Microsoft Teams adds a group chat feature that Google Meet and Zoom have had for years, but will anyone actually use it?
Starting an impromptu Microsoft Teams call with your colleagues or colleagues should soon be a lot easier thanks to a new group chat feature rolling out to the platform.
The video conferencing service now allows users to start a ‘huddle’ with other users, which is essentially a direct meeting for chatting and collaboration.
The new ‘meet now’ feature can be quickly launched in a group chat, meaning you don’t have to struggle with setting up an ‘official’ Microsoft Teams call and sending out invites that might be missed in busy inboxes.
Group chats in Microsoft Teams
“Meet Now in Group Chat is a ringless experience designed to enable ad-hoc, real-time communication with your team in a hybrid environment,” said the entry for the feature listed on the official Microsoft 365 roadmap.
To start a meeting, users must open the required group chat and then select Meet Now at the top. Once started, all members of the group can see from their chat list that a meeting has started, and can open the group chat and select Join at the top of the chat to join the meeting.
Users can view the participants in a call by selecting the live indicator, and can also notify other users in the group chat of the meeting by selecting Call Other to Join – with the option to choose individuals or everyone who has yet to participate.
The feature, which is rolling out now, will initially only be available to desktop users of Microsoft Teams, although it will be generally available to users worldwide.
The Meet Now feature has been available in Microsoft Teams for over a yearwhere users can start an instant meeting from their calendar by simply clicking the option, or in a channel, via the Messages tab, then clicking Meet and selecting Meet Now.
The news is the latest boost for Microsoft Teams users looking for closer compatibility, shortly after the company unveiled a move to bring “every type of Teams account” into one desktop app.
This means users can now all access the same app whether they use a work, school or personal Microsoft Teams account, eliminating the current requirement for multiple versions for different use cases.