Microsoft Teams to Introduce Immersive Experiences, AI-Powered Voice Isolation, and More Features

Microsoft Teams, a popular online communication and collaboration tool, continues to receive regular updates with new features and enhancements. During the Ignite conference, Microsoft detailed the latest features and upcoming additions to Teams. One notable development is the general availability of immersive experiences powered by Microsoft Mesh, scheduled for January 2024. This feature allows users to toggle between 2D and 3D views, offering personalized avatars, pre-configured 3D environments, spatial audio, live reactions, and interactive activities.

AI-powered voice isolation and decoration using generative backgrounds are being rolled out to Teams customers, with full availability expected in January 2024. Other features arriving from now through January 2024 include customization of default reactions, chat forwarding, group chat profile picture settings, integration with Loop components in channels, and AI-powered channel backgrounds. Teams Phone users gain private lines and protected voicemail capabilities, with new offers in development for India.

The web experience for Teams is also receiving an upgrade, mirroring the improvements made to the desktop client for Windows and Mac. The enhanced web design promises a more straightforward and responsive experience, boasting 2x faster performance with 50% less memory consumption on Chrome and Edge. Additionally, IT admins will benefit from improvements such as Teams Rooms deployments with Windows Autopatch and advanced collaboration tools. Several new capabilities, including new keyboard shortcuts, code block enhancements, simplified notifications, improved teams and channels management, discoverable private teams, and enhancements for shared channels, are slated for release in January 2024. These updates underscore Microsoft's commitment to continually enhancing the functionality and user experience of Teams.