any other forums where this announcement is distributed.
Town hall innovations deliver new ways to engage your audience
Town hall adoption continues to grow as we continue to prioritize driving new value for our users. In the last quarter, we saw significant increases in new customers trying town hall, total usage, and the number of hosted events. Our mission is to continue to add new additional capabilities to town hall that make your streaming digital events more impactful to audiences and more seamless to execute. As we look ahead to the coming year, we will be delivering key features to continue to build on the highly engaging and interactive experiences that town hall delivers. Attendees will soon be able to express their feedback and engagement through live reactions, streaming chat and presenters can interact with their audience via raise hands. Advanced production experiences such as the producer role, queuing shared content and preview scene support are also coming to town hall, providing a new level of event execution capabilities.
When we initially announced town hall in September of 2023, we made our users aware that we would continue to release town hall features that provide a similar experience in town hall as Teams Live Events. In the next twelve months, we plan to continue to focus on these areas in town hall to ensure that we provide the same feature effectiveness that customers have come to expect from Teams Live Events. Some key features that will be available in town hall in the next year to help achieve this effectiveness include:
- Engagement capabilities (certain Q&A functions: voting, filters, sorting, and archive questions; export questions to CSV\download Q&A report)
- Device capabilities (MTR-W support for presenters and attendees and CVI and VDI support)
- Advanced production experiences such as producer role, queuing shared content, and preview scenes.
The combination of ease of use and adoption of town hall, achieving feature effectiveness between the Live Events and town hall, and the new additive value that is exclusive to town hall going forward are all great reasons for current Live Events users to consider upgrading to town hall to take advantage of what we are building.
For the latest updates, feature timelines, and news about what is coming for Teams town hall, please visit our town hall adoption page.
What’s New in Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Build 2024 Edition
This special edition of “What's New in Microsoft Teams” highlights exciting features and improvements that we are announcing at Microsoft Build 2024. Read on to learn more about features that will help developers be more productive and collaborate in Teams, enhancements to Azure Communication Services for more powerful embeddable communication experiences, and improvements for meeting recaps. I’d also encourage you to check out the Official Microsoft Blog and "New agent capabilities in Microsoft Copilot unlock business value" for more exciting news. In addition to Microsoft Build news, you will find the new features and devices released in May.
Teams announcements at Microsoft Build 2024
What's New in Microsoft Teams | May 2024
Teams announcements at Microsoft Build 2024
Chat and Collaboration
Slash commands
Slash commands provide a quick, user-friendly, and consistent interface to take contextual actions, compose, navigate and complete frequent tasks. Instead of taking multiple actions to perform a task, such as open a chat in a new window, add a code block, navigate to settings or changing your presence, you can simply type slash in the compose box, select a command, and complete your task quickly. This feature will start rolling out in June.
Co-edit code blocks
Save time by using Loop components to share and co-edit code in Teams, instead of sending many code blocks. Just insert your code into a Loop component or turn a native code block into one. Then anyone who can access the Loop component can review and co-edit it, making communication clearer and faster. This will start rolling out in June.
Custom emojis and reactions
Bring more creativity and expression into your conversations with custom emojis and reactions. Upload your own custom emojis or reactions to personalize the conversation and reflect the team’s culture. Use custom emojis to efficiently share status or share a lighthearted emoji. Once uploaded, custom emojis can only be used within the user's tenant, but once they are sent, they are visible to all members of the chat. IT admins can decide who has permission to create custom emojis, delete custom emojis, or turn off the capability altogether. Custom emojis will be coming to public preview in June.
Unfurling permalinks to see code previews
You can now share code with your team in chat more easily by pasting a permalink that shows a rich preview from Azure Dev Ops. The receiver can view the code in Azure DevOps. This helps your team understand the context without leaving the chat. This is now generally available.
Meet now in group chat
If you need to discuss and brainstorm with your team, start a quick and informal huddle using meet now in a group chat. Meet now in group chat enables ad-hoc call real-time with your team – providing an alternative to a formal, scheduled meeting. Regardless of your whereabouts, you can start a call as spontaneously as dropping by your colleague’s desk. The chat is part of your ongoing group chat thread to ensure that the content stays in its context and you find the information when you need it. With meet now it is easier to see if colleagues are talking about an issue in real-time and giving an easy to way to join. Meet now for group chat will be generally available in June.
Generate images with Microsoft Designer in chat
Create stunning images right from a Teams chat thanks to the new Microsoft Designer integration. Simply type ‘@Designer’ in the chat box, describe the image you envision, and everyone in the group chat can see the suggestions and collaborate on refining them using additional prompts. When working alone, you can also chat directly with Designer to create any image you can think of. With Designer in Teams, visual content creation becomes more collaborative and integrates in your flow of work. Designer in Teams chat will be available later this summer.
Meetings
Intelligent recap for transcription-only meetings
Intelligent recap will soon support meetings with just transcription enabled, allowing people to enjoy AI-generated summaries for more types of meetings. Sometimes, meeting participants may choose to transcribe a meeting without recording it. In these cases, Teams Premium and Copilot for Microsoft 365 licensed users will be able to access AI-generated notes, AI-generated tasks, and name mentions after the meeting to catch up. However, features of intelligent recap that rely on the recorded video such as timeline markers for join/leave, timeline markers for screen sharing, speaker timeline markers, topics, and chapters will not be available due to their reliance on the meeting recording. This will start rolling out in June.
Intelligent recap support for scheduled channel meetings
With Intelligent recap for scheduled channel meetings, Teams Premium and Copilot for Microsoft 365 licensed users can easily browse the meeting recording by speakers and topics, as well as access AI-generated meeting notes, AI-generated tasks, and name mentions after the channel meeting ends. This is now available.
Manage who can record and transcribe meetings
Help keep confidential meetings protected with expanded controls for managing who can initiate transcription. Meeting organizers with eligible licenses will see a control called “Who can record and transcribe” in the meeting options, offering three choices: (1) organizers and co-organizers, or (2) organizers, co-organizers, and presenters, or (3) No one. This way meeting organizers will be able to manage which roles can initiate recording and transcription for a meeting. This functionality will start rolling out in June and will be available to Teams Premium and Copilot for M365 licensed users.
Disable screen share to prevent leakage of information
IT administrators can set the content sharing permissions for external meetings in Microsoft Teams. This helps to prevent accidental leaks of sensitive data in meetings hosted by other tenants. Content sharing includes screen sharing and whiteboard usage. Note that users who cannot start a whiteboard session can still view and interact with a whiteboard started by someone else in the meeting. This is available with a Teams Premium license.
Places
Microsoft Places public preview
Microsoft Places, the app that reimagines flexible work to drive effectiveness and engagement of the workplace, is now available in public preview. Places can be used across the surfaces that are used to regularly collaborate on and coordinate work, such as Outlook and Microsoft Teams, to make coordinating in-office time and connecting with coworkers easier. Read more about the Places public preview and upcoming features. And learn how Microsoft Places is reimagining flexible work. To try Microsoft Places and experience the features highlighted below, sign up for the Microsoft Places public preview by clicking "Get Started".
Location plan
Microsoft Places’ location plan allows you to coordinate with coworkers about where and when you are working in-person, providing the ability to set and share location schedules with peers. These plans can be updated at any time in Outlook or in Places to keep teammates informed about how best to meet in-person.
Peek cards
To facilitate in-person meetings with coworkers, peek cards are quick reference guides that provide more information about the people you work with and the spaces you work in. These peek cards show your own closest work collaborators who plan to be in the same office and gives easy access to book spaces that suit both your needs as well as those you are meeting with. A link on the peek card allows you to see all your coworkers’ schedules in the Places app.
Expanded presence
Knowing which coworkers are nearby is much easier with the expanded presence feature in Places. This feature is available and visible across different Microsoft 365 apps, and gives heightened awareness of who is nearby. By keeping their presence updated, employees can make it easier to swing by desks or work neighborhoods for impromptu in-person chats, or even schedule lunch together. In Teams group chats, coworkers can see participant locations or type “@nearby” to notify those around them about an activity or a meeting room change.
Platform
Enhancements to custom calling experiences connected to Microsoft Teams
Many companies, such as healthcare providers and consultants, use Teams as part of their own custom branded app or website to connect with customers using video calls and chat. A number of new features already widely used in Teams itself are now available to embed in custom apps and website experiences built with Azure Communication Services:
- PowerPoint Live: The presenter and audience can both have an inclusive and engaging experience, utilizing the best parts of presenting in PowerPoint with the connection and collaboration of a Microsoft Teams meeting.
- Live Reactions: During meetings, select “react” emojis in the meeting controls to share reactions to what’s being shared.
- File sharing during a meeting: Teams users can share SharePoint files in chat with users joining from a custom app or web experience.
- Real time transcription using Azure AI Speech: Receive text in real time from an ongoing call to ensure accurate record keeping. This is in preview.
- Closed captions: Promote accessibility by displaying text of the audio in video calls. Already available for app-to-Teams calls, this release adds support for closed captions in all app-to-app calls.
- Picture-in-picture for iOS and Android: Enable customers to take video calls while simultaneously browsing other tabs or completing tasks in other windows. The video calls can be detached from the original tab and floated anywhere on screen.
- Noise suppression during a video call: Reduce background noise and enhance the speaker’s voice to minimize call disruptions.
- Stream live audio using the Audio Streaming API. Extract raw audio in two formats: (1) Mixed audio: Audio file cannot be filtered by participant. (2) Unmixed audio: Isolate the audio of the different participants in the call and pick out the audio from a specific participant.
- Call Diagnostics Center: Analyze calling data from app-to-Teams calls to identify causes of poor call quality and reliability, including poor internet connectivity, software compatibility issues and technical difficulties with devices.
Starting in June, participants in the Microsoft Copilot for Azure preview can use Copilot within Call Diagnostics to explain issues their end users are facing and get faster insights on how to resolve those issues. You can ask Copilot questions about your calling solution like “What are the types of User Facing Diagnostics in the Azure Communication Services SDK and how can I fix them?” or “How do I run network diagnostics in Azure Communication Services VoIP calls?”
Learn more about custom calling experiences connected to Microsoft Teams.
What’s new in Microsoft Teams in May 2024
In addition to the announcements made at the Microsoft Build conference, there are many new Teams features and improvements that will be available by the end of May. I really like how the meeting recap and meeting artifacts are now automatically shared in chat after a meeting, so that I can easily access meeting insights. I encourage you to try out annotating on a shared screen and saving the screen with annotations to a Whiteboard. Lastly, I am delighted to share that intelligent meeting recap is now available in 16 additional languages, bringing the benefits of AI-generated notes and tasks to many more Teams users across the globe.
Chat and Collaboration
Share contact information of people in chat
You can now share the contact details of a person who is not part of a chat conversation. This will help you bring in new collaborators and make sure that everyone has the contact information they need.
Select domain for Teams email service
Administrators now have the option to use a different domain for sending Teams notification emails to their users. Admins can also choose to configure the no-reply prefix, if they would like to monitor responses from users. Learn more about selecting the domain for email from Microsoft 365 products.
Default service for uploading files using drag-and-drop
Administrators can choose which file service will be used by default when users upload files from their local devices by dragging and dropping them in a chat or channel. OneDrive and SharePoint are the existing defaults, but admins can now change it to a 3rd party file management service.
Improved copy link experience
When copying file links in Teams conversations, whether in chats or channels, and within the chat files tab, you will now have the same convenient one-click copy link experience as you do in OneDrive and SharePoint. You can also customize the link settings and permissions.
Meetings
Copilot in Teams meetings on mobile after the meeting
In addition to accessing Copilot in Teams during a meeting on your mobile device, you can now access Copilot in Teams and ask questions about meetings after they end. Just tap a Teams calendar item to access Copilot in the meeting “Details” or “Recap” view. This is available for eligible meetings with transcription turned on and requires a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license.
New languages supported in intelligent meeting recap
AI-generated notes and AI-generated tasks in intelligent meeting recap are now available in 15 additional languages: Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Korean, Norwegian (Bokmal), Polish, Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Swedish, Thai, and Turkish. This will enable more people to have meetings in their chosen language and review the AI-generated notes and tasks later, so they can concentrate on the meeting itself rather than on taking notes. This functionality will start rolling out in May and will be available to Teams Premium and Copilot for M365 licensed users.
Meeting recap and artifacts automatically shared in chat after meeting
You will now receive a summary of everything that happened in a meeting inside the meeting chat right after the meeting ends. This includes a link to the recap page, transcript, recording, notes, shared files, Whiteboard, and meeting details. If you are licensed for intelligent meeting recap, you will also see highlights such as the number of speakers, number of personal name mentions, and number of AI-generated tasks. Intelligent meeting recap is available with a Teams Premium license or Copilot for Microsoft 365 license.
New avatar wardrobe options
Discover new avatar wardrobe options, more professional attire, and improved texture, fit, and color of clothes in the Avatar Builder.
Save meeting content with collaborative annotations as a Whiteboard
Collaborative annotations let meeting presenters add drawings, notes, reactions, text highlights, and more on the screen being shared during a meeting. Now, screen sharers can save the annotated content to Whiteboard, so all meeting participants can access it later and continue working on it. To save your content with annotations to Whiteboard, you need the Teams desktop app on Windows or MacOS. When you share your screen in a Teams meeting, click “Annotate” in the presenter toolbar, and after making annotations, click “Capture a snapshot” in the annotations toolbar. This will add a snapshot in a Whiteboard file with all the annotations from the meeting.
Presenters can interact with background content when collaborative annotation enabled
Now, when meeting participants are annotating while screen-sharing, they can interact with the underlying shared content, like advance to the next slide or scroll down a document, and resume where they left off without restarting the annotations session. To enable this, click “Start interacting with background” in the annotations toolbar. This is now available in the Teams desktop app and Teams web app.
Trim meeting recording in Microsoft Stream
Users with video edit permissions can now trim meeting recording videos in Microsoft Stream on SharePoint. Trimming lets you hide any part of a video from your viewers, without changing the original file. Open the recorded video of a meeting in the Stream web app and click the edit button. When you're done trimming you can toggle to the preview mode to see the trimmed video before saving it. The meeting transcript and chapters will be updated automatically to match the trimmed video. Users with edit permissions can still see the full original content and edit or delete the trimmed parts. Learn more about how to trim videos in Stream.
Webinars and Town Halls
HubSpot CRM integration with Teams Webinars
We are excited to announce our new Teams Webinar integration with HubSpot, a leader in B2B marketing automation, which will enhance lead scoring and prioritization, aiding teams to target high-potential leads. The Microsoft Teams connector streamlines data import to HubSpot, enriching lead qualification with webinar engagement insights, fostering efficient marketing and sales alignment, and driving revenue growth. This integration can be activated by visiting the administrator's "Global Settings" tab to manage account-wide webinar settings. Individual users can control their sync settings under "My Settings," choosing which webinars to sync, and opting for automatic syncing of new webinars. Once set up, synced webinars create marketing events in HubSpot, displaying detailed event information and auto-logging activity on contact pages, with new contacts created for unrecorded registrants.
Teams Phone
Connect custom applications with Teams for client-based customer service calling experiences
Azure Communication Services Call Automation now offers interoperability with Microsoft Teams. Third party contact center partners can leverage VoIP to streamline voice connectivity to Teams and enable their customer service agents on Teams. This interop enables businesses to deliver expedient customer service by bringing Microsoft Teams users into their Business-to-Consumer (B2C) calling workflows. Having Teams as the single-pane-of-glass solution for both internal and B2C communication increases agent productivity and empowers them to deliver first-class service to customers. This interoperability is offered over VoIP to reduce telephony spend, making it easier for CCaaS providers to programmatically add Teams users to B2C customer service workflows. Voice calling (VoIP) usage for calling extensibility will be billed through Azure Communication Services. Agents and subject matter experts need a Teams Phone license. Learn more about delivering expedient customer service by adding Microsoft Teams users in Call Automation workflows.
New contact center solution certifications
The Teams contact center and compliance recording certification programs ensure that contact center and compliance recording solutions work smoothly and dependably with Teams by requiring them to pass third-party testing. We have recently certified Sikom and Intermedia, as trusted ISV Contact Center partners. With these additions, there are now 26 Contact Center certified solution partners and 13 Compliance Recording certified solution partners, and many more on the way. Learn more about becoming a Microsoft Teams certified partner.
Enabling call forwarding settings on Teams phone devices
Easily manage call forwarding settings directly from the phone device home screen on individual and common area phones. Admins can enable whether to show call forwarding options on the home screen on selected phone devices from the Teams admin center.
Busy-on-busy end user setting on Teams phone devices
Configure busy-on-busy settings directly from your Teams phone device and set your preference for how calls will be routed when you are busy in an existing call or meeting.
Redirect incoming calls to voicemail from an incoming call notification on Teams phone devices
You can now easily redirect an incoming call to voicemail without having to accept or reject the call when receiving calls on a Teams certified phone device.
Call on behalf of a Call Queue on Teams phone devices
You can now set your caller ID to make a call all on behalf of a number associated with a call queue or auto attendant directly from Teams phone devices.
Prompt Teams phone device users to set phone lock PIN through the Teams admin center
Admins can prompt their users to set reset the phone lock PIN on their device by enabling a configuration profile setting in the Teams admin center.
Teams Rooms and Devices
Find certified for Teams devices for all types of spaces and uses at aka.ms/teamsdevices.
Teams Rooms Pro Management Remote Access on Windows
IT admins can securely troubleshoot certified for Teams devices and configure software within the Teams Room Pro Management portal from anywhere. This new capability, powered by role-based access controls, significantly enhances IT team efficiency by streamlining device management without the need for physical presence. Learn more about setting up Remote Access in the Microsoft Teams Rooms Pro Management portal.
MAXHUB UC BM35 certified for Teams
The all-new MAXHUB UC BM35 Bluetooth speakerphone is certified for Teams and offers high-quality audio in a compact, but powerful and portable device that serves as a conferencing tool for exceptional audio in any meeting space. Thanks to its 360° omnidirectional audio algorithms, the BM35 is designed to ensure every voice is heard as its pickup range can capture participants up to six meters (19.6 feet) away. Eight microphones ensure a clear, efficient meeting experience.
MAXHUB XT10-WS Kit certified for Teams
Expanding on the foundation of the XCore Kit, the certified for Teams MAXHUB XT10-WS Kit incorporates a high-quality UC BM35 Speakerphone and UC W31 USB Camera. Catering to participants’ dynamic audio and video needs, this bundle provides a flexible and seamless collaboration experience for any focus room or small space. The Kit also helps to facilitate the move to Microsoft Teams Rooms from bring your own device (BYOD) rooms, enhancing Teams-native audio and video experiences while accommodating cost-balancing needs.
Epos Impact 760T Headset certified for Teams
The EPOS Impact 760T headset is a double-sided headset designed for use in professional environments. This wired headset features voice pickup technology, wideband audio, and an ergonomic build for comfort during extended use.
Epos Impact 730T Headset certified for Teams
The EPOS Impact 730T headset is designed as a single-sided unit suited for professional settings. Equipped with voice pickup and wideband audio, making it an excellent option for any office environment.
Mobile
Change background while recording on phone
In chat and channels on Teams mobile, you can record a video clip with your phone camera and share it instantly. Now you can also blur the background or change it to any picture you choose, which is useful when you want to record a video of yourself and share it with coworkers.
Platform
Programmatic desktop sharing
Programmatic desktop sharing is a new feature that lets developers create Teams apps for meetings that can share specific app content on the screen. For example, if you use a poll app in a meeting, as a meeting presenter you can now show the poll results from the app in chat directly onto the meeting stage. This feature allows app developers to design meeting apps that can also display the content of their app or parts of it on the meeting stage for different purposes.
Live Share support for Chat, Channel, and Collaborative Stageview tab applications
Microsoft Teams applications that use Live Share for building real-time collaborative experiences can now work in different types of tabs, such as Chat, Channel, and Collaborative Stageview tabs on desktop and web. Live Share lets you and your team members watch, create, and edit content together in real time. All applications that have the Live Share permission in your tenant can use this new feature.
Open Teams app content in multi-window Stageview
With multi-window Stageview, developers can now build Teams apps that open content in multi-window experiences and unlock multi-tasking workflows for Teams users. This allows app users to engage with content and conversation side-by-side to get a more productive experience without giving away content focus.
Frontline Worker Solutions
Import schedule from Excel in Shifts app
Frontline managers importing a schedule from Excel into Shifts can now view the import history of their teams. This allows them to monitor the status and outcome of their import at any time.
Track usage of frontline teams and apps in the Teams admin center
Administrators can now track usage across all their frontline locations on a usage dashboard in the Teams admin center located in the Manage Frontline Teams tab. The dashboard will show a table with usage data for each frontline location on Microsoft Teams, and soon will include usage data for more frontline apps like Walkie Talkie, Shifts and Tasks. Admins can filter the table by locations and specify a date range for which they want to see usage data. The usage data can also be exported to a CSV file.
Task publishing: require approval for completed work
Task publishing includes new features that greatly improve worker visibility in tasks that are necessary and important, while helping frontline managers ensure that work is completed to satisfaction. Now, a frontline manager can make it mandatory to get approval for completed work. For more details, check out the new Planner: new task features for organizations with frontline workers.
Prompt Like a Pro: Effectively summarize your channel conversations with Microsoft Copilot in Teams
UPDATE: As of September 16th, 2024, Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 is now Microsoft 365 Copilot. Any mentions of Microsoft Copilot in this blog refer to Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Keeping up with your information can be a challenge in today’s fast-paced environment. Microsoft Teams channels help you have all your information related to a certain topic in one place. Yet sometimes the conversation progresses fast, and you need help catching up. This is especially true when you're part of multiple teams and projects. With important documents being shared, ongoing conversations, and comments being added to threads, it can feel overwhelming! However, with a few simple tips and tricks, you can stay on top of your channels and avoid missing important updates. To stay in the know across all your different channels - and the teams associated with those channels - look no further than Microsoft Copilot in Teams!
Get channel highlights with Copilot in Teams
Say it’s been a busy day. On top of all the emails you need to answer and chat threads to respond to, there are also all the unresolved projects and updates in your Teams channels. Copilot in Teams can help you get up to speed, fast! Navigate over to your “Chat” tab in Teams and click on the Copilot icon at the top of your chats. This opens Copilot for Microsoft 365 in Teams, which will be able to use data grounded in the Microsoft Graph to answer your questions. To start, use the prompt “What’s new in [channel] of [team]?” For example, I want to find out what I missed from the Go to Market channel in my Mark 8 Project team, so I would ask Copilot: “What’s new in the Go to Market channel of the Mark 8 Project team?”
Copilot quickly scans through that specific channel and tells me when the latest update was, who was involved in that change, if there were any new documents shared, and even links to that update, making it easy to navigate directly to that thread. When prompting, make sure you give Copilot the correct spelling of the team name in your prompt, otherwise it may not search for the right channel.
Dive deeper with follow-up prompts
To go one step further, Copilot provides you with auto-generated prompts that you can use to follow up on the response it provided you from your first prompt. Going back to my example, Copilot told me that one of the members of my channel, Hadar Caspit, shared a Go-to-market plan document with the team. Instead of trying to navigate through to the different channels, teams, and posts, Copilot already suggested a follow-up prompt for me, “What are the key points in the Go-to-market plan?”
By clicking that prompt, Copilot pulls up a simple yet effective overview of the document, including the target audience, product and price strategies, etc. These follow-up prompts will change depending on the context of your team and what updates have happened to that channel since the last time you checked in. What will remain the same, however, is that they are all offered by Copilot as easy ways to go more in-depth about those updates without having to leave your Copilot conversation to find that information yourself.
Leverage relevant documents with the power of Microsoft Graph
Copilot uses Microsoft Graph** to pull any relevant documents into its output. This is possible thanks to Microsoft Copilot’s Graph-grounded chat, which enables you to bring your work content and context to Microsoft Copilot's chat capabilities. With Graph-grounded chat, you can draft content, catch up on what you missed, and get answers to questions via open-ended prompts— all securely grounded in your work data.
Again, let’s go back to this Go-to-market plan that was shared in my channel. Aside from that great summary, Copilot linked the document for me directly in its answer. Now I don’t even need to leave this chat with Copilot to access the document it was summarizing for me. All it takes is one click, and I am brought directly to the Word document containing the GTM plan I had asked about.
Catch up on your channels from one place
Even when it feels like the number of Teams channels you belong to - and their constant updates - make it challenging to keep track of everything, everywhere, all at once, this prompt will help make those issues a thing of the past. Copilot allows you to check in and catch up on those Teams channels, all from one simple prompt! It can help you summarize, visualize, and access documents without having to hunt through dozens of threads and replies to access that same information, making it easier for you to stay on top of your work and be more efficient, responsive, and productive. Be sure to use the recommended follow-up prompts to double-down on specific updates and get the most out of every channel, with Copilot.
Additional resources
For more examples of prompts that Copilot can help you with, check out Copilot Lab! Filter by M365 app - Teams - to learn what prompts to use for meetings, in chats, and get tips for better optimized prompts in Teams and beyond!
What’s coming next
Stay tuned for more tips on how to work with Copilot in Microsoft Teams and before you know it you will be prompting like a pro! If you’re already using Copilot in Teams, share your favorite prompts in the comments for the chance to get featured in a future “Prompt Like a Pro” blog spotlighting some community favorites!
*Copilot in Teams is constantly evolving and improving thanks to your input and feedback. If a Copilot prompt does not work the way you expect it to, let us know how by using the thumbs-down button that appears after a response.
** Copilot's answers are grounded in the work content and context stored in Microsoft Graph.
New capabilities to help you manage Microsoft Teams channels from creation to archival
Successfully navigating a fast-paced workplace requires teams to collaborate closely and share the same information. Channels facilitate this by bringing people together for common functions, projects, or interests. Designed for enduring collaboration, channels maintain their structure and purpose, even as members change, ensuring organizational continuity, transparency, knowledge sharing, and the preservation of vital conversations and decisions.
When setting up a channel, you can choose from three channel types, standard, private and shared, enabling you to bring in the right collaborators while controlling access to shared resources and avoiding oversharing, without needing to create multiple similar teams. We also expanded the limit of the number of channels in a team to 1000, so you can manage a large project in one team.
However, channels' persistent nature and scalability can present usability challenges if not managed as priorities and projects shift. Disorganized, redundant, or outdated channels can hinder finding relevant conversations, detracting from their role in supporting effective communication and collaboration.
We are investing in enhancements that will streamline how people work and collaborate within channels from start to finish. These improvements will make creating and joining teams and channels quick and straightforward, allowing for efficient workspace setup. Collaboration within channels has been enhanced, helping everyone to stay on top if the information that matters most and contribute effectively. Additionally, retiring channels that have served their purpose will help maintain focus on current, relevant channels, reducing clutter. Our new channel related features aim to minimize distractions, simplify information retrieval, and foster effective collaboration.
Create and join teams and channels with ease
Channels are the hubs for teamwork within a team, allowing for more targeted discussions and collaboration. We have reduced the number of steps needed to create a new team by defaulting to “create a team from scratch”. If you would like to create a team from a template, select more create team options” and pick from the template library. This is generally available.
Not every collaboration requires a new team. So, we’ve made it easier to create a channel from the same menu you use to create a new team. Now you can avoid creating unnecessary team structures and clutter when you only need a channel. This is generally available.
Lack of awareness of existing teams can lead to duplicate teams being created. Users are now able to discover public and private teams and join them as needed. Admins can now use a new setting to control whether users can find private teams or not. The new experience combines privacy and collaboration, empowering admins to ensure that only the right people can request access to private teams, without compromising security or control. This is generally available.
When joining a team, you will be able to select to show only the channels that are relevant to you, including from the channels the team owners have recommended. This will help you easily organize your list of channels to prioritize those you care about most, helping filter through the noise. This feature will be generally available in by end of year 2024.
Collaborating with channels effectively
When you have many channels across teams, it can be hard to keep track of all of them. Discover feed is a personalized, AI powered feed that surfaces the most relevant content in channels that you are not showing in your channel list. The discover feed surfaces channel posts you might otherwise have missed, bringing relevant content based on people you work with or topics that might interest you. Scroll through your feed, easily catch up on news, and like, comment, or share a post from the discover feed, just like any other channel post. Discover feed is generally available.
To allow for a more organized and personalized channel list, select to hide or show the general channel of a team, just like other channels. By hiding less relevant channels you can declutter your channel list. Hide general channel is generally available. Coming later in the year, team owner will be able to rename the general channel to a name that better reflects the purpose of the channel for everyone in the team, helping you navigate your channel list with greater ease.
Is your teams and channel list cluttered with channels you do not have interest in? Teams will automatically detect inactive channels you haven’t interacted with over the past 45 days, and automatically hide them for you. You have the option to review the list of channels and keep showing some or all of them, or opt out of automatic clean-up. This feature will roll out in Q3 calendar year 2024.
Notification settings experience is streamlined to allow better customization, enabling you to tailor it to your needs. You can choose to see your notification in the activity feed, display a banner, or turn them off. In your activity feed, you are now able to clear notifications with a single click, marking all your notifications as read at once, helping you keep up with the quick pace of conversations and notifications. These features are generally available.
Soon, you will also have the option to mute all notifications for a specific channel post. You can also customize the sound of your notifications to help you stay focused, prioritize quickly, and avoid distractions. Assign different sounds to different kinds of notifications, such as urgent messages. Or mute notification sounds when you are busy or in a meeting. This will be rolling out during Q2&Q3 calendar year.
Invite your colleague to participate in a discussion by sharing a link to the channel, a post or a reply. This way, they can navigate more easily and faster to specific content and conversations, without searching through many messages and files. This is generally available.
Retiring channels to reduce clutter and improve focus
When active collaboration in a project ends, but you need to keep the collaboration context for future reference, channel owners and administrators can archive a channel they own or manage. When archiving, you are turning off the option to have additional conversations and hiding from the channels list, for channels that are no longer used or relevant. Archiving a channel preserves channel content, including messages, files, and tabs, but removes it from the active list of channels in your or channel members’ left rail. Once a channel has been archived, actions such as messaging, reacting, commenting, are no longer available. In the event you need to revive an archived channel, you can restore the channel from the “Manage teams” menu. Archive channel is generally available.
Get more from your Teams channels
Channels are where teamwork happens, bringing internal and external members together to collaborate and share. Take advantage of these tools to help manage your channels across the lifecycle, for improved focus, connection, and productivity.
Learn more about channels in Microsoft Teams, and keep watching this this blog for additional features and strategies to help you get the most from your Teams channels.
Deploy and manage Shifts to your Frontline teams in Teams Admin Center
Schedule and shift management are a foundational driver of productivity for frontline workforces. Shifts app offers a simple and effective way for managers and workers to manage their schedules with Microsoft Teams.
Previously, IT admins did not have the ability to control and standardize schedule management across frontline locations: only frontline managers managed both the set up and deployment of Shifts across their workforce.
What’s new?
We are thrilled to announce that IT admins can preconfigure Shifts settings in the Teams Admin Center and deploy to their frontline locations. This will standardize Shifts app settings across all locations, as admins will be able to uniformly set Shifts app settings, time-off reasons, and schedule groups across all frontline teams to avoid discrepancies between teams.
Key advantages included:
- Frontline managers can skip setup and immediately start building their shift schedules out-of-the-box.
- Shifts capabilities can be centrally managed across all locations by IT admins, and frontline managers can't override them in Shifts.
How does it work?
In the Teams Admin Center, we’ve created a new entry point, “Manage frontline experiences”, for frontline app deployment and management.
On this page, admins click “Set up” across “Deploy Shifts to your teams” to launch the wizard to:
1. Configure Shifts settings : This will be set across all frontline teams. During this process, Admins define the following:
- The Shifts requests capabilities are available for their frontline employees
- The time-off reasons used when workers create time-off requests
- Whether they allow time clock to be used in Shifts.
Here is an example:
2. Admins proceed to Create schedule groups. They start of by defining who will be granted the schedule owner permission across all frontline teams by creating a group on Microsoft Entra of all frontline managers. Schedule owners are managers on the ground who can create and assign shifts to their frontline workforce. To minimize manual updates to this group, it is recommended that admins create a dynamic group for schedule owners that will automatically update based on user attributes.
After defining the schedule owners, the admin can decide whether to delegate the creation and management of schedule groups to schedule owners or define schedule groups themselves. If the latter is chosen, these groups will be created across all frontline teams.
What are schedule groups in Shifts?
They are sub-divisions within a particular frontline team that will allow frontline managers to organize their workers accordingly. For example, the job is permitted for that location.
Now that the admin has completed setup of Shifts, frontline managers will not have to complete all these steps, and admins can continue to manage these settings for frontline managers in the future.
Admins will return to the “Manage frontline apps” landing page and can click on “Deploy”.
Admins will choose their desired frontline teams. Any frontline team that has been deployed through the deploy frontline dynamic teams experience in the Teams admin center will appear here. The admin can set the time zones for each location and deploy.
Need to make changes? No problem. You can modify Shifts app settings, like shift request capabilities, time-off reasons, time clock, schedule groups, and schedule owners by clicking “Deploy Shifts to your teams” again on the “Manage frontline apps” page. Any modifications you make will impact frontline teams where you have already deployed Shifts and any new teams you may deploy to in the future.
What’s the impact in Shifts?
In Shifts, frontline managers won’t have the ability to edit the pre-configured settings provided in Teams Admin Center. Only Admin can manage those settings centrally.
1. In the Settings page, Frontline Managers will be displayed with the following:
2. Additionally, if Admins selected to centrally manage schedule groups for the frontline teams, the frontline managers won’t be able to add, edit or delete the schedule groups created by the Admin. The following will be displayed to your frontline managers:
As a result, frontline managers do not have to spend time completing and managing Shifts settings. These s