New in Teams – or coming soon..

While you were sipping cocktails and pretending you’d actually switched off, Microsoft was busy shoving new features into Teams. Some are genuinely helpful, others are just catching up with what competitors have had for years (Slack…). Either way, you’ll need to know what’s landed, if only so you can answer when users ask, “Why did Teams suddenly change?”.

The “Summer Hits” of Teams 2025

How to actually turn these things on (Because Microsoft doesn’t make it obvious)

Let’s be honest: half the time Microsoft buries new features behind obscure toggles, PowerShell switches, or preview settings. Here’s a neat breakdown so you don’t have to trawl through endless documentation.

Messaging and collaboration features

• Save messages for later
  Be aware: Save messages for later is available to all users by default. No admin switch, no PowerShell spell, it’s just there. One of the few features that doesn’t require an IT degree to enable.

• Files in external chats
  Where: PowerShell (of course).
  Do:

Set-CsTeamsFilesPolicy -Identity Global -FileSharingInChatsWithExternalUsers Enabled

• Also check OneDrive/SharePoint external sharing policies. No point enabling it if your tenant blocks guests anyway.

• Chat notes
  Be aware: No explicit admin toggle documented. It seems to depend on whether chat extensions and apps are allowed in your tenant. If you’ve locked those down, notes won’t appear.

• Emoji → Power Automate
  Be aware: There’s a Power Automate trigger for message reactions, but it’s patchy. Depends on licensing, connector permissions, and whether the trigger works in that chat type. Don’t expect a shiny “enable/disable” button in Teams admin center. Remind users they’ll need a Power Automate license if they want to build flows.

Channel and threading features

• Threaded channels
  Where: Teams admin center → update policies
  Do: Switch users to public preview or targeted release. Then channel owners can toggle their layout to threaded.
  Be aware: Some policy knobs exist (ThreadedChannelCreation), but reports suggest they don’t always work as advertised. Rollout can also be managed via update policies (public preview/targeted release).

• Summarise threads
  Do: Click the 3 dots > Summarize thread.
  Be aware: Only available with Copilot licensing, and summaries can miss nuance. Don’t assume the AI is gospel truth.

• Agents + SharePoint content
  When available, SharePoint agents in Teams Channels will let users retrieve and summarize SharePoint content effortlessly. This feature is enabled by default, with no configuration needed, boosting productivity by providing seamless access to organizational knowledge right within Teams Channels.
  Be aware: Controlled by app permissions and whether AI agents are allowed in Teams.
  Agents need SharePoint access. If your permissions model is a mess, the Agent might surface things it shouldn’t.

Meeting features

• Meeting join bar
  A banner will appear when a meeting the user has RSVP’d to goes live, allowing users to join directly from the banner. Some of this functionality is already available today. If multiple meetings are live, the banner will display the number of active meetings along with a “View More” option.
  Do: The users can disable this via Teams notification settings: Teams > Settings > Notifications > Meeting Banner
  Be aware: Part of the new Teams UI rollout. Its ON by default. Managed by update policies (public preview/targeted release).

• Countdown timer
  Where: Teams admin center → meeting policies
  Do: Allow timers. TELL THE USERS IT EXISTS! They won’t just magically find them..
  A meeting participant can open the timer by navigating to the More (three-dot) menu at the top of the screen, can set the timer duration up to 100 minutes, and start the timer:
  Be aware: Bundled into meeting policies. Organisers can only use it if the feature is enabled for them.

• Compact notifications
  Where: In Teams > Settings > Notifications
  Do: This feature is off by default and must be enabled by the user. It is designed to improve focus and reduce screen clutter, especially in high-notification environments.

• Accent colours
  Where: In Teams > Settings > Appearance
  Do: Users will be able to personalize their Teams experience by choosing an accent color for the Teams shell. This change is purely cosmetic and does not impact functionality or performance. The feature will be on by default and available to all users once the rollout is complete.
  

Best, worst and chaos awards 🏆

• Best update: Summarise thread. Because nobody wants to read a 50-message back-and-forth about lunch options.

• Worst update: Accent colours. If this is your highlight of the summer, you probably need a new hobby.

• Chaos update: Emoji → Power Automate. Just wait until someone configures “😂” to send a request to HR.

The honest take

Microsoft Teams updates are like IKEA flat-packs: fiddly, and occasionally useful. But if you pick the right ones, you’ll make collaboration less painful.

So go ahead. Flip the switches you can, shrug at the ones you can’t, and act like you discovered them first. Your users will still complain — but at least you’ll look clever while they do