Microsoft is set to introduce an active speaker view to Teams Meetings, according to the Microsoft 365 roadmap.
The new feature will highlight the active speaker during a meeting while showing the rest of the participants.
There are few details about how the feature will look when added to the platform; however, it does appear that it will help bridge meeting equity for remote participants.
The roadmap post states: “Active speaker is a new view added to Microsoft Teams meetings.
“It highlights the active speaker while still showing the rest of the participants in the meeting. Users can use this new view through the view switcher in a meeting.”
Active speaker view will be available to Teams users on the platform’s web or desktop client.
Microsoft states that the feature will be generally available to Teams users in April 2023, although an exact go-live date is yet to be announced.
The new active speaker view follows several updates Microsoft made to its Teams ecosystem during January 2023.
The company added many new features, including integration to Meta’s Workplace platform, set up Teams Webinars customisable, improved notifications for Teams Rooms, and more.
Microsoft has also recently confirmed its Microsoft Teams Premium licence is generally available to all customers following a preview phase.
Last week, Nicole Herskowitz, Vice President Microsoft Teams, commented: “As we face economic uncertainties and changes to work patterns, organisations are searching for ways to optimise IT investments and re-energize employees to achieve business results.
“Now—more than ever—organisations need solutions to adapt to change, improve productivity, and reduce costs.
“Fortunately, modern tools powered by AI hold the promise to boost individual, team, and organizational-level productivity and fundamentally change how we work.
“This promise is rapidly becoming a reality. At Microsoft, we’re working to incorporate new, AI-powered capabilities across our consumer and enterprise products, including Microsoft Teams.
“As part of this continuous innovation, I’m excited to share that Microsoft Teams Premium is generally available.
“Built on the familiar, all-in-one collaborative experience of Microsoft Teams, Teams Premium brings the latest technologies, including Large Language Models powered by OpenAI’s GPT-3.5, to make meetings more intelligent, personalised, and protected—whether it’s one-on-one, large meetings, virtual appointments, or webinars.”
The newest licence is designed to offer customers familiar meeting solutions as well as webinars, virtual appointments, meeting intelligence, and more, which are often add-on products.
As mentioned by Herskowitz, Microsoft is making use of its long-term partnership with OpenAI to accelerate AI breakthroughs and integrate them into the Microsoft Teams Premium licence.
