Microsoft is rolling out a new premium service for collaboration tool Microsoft Teams, and one of the top features is an AI-powered tool that automatically recaps video meetings.
Other new tools coming to the platform include meeting guides, custom branding, and live translation for captions that will further break down language barriers. It’s another example of how business software is adapting to a hybrid-first world.
Teams Premium will be available to all by the end of 2023. Here’s how those features will all work.
What’s Coming to Microsoft Teams Premium
Announced in a recent blog post, Microsoft’s latest tier adds all its new tools at a single price (still to be disclosed), with no add-ons offered or needed. Here’s our at-a-glance summary of the biggest new features:
Live translation for captions
This service offers real-time translations from 40 spoken languages, letting each user tailor their subtitles to match their preferred language. It’s a cool way to keep everyone on the same page by accommodating everyone’s unique preferences.
Microsoft is just a tad late to the party on this one, as Zoom announced its own live-translate captions earlier this year, albeit as a paid add-on.
Meeting guides
With this, you can set up custom meetings in order to quickly pick out which template you need when you need it, from a help desk call to a brainstorming meeting.
Intelligent recap
This offers an AI-powered post-meeting summary. Teams already offers a version of the meeting recap feature, but not one that sorts out the best gems from the entire haystack of meeting notes.
Customized meeting branding
Finally, Premium will let you add your own company brand to custom backgrounds, together modes, and the meeting lobby itself.
Better security and analytics will also be available with the new service.
The first look at Teams Premium will arrive with a preview in December 2022, and general availability will roll around in February of next year. The AI-powered features will slowly roll out across the first half of 2023 as well.
Is Teams for You?
We’ve rounded up all the top business meeting software options on the market on our main guide to web conferencing software. Top picks that we think beat Microsoft Teams overall include GoTo Meeting and Zoom. You can check out a quick comparison table below.
That said, Teams still has a lot to offer, and is constantly adding new features and abilities to its existing services. And, with a whole new Premium experience coming in 2023, Teams is leveling up yet again.
| Price from The lowest starting price for a paid plan. The lowest price available for your business will depend on your needs. | Best for | Free plan | Breakout Rooms | Whiteboard | Audio-Conferencing | Pros | Cons | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FEATURED DEAL  | TOP RATED  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Zoho Meeting | GoTo Meeting | Zoom | RingCentral | Webex | Google Meet | Microsoft Teams | Lifesize | BlueJeans | |
| Value | Sound and video quality | Beginners | Security | Larger businesses | Google Workspace users | Microsoft 365 users | Users that need hardware | Users that need customer support | |
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| Yes (paid plan) – VoIP, Phone & Toll-Free | Yes – VoIP, Phone & Toll-Free | Yes – Add-on audio plan allows you to add Call Out, global Toll-free & local dial-in for premium countries | Yes – Companies get a single audio conferencing bridge dial-in phone number for easy universal access. | Yes – Audio-only calls can be created when a host generates an Audio pin | Yes – Just call the number listed on the meeting invite, or join via the link and turn off your camera | Yes – but only in selected countries, and each user dialing into meetings will need an audio-conferencing license. | Yes – in a meeting contact card, users can tap the phone number under Details to call using their default phone or voice app | Yes – Easy access to audio conferencing is provided via a traditional PSTN number | |
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