Microsoft is working on a new update to its Teams video conferencing software that will make it even easier for users to communicate their ideas to participants. TechRadar reports that this new update will allow users to view participants in video calls and messages in chats simultaneously.
The software giant added chat bubbles to its online collaboration tool in June 2021 to notify users about private messages being sent during video calls. These chat bubbles appear as floating notifications on your display, just like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. Microsoft says these chat bubbles also help “make chat more central to the conversation.”
As the recently introduced chat bubbles allow users of Teams to check in on their private messages in meetings, Microsoft is now working to develop the same thing for group chats. This will allow everyone to join the conversations that are taking place via text as well as those that are taking place during the video call.
The report also states that this new feature will allow all participants to check chats sent during the meeting in front of a room display in a team room. Microsoft Teams Rooms is one such solution dedicated to videoconferencing and was formerly known as Skype Rooms.
Whenever a team room display is set up in a meeting or conference room, everyone present can focus on the single screen at the end of the room instead of looking at their personal laptops.
Users who are working from home can now join meeting room conversations with a chat bubble on the Team Room display. Each participant will be able to check their messages in the chat along with the meeting’s video feed.
This new feature is expected to be released in April 2022 and may come as a welcome addition to companies that are implementing hybrid work policies.
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