In our previous blog, we explored the new chat features in Microsoft Teams. Now, get ready to be amazed as we dive into the latest and greatest features for Microsoft Teams Meetings!

Meetings

Extend Copilot in Teams Meetings with a Copilot for Sales Plugin

You can now boost the power of Copilot in Teams meetings for your sales team by enabling a plugin that connects to Copilot for Sales. With this plugin, Copilot can process conversations in real time and provide insights to sellers, like an overview of an account opportunity, based on your organization’s Copilot for Sales data. Copilot can also suggest prompts for querying account information when sellers mention keywords and names during a discussion. You can enable the plugin easily, and sellers can turn it on from the Copilot plugin menu. This feature helps Copilot surface data and insights from your organization’s Copilot for Sales knowledge base during customer meetings, improving sellers’ efficiency and meeting outcomes. This feature started rolling out in June.

Meeting Organizers Can Manage Access to Recordings and Transcripts

Meeting organizers can now control who has access to the meeting recording, transcript, and AI-generated insights based on the transcript, like Copilot queries and intelligent meeting recaps. They can choose from three options: (1) Everyone, (2) Organizers and Co-organizers, or (3) Specific People. By default, access is set to “Everyone,” but organizers can change this before the meeting starts. This new option is 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 Available for Channel Meetings

Meeting notes powered by Loop are now available in Channel meetings, not just scheduled ones. Participants can collaborate on the agenda, take notes together, and track follow-up tasks all in one place. Since meeting notes are Loop components, they stay in sync wherever they are shared. This feature removes the bottleneck of a single note-taker and makes notes visible to everyone, improving accuracy and inclusion throughout your meeting.

Meeting Notes Powered by Loop Available to Government Community Cloud (GCC) Environments

Meeting notes powered by Loop are now available to our GCC customers. These notes let meeting participants co-edit the agenda, notes, and tasks all in one place. Since meeting notes are Loop components, they stay in sync wherever they are shared.

Presenters Can Move the Toolbar and Optimize Video in Teams Screensharing

Now, when you share your screen in a Teams meeting, you can move the Presenter toolbar anywhere on your screen to keep important areas visible while presenting. We’ve also added a new feature to the toolbar that lets you manually optimize video playback during screensharing. Use the ‘Optimize’ button on the Presenter toolbar to ensure your content runs smoothly.

Enhancements to Meeting Transcript File Storage and Management

We’re excited to announce that meeting transcript files will now be stored in OneDrive for Business, making it easier to manage them. Here are the changes:

• Transcript files for transcription-only meetings will be saved in the meeting organizer’s OneDrive for Business folder (for scheduled meetings, Meet Now, Townhall, and Webinar).
• In the coming weeks, we will stop storing transcript files in Exchange Online. From now on, all Teams actions will point to the transcript file saved in OneDrive for Business.
• Until we fully stop using Exchange Online, deleting the transcript in the Teams app will delete both copies (from OneDrive for Business and Exchange Online).
• Default permissions are updated so that only meeting organizers and co-organizers can download or delete the transcript file, while participants can only view it in Teams and Stream.
• Meeting organizers can change file permissions in Stream to decide who can download, view, and edit the transcript.
• The existing admin policy for meeting recordings’ expiration will now also apply to transcript files stored in OneDrive for Business for transcription-only meetings.
• Customers using Microsoft Purview can now set retention and expiration controls on Teams transcripts stored in OneDrive for Business, in addition to recordings.

Expanded Admin Policy for Downloading Meeting Transcripts

The current admin policy that blocks permissions for downloading meeting recordings is now expanding to include meeting transcript files stored in OneDrive for Business. This policy will apply to all new meeting transcripts across the organization. Administrators can exempt members of specified security groups from this policy, allowing governance or compliance specialists to download 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 now expanding to include transcription. When this policy is applied, a notification will appear when recording or transcription starts, asking all participants for their consent to be transcribed and recorded. Until a user gives consent, they cannot unmute, turn on their camera, or share content in the meeting.

Mute and Unmute Yourself from Windows Taskbar in Microsoft Teams

Sometimes during a Teams meeting, you need to multitask and switch to a different screen or open a document. It can be hard to get back to the Teams meeting to mute or unmute yourself. In the new Teams experience on Windows, you can now see your microphone and mute/unmute status from the Windows taskbar. You can also mute and unmute yourself by clicking the microphone icon. This makes it 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. Previously, SMS notifications were only sent when appointments were 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 staff member through the calendar scheduling experience in Bookings. This feature is available to Microsoft Teams Premium license holders.

As a Microsoft Gold Partner, Ctelecoms is here to empower Saudi businesses of all sizes to fully leverage the latest features. Our expertise in Microsoft Teams ensures that Saudi companies can collaborate more effectively, achieve greater success, and reach new heights. Join us on this journey to enhance communication and teamwork!

Contact us!