New enhancements in Private Channels in Microsoft Teams unlock their full potential
Private channels have long empowered focused collaboration among a subset of a team’s members. Whether you're managing sensitive projects, driving confidential initiatives, or simply need a space for more targeted discussions, private channels offer the control and privacy your team needs. Now, private channels are evolving to meet the needs of modern teams. In response to customer feedback, we are introducing enhanced flexibility, greater scalability, and streamlined compliance management. Read on to learn about these key enhancements and how to prepare. Why Private Channels Matter Private channels offer a dedicated space for conversations that benefit from added structure, persistence, and control. They’re especially valuable when navigating sensitive topics like budgets, HR discussions, managing project-specific workstreams, or collaborating with clients and vendors who require limited access .While chat are ideal for quick exchanges, private channels help keep discussions organized, make shared files easier to find, and help ensure conversations remain accessible over time, all while giving you more control over who can access. What’s Changing—and Why It Matters To support growing usage and help simplify compliance, private channels will now use a group mailbox (like shared channels) instead of storing messages in individual user mailboxes. This change unlocks several key benefits: 🚀 Expanded Limits Feature Current New Max private channels per team 30 1000 Max members per private channel 250 5000 Meeting scheduling ❌ ✅ Supported Simplified Compliance At a user level Group Helping to Simplify Compliance By aligning private channels with group-based storage, compliance policies (e.g., retention, legal hold, DLP, eDiscovery) can be applied at the team (Microsoft 365 group) level, helping to reduce complexity and driving consistency across channel types. For example, one retention policy can be applied to the team’s group, instead of managing a separate policy for private channels. Organizations with compliance policies (retention, legal hold, DLP, eDiscovery, Optical Character recognition) for private channels must ensure those policies are also applied to the team’s group scope before migration begins. Existing policies for user mailboxes will continue to apply; post-migration, new private channel data will be governed by policies of the group mailbox. What Compliance Admins Need to Do To enable a smooth transition and help maintain compliance coverage, follow the below: Microsoft Purview Hold and eDiscovery Before Migration: In Microsoft Purview compliance portal, update hold policies to include the team’s Microsoft 365 group mailbox in addition to user mailboxes. After Migration: New data will reside in the group mailbox. For full eDiscovery, search both user and group mailboxes. Note: Private channel message history (edits/deletes) in user mailboxes under an existing hold will remain in their preserved user library folder until the hold expires. Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Policies Before Migration: In Microsoft Purview compliance portal, update DLP policies to include team’s group. After Migration: Check that the DLP policies are scoped to the group mailbox for private channels. Microsoft Purview Retention Policies Before Migration: In Microsoft Purview compliance portal, go to solutions -> Data Lifecycle Management -> Retention policies Create Teams channel messages policy scoped to Teams having equivalent Retention type and duration similar to existing private channel retention policies. After Migration: Set retention policies for the parent team with all channels in the team in mind, including private channels. Microsoft policies for Optical Character Recognition Optical character recognition (OCR) is managed via Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policy. Before migration, modify the corresponding DLP policy that needs be applied for OCR to private channels and change locations to all users and groups. What’s Next This update helps make private channels more scalable, manageable, and compliant. It’s a big step forward for organizations that rely on Teams for secure, structured collaboration. Migration is scheduled to begin in early October 2025 and is expected to be completed by the end of December 2025 for the worldwide cloud. During this period, private channel data will gradually move from user mailboxes to the team’s group mailbox. Private channels can be used throughout the migration. Special cloud migration will happen in early 2026. Migration can start or end at different times for each tenant during the rollout period. To track progress, a new PowerShell command will be available for tenants to check whether their migration has started or is completed. The command will be - Get-TenantPrivateChannelMigrationStatus -TenantId <tenantId> We’ll be updating public documentation soon and will share links here.What's New in Microsoft Teams | April 2026
Our team just wrapped up the M365 Community Conference in Orlando, FL, and it was an incredible way to close out April! Our teams were energized by connecting with, listening to, and sharing what’s new with many of you: the builders, innovators and icons of intelligent work. Thank you to everyone who attended, and we can’t wait to see even more of you at next year’s conference! As for this month’s Teams updates, we remain focused on bringing you features that can make collaboration more intelligent, secure, and seamless—whether you’re working with AI, managing calls, or enabling hybrid teams at scale. Across meetings, calling, and the workplace, you’ll find improvements designed to remove friction, from smarter call handling with Copilot call delegation, to Interpreter agent enhancements that support proper attribution for sign-language users in meetings, and updated room booking and live transcription in meetings in Teams Rooms. In another new update, Targeted messages for agents now enables your agents and bots to send targeted, private, temporary updates to specific users in chats, channels, and meetings, without interrupting everyone else. We’re also delivering meaningful security and compliance enhancements, including sensitivity label inheritance for meeting recordings and Loop notes, improved admin visibility into external collaboration risks, and new user‑reported security signals in the Teams admin center. These updates help organizations protect information end to end, without slowing down teamwork. Together, these updates reflect our continued focus on helping teams collaborate more effectively, confidently, and securely—every day. Read on for all the latest updates! Feature categories: (All features listed are generally available unless otherwise noted) Chat and Collaboration Meetings Teams Phone Workplace Fundamentals and Security Platform Frontline Workers Certified for Teams Devices Chat and Collaboration Targeted messages for agents on Teams Send private, targeted messages from agents or bots to a specific person in a channel, group chat, or meeting—without distracting everyone else. Agents can share timely prompts, reminders, or next steps only with the people who need them, keeping conversations focused and clutter-free. As situations change, agents can update or remove these messages so guidance stays relevant and accurate. To enable targeted messaging for agents visit this page: Targeted Messages - Teams | Microsoft Learn Simplified Teams app bar The Teams app bar has been simplified to help you focus on what matters. App labels are hidden by default to reduce visual noise, the overflow menu is less cluttered, and you can now choose to show or hide the app bar to create more space for your work. New controls for quick views in the Teams chat list Positioned at the top of the chat and channels list in Teams, quick view controls provide fast access to mentions, followed threads, and more. You can choose when and how quick views are displayed – and can collapse the section at any time. Experts & verified answers in communities Help community members quickly identify trusted responses with Community Experts and verified answers. In the Engage app for Android and the Engage app in Teams for iOS and Android, members can request expert status, which admins can review and assign. Approved experts are highlighted with a special label next to their names and, along with admins, can endorse accurate and credible responses. Once marked, these responses receive a “verified” label, making it easy for viewers to recognize correct answers and rely on trusted expertise across community conversations. Microsoft Viva: Engage community membership management in Teams for iOS & Android Manage your communities on the go. Community admins can now add or remove members directly from the Teams mobile app on iOS and Android. Keep your Viva Engage communities up to date—anytime, anywhere. Meetings Consecutive interpretation in Interpreter agent Consecutive interpretation is a new mode in Microsoft Teams Interpreter that helps participants collaborate more naturally in meetings with two spoken languages. With consecutive interpretation, the translation begins after each speaker finishes speaking. This creates a turn-based flow that more closely reflects how people naturally communicate in multilingual conversations. In addition, consecutive interpretation brings Interpreter onto the meeting stage for everyone to see and hear, making it easier to follow, participate, and stay aligned. With this update, Interpreter now supports two modes: real-time simultaneous interpretation, launched last year, and the new consecutive interpretation mode designed for back-and-forth conversations—now available in public preview. Accurate transcript attribution for meetings with sign language interpreters Transcripts now attribute contributions to the original participant using sign language, not the interpreter. This ensures ideas and decisions are correctly credited to the person who shared them, including in Copilot chat and meeting recap. Spoken language detection is now automatic Spoken language detection is now fully automatic. Teams will automatically detect each speaker’s spoken language and update it in real time as the conversation evolves. Manual spoken language selection will no longer be available. This applies to both live captions and transcripts when Interpreter is enabled or when multilingual speech recognition is turned on in meeting options, helping deliver more accurate language recognition and a more consistent multilingual meeting experience. Teams meeting Notes, powered by Loop Teams meeting Notes, powered by Loop, are now available for instant meetings that started via ‘Meet now’ from the calendar. Notes are Loop components in Teams meetings and chats that allow end users to co-create and collaborate on their meeting agenda, notes, and action items that can be co-authored and edited by everyone. Since Notes are Loop components, they stay in sync across all the places they have been shared. Once added, meeting notes can also be shared and edited in the Loop app in your web browser. Resize the top video gallery in Teams meetings to see more people when content is being shared. Now you can resize the video gallery at the top of your meeting window when content is being shared, making it easy to see more participants alongside the presentation. Simply drag the divider between the shared content and the video gallery to adjust how much space each takes up. Whether you're in a small team sync or a large all-hands meeting, this gives you the flexibility to keep more faces visible while staying focused on what's being presented, helping everyone feel seen and engaged. Available on Windows desktop and Mac. Teams Phone Copilot call delegation - Frontier Incoming calls don’t wait for a break in your day. Whether you’re leading a meeting or juggling back-to-back commitments, every new call creates the same dilemma: answer and risk losing momentum, or ignore it and risk missing something important. Microsoft 365 Copilot can now help answer your incoming Teams calls and schedule follow-up appointments on your behalf. After turning on the experience in the Teams Calls settings, call delegation gathers context from callers that it shares with you to help you decide whether to pick up. It can also set up follow-up appointments via Microsoft Bookings so that you remember to meet with the callers that matter most. This experience is available to users with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license through Frontier early access program. Learn more about call delegation and the Frontier program. Teams Phone user multi-line Many organizations need a way for a single person to represent multiple departments or regions in calling without juggling different Teams accounts, devices, or complicated routing workarounds. Teams Phone user multi-line now enables Teams administrators to configure and assign up to 10 phone numbers to an individual user through Teams admin center. Supported across desktop and Teams phone devices, user multi-line is ideal for individuals who handle multiple roles or who call contacts across different geographies. For example, a communications director supporting both press relations and analyst relations can take inbound calls for either function and place outbound calls using the appropriate number, all within a unified Teams experience. Or a customer success manager covering North America and Europe can use dedicated regional numbers so that customers reach the right line and interact with a familiar local caller ID, helping build greater trust. Learn more. Workplace - Rooms Ad-hoc room reservation from Teams Rooms on Android console With Teams Rooms on Android consoles, you can quickly book a meeting room for immediate use, helping to avoid scheduling conflicts and ensure uninterrupted spontaneous meetings. Available in Teams Rooms Pro-licensed rooms. Learn more. Live transcription in Teams Rooms on Android View and control live transcription during a meeting from a Teams Rooms on Android device. The real-time transcript includes speaker names and timestamp. You can adjust settings such as spoken language, translated language, and whether both original and translated transcripts are displayed side by side on the front of room display. This feature is available in Teams Rooms Pro. Learn more. Digital signage in Teams Rooms on Android As with Teams Rooms on Windows, IT Admins can now set up Teams Rooms on Android to show dynamic content on the front-of-room display when not in use. Configuration is available for tenant-wide and room-specific settings via the Teams Rooms Pro Management portal. The feature supports select third-party digital signage partners like Appspace and XOGO, and is included with Teams Rooms Pro. Learn more. Fundamentals and Security Sensitivity label inheritance for meeting recordings and Loop meeting notes Meeting recordings and Loop meeting notes now automatically inherit your meeting’s sensitivity label. When admins enable label inheritance in the sensitivity label policy, any labeled meeting applies the same label to its MP4 recording and meeting notes, ensuring access controls and protections like data handling rules and encryption carry forward consistently. This also ensures that Copilot and agent responses based on transcripts and notes accurately reflect the meeting’s sensitivity, keeping confidential content protected end to end. External Domains Anomalies Report The External Domains Anomalies Report helps admins proactively identify unusual or risky interactions with external organizations in Microsoft Teams. By analyzing communication trends and detecting sudden spikes, new domains, or abnormal engagement patterns, it provides early visibility into potential data-sharing or security risks. As external collaboration continues to grow, this report offers admins actionable insights to protect their tenants while maintaining productive cross-organization collaboration. The report is available in the Teams Admin Center. It’s updated daily, and admins can select a time range to view (for example, the past 24 hours or past 7 days). User reported security signals in Teams admin center This update brings end‑user security reporting into Teams Admin Center. Admins can now view and download signals from messages users report as “a security concern” or “not a security concern” within TAC Protection reports, helping them identify trends and fine‑tune policies and responses. Microsoft Teams VDI Optimization for Omnissa on Windows Microsoft Teams has long supported Omnissa in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) environments; this feature advances that support by bringing Omnissa deployments onto Microsoft’s modern Teams VDI optimization architecture. With this update, organizations running Teams on Omnissa can take advantage of the new optimization to deliver improved performance, greater feature parity with the native desktop client, and a more reliable experience for meetings, audio, video, and screen sharing—while continuing to benefit from the centralized management, security, and scalability of VDI. Trigger workflows from messages on Teams mobile (Android and iOS) Users can now trigger Microsoft Teams workflows directly from a message on Teams mobile for Android and iOS, enabling common automation scenarios - such as approvals, notifications, or follow‑up actions - without switching devices or leaving the conversation. This update extends workflow message actions to mobile, improves UI reliability, and helps close parity gaps between desktop and mobile experiences for Teams workflows. Prevent screen capture for iOS Prevent screen capture is now available on the Microsoft Teams iOS app. When enabled, this setting helps protect your meeting by preventing the meeting window from being captured in screenshots. This capability builds on the Prevent screen capture experience already available on Desktop Windows and Android mobile app, helping organizations apply more consistent protections across supported Teams clients when discussing confidential topics. Mac desktop, virtual desktop, and older clients aren't supported. People on these platforms will not be able to turn on their own video, share their screen, or see other's videos or shared screens. Platform Python support in the Microsoft Teams SDK Teams SDK is now available in Python. With the Teams SDK, developers have a production‑ready foundation for building intelligent collaboration‑centric experiences directly within Microsoft Teams. And now, Python developers can take full advantage of that platform, using the same SDK surface that powers modern Teams apps and agents. You can learn more about the Python release of the Teams SDK in the Getting Started | Teams SDK documentation. Frontline workers Pilots Kickstart frontline innovation with the Frontline Hub in Teams admin center. Create pilots in just a few clicks—choose the capabilities you want to test, select workers and managers, and monitor adoption through real-time usage insights. With built-in management controls, you can easily iterate as you learn: adjust features, update participants, and expand channels—all without slowing down your rollout. Deploy at scale Deploying Microsoft Teams to your frontline workforce is now faster and more seamless than ever. A new guided deployment experience in the Teams admin center lets you roll out a standardized Teams setup—whether you’re expanding a pilot or launching organization‑wide—in just a few steps. From one place, you can add frontline workers, organize them into teams, and apply a consistent pinned app configuration that updates automatically as your needs evolve. Once deployed, the Frontline hub gives you centralized control to manage teams, adjust pinned apps across your entire frontline workforce, and monitor adoption with built‑in usage insights. This streamlined approach helps you scale confidently, maintain consistency, and keep every frontline worker connected with the tools they rely on. Certified for Teams Devices Cisco Express Install Solutions for Teams Rooms Cisco Express Install solutions are fully integrated meeting room packages designed for fast, large‑scale deployment of Microsoft Teams Rooms. These Cisco‑certified bundles combine Cisco Room Bar or Room Bar Pro devices with Samsung commercial displays and Ashton Bentley freestanding mounts. Ergonomically designed for optimal camera angles and viewing height, the solutions deliver a consistent, familiar Teams Rooms experience across locations while enabling rapid global rollout with minimal on‑site effort. Two bundles (each available in either First Light or Carbon color) feature the Cisco Room Bar package and are designed for huddle spaces, focus rooms, and small meeting rooms: Cisco Room Bar with 43” display Cisco Room Bar with 55” display Two bundles (each available in either First Light or Carbon color) feature the Cisco Room Bar Pro package and are designed for small and mid-sized meeting rooms: Cisco Room Bar Pro with 75” display Cisco Room Bar Pro with two 55” displays One bundle (available in either First Light or Carbon color) features the Cisco Room Kit EQ package and is designed for midsize, large, and extra-large meeting rooms: Cisco Room Kit EQ with 105” display Neat Express Install: TAA-Compliant Neat Board Pro with Heckler Stand Neat Board Pro with the Heckler Stand is TAA compliant, making it easier for US federal government agencies, higher‑education institutions, and other public‑sector organizations to bring award‑winning video collaboration solutions into their workspaces. Together, they provide cutting‑edge audiovisual and AI‑driven capabilities—supporting high‑performance cameras, far‑field microphones, and immersive 4K touch experiences designed for medium to large spaces. Learn more. Jabra Express Install: PanaCast 40 VBS Bundles (LG displays available in: 43″ / 50″ / 55″ / 65″) The Jabra PanaCast 40 VBS teams up with Salamander Designs Acadia Tabletop Stand and LG 4K UHD displays to transform huddle rooms, focus rooms, and small meeting spaces into smart collaboration zones—fast. With panoramic video, intelligent audio, and clean cable management, this Express Install bundle is designed for sub‑90‑minute installation with no wall drilling or rewiring required. It’s a true plug‑and‑play Teams Rooms solution that’s easy to deploy, simple to manage, and ready for AI‑powered productivity. Learn more. Jabra PanaCast 40 VBS + Control IP PanaCast 40 VBS brings everyone into the picture with its 180° field‑of‑view and 4K precision—capturing every participant clearly, even those close to the screen or seated in the corners. AI‑powered video features track speakers, adjust views, and keep conversations natural for more productive meetings. Setup is quick, so rooms are ready in minutes. Built on the Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform for robust security, and managed through Jabra+, it enables remote, real‑time device updates to keep collaboration seamless. Learn more. MAXHUB XBoard V7 (Display available in 55″ and 75″) The MAXHUB XBoard for Microsoft Teams Rooms is a Teams‑certified interactive display running Windows 11 IoT that delivers an all‑in‑one solution for meeting rooms and open spaces. Its Trident Lens triple‑camera system ensures clear, dynamic video calls, while Audio Fence technology filters background noise for crisp communication. With a high‑color‑gamut 4K/5K non‑glare display, flexible sizing, optional on‑seat touch console, and remote device management via MAXHUB Pivot, XBoard V7 offers a reliable, scalable collaboration experience with easy plug‑and‑play setup and a three‑year warranty. Learn more. MAXHUB Universal Console TCP33T MAXHUB Universal Console TCP33T is a Teams Rooms‑certified touch console designed for Microsoft Surface Hub and MAXHUB XBoard. It allows users to join meetings, invite participants, control meetings, and share content without leaving their seats—supporting smooth, focused, and efficient collaboration across meeting spaces. Learn more. MAXHUB XBar V70 Kit The MAXHUB XBar V70 Kit with console is a Teams‑certified videobar built on MDEP Android and designed for medium to large meeting rooms. It features a 200‑megapixel quad‑lens camera system, 16 beamforming microphones, AI‑enhanced audio, and FlexMount for simple installation. Built on Microsoft‑certified Android security architecture, the solution enables secure Teams integration, streamlined deployment, and remote device management through MAXHUB Pivot, with included service coverage to simplify ongoing IT operations. Learn more. Barco ClickShare Hub Pro and Huddly ®C1™ for Teams Rooms on Android The ClickShare Hub Pro and Huddly C1 bundle is a certified Microsoft Teams Rooms solution for small‑to‑medium meeting rooms. ClickShare Hub Pro enables one‑click, wireless conferencing and 4K content sharing with next‑generation ClickShare Buttons and dual‑screen support, all built on the Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform for secure meetings. Huddly C1 adds modular, AI‑driven video and intelligent audio that scales from standalone to multi‑camera setups—delivering engaging meetings for participants and flexible, enterprise‑grade management for IT teams. Learn More Yealink UH42 / UH44 and WH68 Headsets Yealink expanded its portfolio of Teams‑certified headsets with wired UH42 and UH44 models and the WH68 Hybrid headset with charging stand. These devices are designed for professional use across open offices and hybrid work scenarios, offering clear audio, comfortable form factors for all‑day wear, and flexible connectivity options to support modern Teams calling and meetings. Yealink UH 42 and 44 (Mono) Yealink UH 42 and 44 (Dual) Yealink WH68Licensing updates extend access to advanced capabilities in Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Places
UPDATE: These changes will go into effect on April 1, 2026 for customers with users on any license that includes access to the calendar in Outlook and Teams (including Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Basic, Business Standard, and Business Premium; Outlook 365 E1, E3, and E5; Exchange Online; various Teams licenses; additional Microsoft 365 and Office 365 licenses). Access to the Places management portal remains available for all Places customers. At Microsoft, we empower organizations to achieve more through intelligent communication, inclusive collaboration, and connected workplace experiences. Our customers are looking for scaled, widespread access to powerful tools that enable workforces to interact and communicate with more intelligence and precision. To facilitate that, we’re announcing Teams licensing updates that make it easier for customers to unlock their full communication and collaboration potential. These licensing changes simplify access to capabilities spanning across Microsoft Places and Teams events, so you can deliver experiences that enhance virtual and in-person collaboration. Read on to learn about the changes ahead and new ways to empower your organization. Access enhanced workplace coordination capabilities Places enables an AI-powered workplace experience by connecting employees to colleagues, spaces, and services in the office. We are expanding access to end-user functionality in Places by making it available in all licenses that include access to the calendar in Outlook and Teams (including Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Basic, Business Standard, and Business Premium; Outlook 365 E1, E3, and E5; Exchange Online; various Teams licenses; additional Microsoft 365 and Office 365 licenses). Functionality included in this change: Places Finder: Make more informed decisions about bookings with enriched context like images, floorplans, custom attributes, and available technology in the spaces around you. This change enables organizations to upgrade at scale from Room Finder to the full Places Finder experience by onboarding spaces to the Places Directory. Places Explorer: Enable map-based space reservations and explore details about all workplaces, including the people, spaces, and experiences in each location. Access to Places Explorer is through the Places app inside Microsoft Outlook and Teams. These changes will go into effect on April 1, 2026 for customers with users on any license that includes access to the calendar in Outlook and Teams (including Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Basic, Business Standard, and Business Premium; Outlook 365 E1, E3, and E5; Exchange Online; various Teams licenses; additional Microsoft 365 and Office 365 licenses). Manage shared spaces more efficiently Across our AI-powered workplace solutions, we’re continually looking for ways to streamline how organizations manage their inventory of shared desks, spaces, and assets. The newly renamed Teams Shared Space license (formerly Teams Shared Devices license) will be the way that organizations manage this inventory of assets, adding the ability to manage up to four desks with a single license (in addition to the previous ability to manage either a common area phone, a Teams panel, shared space like a room, or a hotdesking device included in the Teams Shared Device license). IT admins will be able to assign licenses to bookable shared spaces individually and control which workspaces are available for employees to use with this new functionality. This license will provide space management capabilities, including: Desk booking: Employees can reserve desks in advance before arriving at a location. Space management: Admins can manage advance reservation policies for desks and set auto-release policies for rooms with a shared spaces license. Space Analytics: Inventory and utilization reports are available for licensed shared spaces (desks). This license will be available on April 1, 2026. For customers with legacy Teams Shared Device licenses, admins will not be required to take any action to transition to this license (but will have to assign additional spaces like desks with an additional no-cost license to take advantage of the new increased allotment of four spaces per license). Communicate and connect at scale Managing communication to thousands or tens of thousands of attendees can be a daunting process for anyone. Built directly on the Teams platform, Teams town hall and webinar enable events at scale with improved capabilities, reliability, and capacity. To empower more organizations to plan and execute high-quality events, we are bringing all town hall and webinar features that were previously only available with a Teams Premium license to Teams Enterprise, including: Streaming chat: Chat for town hall events reduces any message sending lag, enabling smoother communication between attendees and organizers. Reactions interactivity: Enjoy the same reactions from Teams meetings in town hall and webinar, allowing the audience to express themselves and react to presented content. Real-time event insights: Hosts of town hall and webinar instances can get feedback on the performance and reliability of their broadcasts, helping to ensure a smoother experience for attendees. Meeting theme and email customization: Use organizational branding to customize the event-related artifacts that are delivered to attendees. Enterprise Content Delivery Network (eCDN): eCDN helps to manage the bandwidth load of streaming events to large audiences, providing stability and reliability. Immersive events in Teams: Host immersive experiences in custom 3D environments where attendees join as avatars to interact and collaborate. All users with a Teams Enterprise license will soon be able to host Teams events for up to 3,000 attendees, including the ability to use advanced Teams town hall and webinar features. To fully enable events at scale, customers will be able to purchase attendee pack licenses that increase the cap on the total number of attendees up to 100,000 with the same suite of robust features. Attendee pack licenses will come in a range of sizes to provide added flexibility, and will be available to assign through the Teams Admin Center (TAC) after transacting. Summary of licensing changes These changes reflect our commitment to helping organizations confidently embrace the future of work with greater impact across their communication and collaboration. The full slate of changes will go into effect on April 1, 2026: End-user workplace coordination features from Microsoft Places available for licenses that include access to the calendar in Outlook and Teams (including Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Basic, Business Standard, and Business Premium; Outlook 365 E1, E3, and E5; Exchange Online; various Teams licenses; additional Microsoft 365 and Office 365 licenses) Introduction of the renamed Teams Shared Space license with additional capabilities for space management and analytics for admins Advanced Teams events features available for all Teams Enterprise users. For organizations without new Attendee Capacity Pack licenses, the maximum attendee capacity for a Teams event instance is 3,000 concurrent attendees with engagement capabilities like reactions, raise hands, polls, and Q&A. For Teams events that require full attendee interactivity, including the ability for attendees to join with their cameras on and use their microphones (similar to the former webinar experience), the product supports up to 1,000 concurrent attendees to ensure a consistently optimized and well‑controlled experience. Attendee Capacity Pack add-on licenses for Teams events start from 5,000, and go up to 100,000 attendees Independent of these changes, we are committed to continuing to provide a robust set of experiences for organizations that have invested in Teams Premium. Teams Premium will still be the only way for customers to experience advanced communication features in Teams meetings, meeting protection, Advanced Collaboration Tools for admins, Intelligent recap, Queues app for Teams Phone, and enhanced capabilities for Bookings and virtual appointments. For a full list of current Teams Premium features, please click here. More information about these new licensing changes, including impacts for existing Teams Premium customers using these products and features, are available below. Read more about these changes in our licensing update FAQ attached below Explore more Teams experiences: Microsoft Teams Learn more about Microsoft Places: Microsoft Places Learn more about Teams town hall and webinarStreamline your contact center telephony with Teams Phone extensibility
Microsoft Teams Phone brings intelligent, cloud-based calling to Teams, streamlining operations and delivering secure, reliable voice experiences. Until recently, however, enabling enterprise calling in the contact center meant deploying separate solutions, adding administrative complexity and redundant costs. Today, we’re excited to announce the general availability of Teams Phone extensibility for a growing ecosystem of contact center solutions, including Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center. This new capability allows customers to extend Teams Phone investments into the contact center, enabling customers to use a single, integrated calling solution across both unified communications (UCaaS) and contact center (CCaaS) environments. Organizations can leverage Teams Phone extensibility to: Apply existing Teams Phone licenses to enable telephony for users of Dynamics 365 Contact Center or other certified ISV contact center solutions 1 . Avoid procuring, configuring, managing, and training users on a separate phone system for contact center deployments. Leverage the broad geographic availability of Teams Phone through calling plans available in 36 countries, Operator Connect in 96 countries, and Direct Routing globally. Benefit from the extensive features of Teams Phone, including the familiar Teams management interface. With these benefits, you can now streamline your telephony and reduce the number of solutions to license and manage across your organization. Learn more about the features of Teams Phone extensibility including conversational AI integration. Unify your calling capabilities for time and cost savings Teams Phone extensibility is a significant development for customers. It reflects how Dynamics 365 Contact Center helps organizations innovate faster and reduce costs with Microsoft’s unified cloud platform, low-code tools, and built-in AI – making it easier to build, manage, and scale contact center solutions without complex infrastructure or costly custom development. Teams Phone extensibility enables organizations to unify calling and contact center experiences for both agents and customers, all within a secure, familiar Microsoft environment. A commissioned Total Economic Impact™ study conducted by Forrester Consulting found that organizations using Teams Phone extensibility with Dynamics 365 Contact Center could achieve a projected return on investment up to 345% over three years 2 . These savings stem from lower operational and service fees, streamlined administration, and greater call center efficiency. With its certification in progress, Teams Phone extensibility with Dynamics 365 Contact Center is more than an integration. It’s a shift toward unified, intelligent communication that helps businesses operate smarter and deliver better customer experiences. Download the full study to learn more. ISV partners provide additional choice and flexibility Teams Phone extensibility is also supported by contact center ISV solutions that utilize the Teams Unify integration model. ISV solutions that have completed certification for Teams Phone extensibility include AudioCodes, CentrePal, ComputerTalk, Heedify, and Landis. 1 We look forward to adding additional certified contact solutions to this growing ecosystem in the months ahead. If you are a contact center developer, learn more about enabling Teams Phone calling for your CCaaS solution. Contact center ISVs that are Unify-model certified for Teams Phone extensibility include AudioCodes, CentrePal, ComputerTalk, Heedify, and Landis. Power your contact center with the calling capabilities of Teams Phone If you're already using Teams Phone and Dynamics 365 Contact Center or any of the certified ISV solutions, you can start taking advantage of Teams Phone extensibility today. Not yet using these solutions? You can set up trials for both Teams Phone and Dynamics 365 Contact Center to explore the benefits firsthand. If you're interested in trialing Teams Phone extensibility with a certified ISV contact center solution, please contact your preferred CCaaS vendor for more information. 1 While certification is not required to access the Azure Communication Services API that enables Teams Phone extensibility, we recommend selecting a contact center solution that has completed the certification process for the best experience. 2 Projected benefits for a composite customer. New Technology: The Projected Total Economic Impact™ Of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center with Teams Phone extensibility, Forrester Consulting, Casey Sirotnak, Jonathan Lipsitz, August 2025.Microsoft Teams events: A new unified experience makes it easier to discover, create, and manage events
Today’s organizational challenges and growing complexity can make it difficult to create meaningful connections with audiences, whether engaging employees or reaching a dispersed customer base. Having the right tools to navigate the demands of large-scale communication for digital and hybrid events is critical to achieving business objectives. We are excited to introduce the new Teams events experience designed to simplify how events are discovered, created, and managed. Now in public preview, Teams events represents the next step in delivering professional, high-quality events, featuring flexible customization options to empower event organizers and better engage the audiences that matter most. Unified event creation flow At the heart of this Teams events update is greater choice and control for organizers. The Meet app becomes the dedicated home for events in Teams, featuring a new event creation flow that gives organizers more flexibility and control when setting up their events. Organizers can customize experiences such as audience interaction (attendee camera feeds, raise hands, polls, etc.), registration control, and event scale. The new event creation experience no longer constrains individual features to a particular event type, replaced by a dynamic scheduling flow that gives organizers increased flexibility to tailor the event experience to specific audiences and goals. Centralized event discovery and tracking Busy schedules make it impractical, and sometimes impossible, for people to be aware of important events an organization hosts. The new Discover tab in the Meet app helps organizers promote events and drive interest by making them easier for audiences to find and access. The Discover tab is where organizers and attendees can find and track events, without relying solely on calendar invitations. Users can view events they’re registered for, find and register for new events, and catch up on recordings of past events. The Discover tab gives organizers, registrants, and attendees a single place to stay connected to their events. Simplified event management Managing events in Teams is easier than ever with the new Manage tab. No more searching through calendars or hidden menus to update presenter bios, adjust sharing functions, or track registrations. Teams events brings everything into one place for streamlined management. Event pages are created automatically when an event is saved, and serve as the central location for settings, customization, and branding. After an event concludes, Teams events makes it easy to send attendees follow-up emails and recording notifications. Event organizers also have a single place to access registration data and recap tools designed for insights and continued engagement. New capabilities give event organizers more control and flexibility In addition to the new unified experience, Teams events is adding capabilities to streamline setup and drive attendance: New delegate and shared mailbox support enables authorized users to schedule and manage events on behalf of the principal organizer. This helps teams collaborate more naturally when coordinating large or recurring events. Dedicated event details pages make it easy for organizers to view all elements related to the event, including built-in Q&A, and the ability to save customizations as templates for future use. Support for custom domains for event emails improves deliverability and helps invitations and reminders avoid spam filters, while offering additional event branding. Enhanced co-organizer editing and management controls make it easier to share responsibilities throughout the event lifecycle, ensuring a consistent management experience even as teams grow and roles evolve. Expanded access to events with new licensing Starting April 1 st , 2026, Teams events capabilities such as town hall and webinar, including advanced features, are available to all users licensed for Teams Enterprise and no longer require Teams Premium. This expanded access to Teams events enables more people in your organization to create high-quality, professional events. Along with these licensing changes, we also announced Attendee Capacity Pack licenses would be available to scale digital and hybrid events up to 100,000. For more information, please read our recent licensing announcement. Teams live events retirement Teams events will continue to be the experience where we invest in bringing new features and capabilities to support high-quality, professional digital and hybrid events at scale. With this launch, we will be retiring Teams live events fully on June 30, 2026. Users with events already scheduled through February 28, 2027, will be able to carry out these instances as planned through that date to avoid disruption. For more information, please refer to our recent retirement announcement. Create events that connect It’s never been more important to make meaningful connections with the audiences that matter to your organization, and your ability to deliver highly engaging events can play a critical role. The new Teams events experience streamlines your events, from discovering what’s happening across your organization, to creating tailored formats, to managing professional engagements at scale, all in one place. This new chapter brings greater simplicity, flexibility, and power to every event organizer, manager, presenter, and attendee. With expanded access through licensing updates, Teams events provide the foundation to deliver memorable, high-quality experiences, and enables even more people across your organization to confidently bring their events to life.
Introducing New Frontline Innovations at Microsoft 365 Community Conference
We announced several exciting updates at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference this week: you can now scale Teams pilots to your broader frontline organization faster, fill open shifts automatically with smart scheduling, deliver official operational updates with the new Communicator App, and conduct site walkthroughs handsfree in Frontline Agent. Scale your frontline pilot with a guided deployment wizard Deploy and manage a consistent Microsoft Teams experience to your frontline workforce from the Teams Admin Center. Within the Frontline section, admins can start a new deployment or expand an existing frontline pilot to your broader organization through a guided deployment wizard. Use the wizard to select capabilities, add frontline users, organize them into static teams, and apply a standardized pinned app configuration across your frontline environment. Use this feature to: Extend a frontline pilot to additional users. If you have already validated a frontline pilot, you can use this experience to extend to additional frontline users across the organization. The capability configurations carry forward automatically so you can build on what you have already tested. Create and manage a pinned app configuration. Define one standardized pinned app configuration that can be applied to frontline workers across teams and groups in your deployment. Updates to pinned apps are applied for frontline users automatically. Organize your frontline workforce into teams. Create static frontline teams organized by location or business unit by uploading a CSV file with workforce data or by adding teams individually. Manage your deployment from a central location. After deployment, admins can use the Manage organization section under Frontline in the Teams admin center to add more teams or groups, update pinned apps organization-wide and manage team membership. Track adoption. Visit the Usage insights section under Frontline in the Teams admin center to measure activity across all your frontline users and teams. To learn more about this feature, please read the documentation here that describes the end-to-end experience. If you are interested in joining private preview for additional solutions that accelerate your Microsoft Teams frontline deployment, please sign up here. Automatically assign open shifts with Smart Scheduling in Shifts Automatically assign open shifts using past schedules, employee availability, and scheduling rules. The Assign open shifts feature in Shifts helps managers distribute open shifts using available scheduling information—such as employee availability, scheduled time off, constraints like maximum weekly or daily hours— and historical data about what shifts people usually work to quickly build a fair schedule. Start by creating open shifts for the required number of positions, then select "Assign open shifts" to begin the process of assigning them to available workers. If all constraints cannot be met, some shifts may remain unassigned and can be reviewed and assigned manually by the manager. Learn more about auto-assign open shifts here. Send operational updates with Communicator in Teams The Communicator app in Microsoft Teams allows operations teams to publish structured, action‑oriented messages to frontline workers within the Teams Channels they use. It provides a centralized way to share day-to-day operational updates—such as safety alerts, training reminders, or system outages— and track message delivery and engagement without requiring recipients to install an additional app or change how they work. Sign up for the limited public preview here. Run hands-free inspections with voice-driven Site Walkthrough in Frontline Agent Site walkthrough in Frontline Agent allows frontline workers to conduct inspections, document issues, and complete compliance checklists through natural speech. Voice inputs are captured and organized into structured digital records within the workflow. This experience supports hands‑free data entry during site walkthroughs to help reduce manual paperwork, improve reporting efficiency, and ensure critical operational insights from the field are consistently recorded. Sign up for the limited public preview here. Explore our learn docs for more information on all of our Teams for frontline solutions.
The Next Chapter of Microsoft Teams in Virtualized Environments
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) has long been a critical deployment model for Microsoft Teams, especially for organizations that rely on centralized desktops for security, compliance, and scale. Over the past six years, Microsoft has invested heavily in improving the Teams experience in VDI—listening to customer feedback, addressing operational pain points, and rethinking how collaboration workloads should run in virtualized environments. That journey has now reached an important milestone: the legacy WebRTC based VDI optimization is being retired, and the new VDI optimization — built on top of a new media engine— is becoming the standard going forward. In this post, I want to explain why Microsoft is making this change, what customers gain with the new architecture, what’s coming next, and how IT teams can track adoption and progress. Why Microsoft Is Deprecating WebRTC-based optimization The WebRTC-based optimization (“Citrix HDX Media optimized” or “AVD Media optimized”) was designed in an earlier era of Teams, relying on WebRTC stacks bundled with the Remote Desktop client / Citrix Workspace app to offload audio/video/screensharing processing from the virtual desktop to the endpoint. While this approach enabled media optimization for the most common scenarios, it also introduced architectural limitations that became more pronounced as Teams evolved. Based on years of customer feedback, support cases, and operational learnings, several challenges consistently surfaced: Feature gaps between native Teams and VDI Longer call setup times Limited diagnostics and observability, making troubleshooting difficult for IT Operational complexity, including version-dependency on external components (like VDI Clients or VDI Hosts) and frequent infrastructure alignment issues. As Microsoft modernized the Teams client itself, it became clear that continuing to invest in the WebRTC based model would slow innovation and prevent VDI from reaching parity with physical desktops. This led to a full re-architecture of Teams in VDI, resulting in the new optimization in Q4 2024 (colloquially referred to as VDI 2.0). With the new optimization now broadly adopted, Microsoft is transitioning WebRTC into a legacy state, with defined End of Support and End of Availability milestones for Windows-based VDI environments that run on Azure Virtual Desktops, Windows 365 and Citrix (and only for these). What exactly is going to happen This change applies only to Windows-based endpoints connecting to Citrix and Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) / Windows 365 environments and does not affect macOS, Linux, mobile, HTML5, or ChromeOS. It does not apply to Omnissa. Separate announcements will be made for those as soon as they hit General Availability. As announced in the Message Center Post 1239928, there will be two subsequent milestones in the deprecation, following the same pattern you saw in the transition from Classic to New Teams: End of Support October 1 st , 2026: WebRTC-based optimization will continue to work, but it is no longer officially supported by Microsoft and Citrix when connecting from Windows endpoints. Two months before this milestone, users will see dismissible banners upon application launch time alerting about the upcoming change. End of Availability April 1 st , 2027: WebRTC stops working; the new optimization is enforced. If Teams fails to optimize, it will fall back to server-side rendering (i.e. all multimedia is processed on the virtual machine, degrading the user experience). Two months before this milestone, users see a modal dialogue window alerting about the upcoming change. If the reason for not being optimized with the new stack is that the plugin is not installed, users are instructed to download the plugin from Microsoft’s website. Optimization Policies related to the legacy optimization (such as in Citrix Studio ) no longer take effect. The Benefits of the new optimization In a nutshell, the new architecture is using the same media engine as the native Teams desktop client. This alignment fundamentally changes what’s possible in virtualized environments. Customers that have migrated frequently report: A plethora of new features (Gallery View 3x3 and 7x7, Hardware Acceleration, 1080p, QoS, Custom and organizational backgrounds, Noise Suppression, HID, Advanced telephony features such as QoS, Media Bypass, and Location Based Routing) (These depend on the user’s endpoint platform and Teams license) Can significantly reduce call setup times (“a game changer”) Better Monitoring and Supportability (Teams Admin Center and Call Quality Dashboard-CQD-, and richer telemetry and diagnostics aligned with native Teams) Because the new architecture decouples from the VDI infrastructure and kept evergreen, Teams avoids mismatches between client versions and media stacks, and can reliability at scale. Additionally, this enables IT teams to proactively identify issues, analyze trends, and reduce mean time to resolution—capabilities that were limited or unavailable before. QuickStart Checklist and Common Pitfalls This quick‑start helps IT admins move from the legacy WebRTC-based optimization to the SlimCore-based optimization while reducing risk and improving visibility. Quickstart Tools/Actions What to look for 1 - Baseline Your Environment Use Teams Admin Center, Call Quality Dashboard and PowerBI Optimized vs Unoptimized users with both WebRTC and SlimCore (a.k.a VDI 2.0). ‘Inactive’ users (i.e. optimization disabled) 2 - Validate Prerequisites Read the VDI Article CWA/Windows App versions, MSIX GPOs on the endpoint, Networking requirements on the branch office 3 - Enable new Optimization -Check VDI Policy -Enable Citrix custom Virtual channels -Deploy Plugins Powershell Policy, Citrix Studio VC Allow List (allow MSTEAMS, MSTEAM1, MSTEAM2) 4 - Verify at User Level VDI Status Indicator It should say “Teams is [AVD]/[Citrix] SlimCore Media optimized” 5 - Monitor adoption Teams Admin Center (TAC) and Call Quality Dashboard (CQD) Use Teams Admin Center → Meetings → Best Practice Configurations Identify users still unoptimized Export impacted users Track improvements in CQD: Call setup success rate Media quality Reliability trends 6 - Prepare for VDI 1.0 Retirement Internal Comms Communicate timelines to Helpdesk and end users 7 - Operational Readiness Check Internal training, monitoring ready -Helpdesk trained on: VDI Status Indicator Teams Admin Center + CQD -No remaining dependencies on WebRTC-specific policies -Monitoring reflects new architecture Pitfall What Admins Observe Root Cause Impact Recommended Fix 1. New Teams installed, but users are still on WebRTC Teams shows ‘Not optimized’ or “Citrix HDX Media optimized” • Virtual channels not allowed (Citrix) • Teams plugin not deployed on endpoint Users never activate SlimCore and remain on legacy WebRTC • Verify Citrix virtual channel allow list • Confirm plugin presence and correct version on endpoints Upgrade CWA to 2508 (this version can auto-install plugins) 2. SlimCore never downloads (MSIX blocked) Silent fallback with no clear error. Endpoint GPOs or security tools (AppLocker?) blocking MSIX installs SlimCore cannot stage/provision and never activates Explicitly allow SlimCore MSIX staging and registration in endpoint policies 3. No monitoring after pilot rollout Some users work fine, others regress Rollout assumed complete after pilot Hidden pockets of unoptimized users persist Regularly review Best Practice Configurations dashboard and CQD 4. Helpdesk still troubleshoots like VDI 1.0 Long investigations and escalations Legacy runbooks and outdated mental models Higher MTTR and unnecessary escalations Retrain support on: • VDI Status Indicator • Teams Admin Center diagnostics • CQD-first troubleshooting Best Practice Configurations Dashboard In early 2026, Microsoft introduced a Best Practice Configurations dashboard in the Teams Admin Center that specifically highlights VDI optimization compliance, allowing admins to: Identify users and locations running unoptimized or legacy configurations Export impacted user lists for targeted remediation Track progress as tenants move fully to the new optimization This tool provides a clear, actionable path to measure migration progress and ensure a consistent Teams experience across virtualized environments. So… What’s Coming Next Microsoft continues to expand support across platforms and ecosystems on top of the new architecture. Upcoming and recently announced roadmap items include: Omnissa Horizon support for Windows endpoints using SlimCore-based optimization, rolling out in late February/early March (Public Tech Preview) Amazon WorkSpaces support, released this month, enabling optimized Teams experiences in AWS Continued expansion across endpoint types, including macOS, as platform capabilities mature. This is currently in Tech Preview! These investments reinforce Microsoft’s commitment to making VDI a first-class citizen, regardless of hosting provider or infrastructure choice. Looking Ahead The transition from the legacy WebRTC to the new optimization is more than a deprecation—it’s a platform shift. By aligning Teams in VDI with the native client architecture, Microsoft is enabling faster innovation, better reliability, and a more consistent collaboration experience for users who depend on virtual desktops every day. If your organization has not yet completed the upgrade, now is the time to assess your environment, validate optimization status, and plan for the retirement of the legacy WebRTC based solution. For additional guidance, please check our public documentation and read our previous blog posts (here, here and here).Use multiple phone numbers in a unified experience with Teams Phone user multi-line
We’re excited to announce general availability of Microsoft Teams Phone user multi-line, which lets admins assign up to 10 phone numbers to a single Teams Phone user. What is Teams Phone user multi-line? Many organizations need a simple way for a single person to represent multiple lines of business or regions across calling without juggling multiple Teams accounts, devices, or complicated call routing workarounds. Teams Phone user multi-line helps streamline that experience by enabling a Teams user to make and receive calls for multiple phone numbers within one unified Teams experience. Here’s what the experience delivers: Assign up to 10 phone numbers to one user: Administrators can configure multiple numbers for a single user, such as when one person needs to handle calls for different departments or roles. Supports localized calling across markets: Serve customers with a familiar local caller ID by using region-specific numbers, helping build greater trust into each interaction. One experience across endpoints: Supported across Teams desktop and Teams Phone devices, so users can make and receive calls from multiple numbers without the hassle of switching accounts or hardware. The result: less overhead for admins and a cleaner calling experience for users who need to handle more than one business calling number in Teams. Teams Phone user multi-line in action Here are a few example use cases for how user multi-line can help workers be more effective: Represent multiple departments or brands. A communications director supports both press relations (PR) and analyst relations (AR). With user multi-line, they can take inbound calls for either function and place outbound calls using the appropriate number. Support different regional identities. A customer success manager covers North America and Europe. They can use dedicated regional numbers so customers reach the right line and see a familiar local caller ID. Operate multiple roles without switching contexts. A Facilities Manager supports both day-to-day operations and after-hours incident response. With two dedicated numbers assigned, they can keep communications organized while managing calls from one Teams client. Get started today Teams administrators can set up the experience. Start using Teams Phone user multi-line today, learn more.
Focus on the Teams Phone calls that matter most with Copilot call delegation
We're excited to announce that Microsoft 365 Copilot can now help answer your incoming Teams calls and schedule follow-up appointments on your behalf. This experience helps users focus on engaging with the calls that matter most and is available through the Frontier program.
