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Microsoft Teams brings major improvements to search and breakout rooms

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Microsoft Teams is getting some major updates that will help boost your day-to-day experience when using the collaboration service. Coming soon are changes to the search experience, as well as breakout room controls.

Over on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, Microsoft describes the changes coming to search in the Microsoft Teams desktop app, which are targeted for September and November 2021. Microsoft details that a new search experience in Teams will make finding messages, people, answers, and files faster and more intuitive. Part of that change involves critical intelligence-powered relevance that’s based on the people and content you’re already engaging with.

Microsoft Teams running on a laptop sitting on a desk.
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The other big change to search involves top hits in Search Autosuggest. With the incoming improvements for September, Microsoft is adding a new section at the top of the autosuggest results in search. This should help reduce search times and improve discovery.

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Other than the search improvements, the blog OnMSFT reports that Microsoft is also working to add more controls for Breakout Room managers. A new feature coming in the middle of September should allow meeting organizers to assign specific presenters to Breakout rooms. With it, Breakout room users will be getting a toggle button to enable meeting organizers to add presenters as managers.

Also new for Breakout Rooms will be the ability to add or delete rooms, assign users to rooms, set timers, and make announcements. These changes will be coming to the desktop Teams and not the mobile apps, according to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap.

With more than 250 million monthly active uses, these features are sure to be appreciated. Microsoft has actively added features for consumer, enterprise, and education users. These include things like Together Mode, as well as the ability to lock meetings, translate PowerPoint slides, and mute meeting attendees.

According to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, there are over 185 features in development for Microsoft Teams, with seventy-three of those features rolling out. And 270 others have launched. You can see the full road map, which offers more details on when you can expect additional features to launch.

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Arif Bacchus
Arif Bacchus
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Arif Bacchus is a native New Yorker and a fan of all things technology. Arif works as a freelance writer at Digital Trends…
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