Microsoft has launched an AI-powered “Places” app to facilitate seamless flexible working and workplace management in the hybrid era.
Intending to address the challenge of encouraging productive and rewarding flexible working that benefits workers and employers, Places intends to make coordinating in-office time and collaboration more efficient.
Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President, AI at Work at Microsoft, wrote in an accompanying blog post:
With Microsoft Places, an app that reimagines flexible work, AI can make coordinating in-office time and connecting with coworkers even easier(…) In addition to fostering improved coordination and connection, Places optimizes the effectiveness and engagement of the workplace.”
Places features are accessible across commonly used platforms like Outlook and Microsoft Teams, enabling flexible work coordination and connection within a user’s regular workflow.
“Scheduling in-office time with coworkers and planning ahead to book rooms and a desk are regularly cited challenges for flexible teams,” Spataro added. “When employees get to the office, they don’t want to be greeted by a sea of empty desks—they want facetime with their manager and the coworkers they collaborate with most frequently. Nearly half (49 percent) of global knowledge workers have struggled with this situation over the past year.”
Places is now available in Public Preview. It will eventually be included in Microsoft Teams Premium, currently available at a promotional price of $7 per user per month (usually $10 extra).
More Details on Places’ Feature Set
Among Places’ most eye-catching features is the “location plan”, which allows users to set and share their proposed location schedule with coworkers and view their plans as well.
Updating or adjusting a user’s location is always available within the Places app and accessible in their regular workflow through the Outlook Calendar. With a click, users can change their schedule, access the peek card—which shows their closest collaborators planning to come in—and quickly book spaces. The peek card also includes a link to view all coworkers’ schedules in the Places app.
In addition to coordinating schedules with coworkers, users can see their manager’s schedule expectations. Managers can leverage team guidance in Places to communicate which days their team should be in the office and the priorities for each in-office day. Microsoft suggests this purpose-driven approach gives users an additional reason to visit the office.
Integrating Places data into Microsoft Copilot will make coordination even more manageable. Starting in the second half of 2024, users can use Copilot to determine the best days to come into the office.
Copilot will provide reasons for its recommendations, such as in-person meetings, the manager’s attendance, or most coworkers being in the office. Users can ask Copilot to adjust their schedule based on this information, change their work location to the office on recommended days, and reschedule in-person meetings.
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What About Booking Desks and Spaces?
After deciding on office days, users can leverage Places as an end-to-end booking solution for identifying appropriate meeting spaces and focused work, starting with the Places Finder in Outlook. Users can search for rooms and desks, receiving additional details to guide their booking decisions. The Finder displays images, maps the location, and lists available technology or amenities.
Combining Places Finder with other Microsoft apps enhances the user experience. Teams enables bookable desk capabilities, allowing users to automatically walk up, connect their laptops, and reserve the spot.
In Calendar, Places offers reminders if no rooms or desks are booked for an in-office day. Users can click the location pin to access the peek card and view suggestions for desks and rooms that meet their needs.
End-to-end booking will be enhanced with Copilot in the second half of 2024. Based on booking suggestions, Copilot will manage bookings and find and book suitable space for recurring meetings where availability may vary weekly.
Collaboration-Enhancing Features
Microsoft emphasises the benefits of impromptu conversations with coworkers in the office. With “expanded presence”, a new Places feature integrated across Microsoft 365 apps allows users to see nearby coworkers. This awareness enables simple in-person chats or scheduling lunches. By adjusting presence to indicate whether an employee is in the office or which building they’re in, coworkers can identify when they’re nearby.
In Teams group chats, coworkers can view participant locations or type @nearby to notify those nearby about activities or meeting room changes.
Microsoft insists that all location data collection adheres to stringent privacy standards. Opt-in and opt-out controls for expanded presence are available at both tenant admin and user levels. They are limited to signals about in-office locations and will be aggregated and anonymised in reports on office occupancy trends.
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Features For IT Admins and Real Estate and Facilities Teams
Microsoft outlines that IT admins and Real Estate and Facilities professionals have faced challenges adapting to flexible work and that optimising the workplace begins with understanding available spaces and their usage. Combining intent and actual occupancy patterns in Places gives admins a clearer picture of available space and exact needs.
With integrated check-in functionality for conference rooms and desk pools, admins can adjust policies to release unused rooms or desks that have been booked automatically. This creates clarity on actual space utilisation. Microsoft offers utilisation insights and analytics across workplace products.
Microsoft Teams Rooms Pro Management also provides valuable space and device utilisation data for meeting and collaboration spaces and shared desks, complementing intent data in Places.
In the second half of 2024, data from Places will enable Copilot to provide additional intelligence for space management. This includes suggestions like consolidating floors on low-occupancy days, optimising food services or adding more huddle rooms. Admins can conduct further analysis of workplace data to make informed decisions. These adjustments can significantly impact an organisation’s budget and sustainability goals.
