What’s New In Microsoft Teams – August 2023

Our regular monthly Microsoft Teams update for August. Last month’s release includes announcements from Microsoft Inspire 2023 and updates to the Microsoft Teams Meetings, Rooms, & Teams Devices.

Announcements at Microsoft Inspire 2023

Microsoft 365 Copilot in Microsoft Teams Phone

As part of the next wave of generative AI for Teams, Microsoft is incorporating advanced AI capabilities into unscheduled calls in Teams. Copilot in Teams Phone can quickly generate call summaries, capture action items and let users ask questions about the conversation which Copilot can then answer. Copilot in Teams Phone will work for both VoIP and PSTN calls and is now available to customers participating in the Microsoft 365 Copilot Early Access Program.

Collaborative Notes in Microsoft Teams Meetings (Public Preview)

Online meetings are more effective with Collaborative notes. Shortly, meeting attendees can co-create and collaborate in real-time on the meeting agenda, notes, and follow-up tasks. These capabilities have now been integrated into Microsoft Teams, Planner and ToDo. Collaborative notes are a loop component and always stay in sync regardless of how many places they live in and can easily be copied and shared in chats, group chats, emails and other documents.

Shared Calling

With shared calling, a single phone number and calling plan can be shared across a team of users licensed for Teams Phone, either through E5 or Teams Phone Standard. Whether supporting 10 people in a small office or 10,000 users in an enterprise organisation, admins can easily enable shared calling in the Teams admin centre by creating a custom shared calling policy. Shared calling will be available later in 2023.

Find content faster when you search in a specific chat or channel

Searching through multiple posts and conversations in your chat and channels to find the content you need is time-consuming. A new and improved search experience makes it possible to find your content quicky. Use CTRL+F keyboard shortcut to display the search window ‘Find in Chat’ or ‘Find in Channel’, type in the keyword in the search window and results to the specific chat or channel will be displayed on the right side of the screen. This will be generally available by the end of 2023.

Microsoft Teams Meetings

Zoom in and Zoom out when viewing screenshare

Previously, when in a meeting you could only zoom using pinch-to-zoom gesture on a trackpad or other shortcuts. Now, you can use the newly available buttons to zoom in, zoom out, and restore the original size of the incoming screenshare.

 

Teams Breakout Rooms participant shuffle

As a meeting organiser, co-organiser or breakout room manager, you can now utilise the new ‘Shuffle’ capabilities to randomly assign participants to rooms – either prior to the meeting or during the live meeting. You can decide to either shuffle everyone or shuffle only unassigned participants to evenly re-distribute participants to existing rooms.

Microsoft Teams Rooms and Devices

Jabra PanaCast 50 Video Bar System with RC for Teams Rooms on Android

The Jabra PanaCast 50 Video Bar with the PanaCast 50 Remote Control is now certified for Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android. This integrated VC device combines the PanaCast 50, featuring the world-leading professional audio and unique 180-degree field of view, with an advanced Android processor, for future-ready, no-laptop-needed instant collaboration.

 

Yamaha CS-500 and CS-800 Video Collaboration Systems for Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows

Yamaha has added to their lineup of certified Microsoft Teams solutions. These video sound collaboration systems utilise the latest AI technology to harmonise voice and video data to deliver a real-time hybrid collaboration experience. Yamaha’s newly developed SoundCap Eye™ technology pinpoints participant locations to deliver a seamless and immersive tracking experience unlike any other. Learn more about these solutions for Microsoft Teams Rooms.

ThinkSmart One + Lenovo IP Controller for Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows

Now certified for Teams, the ThinkSmart One + Lenovo IP Controller is a Windows-based integrated collaboration bar. Combining the high-resolution camera with extra wide field of view, premium sound for lifelike clarity, and powerful Microsoft Windows computing this device is ideal for small and medium spaces. The Lenovo IP Controller uses an intuitive 10.1-inch, 10-point HD touch display to enable easy-to-use Ethernet connectivity (CAT5e) with PoE. It allows meeting participants to plug their laptop directly into the controller (HDMI on table). Learn more about the ThinkSmart One.

AudioCodes RXPad for Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android

The AudioCodes RX-PAD Meeting Room Controller is a center-of-room intelligent touch controller that provides quick and complete access to AudioCodes meeting room solutions. It enables capabilities such as one-click collaboration initiation with an integrated calendar, simple content sharing and camera adjustments, and much more, all while retaining a modest footprint on the conference room table. Learn more about the AudioCodes RXPad meeting room controller, certified for Teams.

Stay Up To Date With Microsoft Teams – Free Download

Microsoft is constantly adding new and updating existing features to Microsoft Teams.

If you’d like your business to benefit from Microsoft Teams and the added system integrations that can save time and money, download our short ‘SuperCharge Microsoft Teams‘ guide here or contact us for a free 15-minute consultation and find out how we can support your business with Microsoft Teams. Call us on 0800 032 8274 or book a discovery call here.

Find out more from the Microsoft Teams official blog post here.