Microsoft is working on a new update for its Teams video conferencing software that will make it even easier for users to get their ideas across to the participants. TechRadar reports that this new update will allow users to see the participants in a video call and the messages in chat simultaneously.
The software giant added chat bubbles to its online collaboration tool in June 2021 for users to get notified about private messages that are sent during a video call. These chat bubbles appear as a floating notification on your display similar to WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. Microsoft states that these chat bubbles also help in making the “chat more central to the conversation”.
As the recently introduced chat bubbles allow Teams users to check their private messages while in meetings, Microsoft is now working to develop the same thing for group chats. This will allow everyone to get involved in the conversations that are happening through text as well as the ones that are taking place during the video call, simultaneously.
The report also adds that this new feature will allow all the participants to check the chats sent during a meeting in front of the room display in a Teams Room. Microsoft Teams Rooms is a solution that is dedicated to video conferencing and was previously known as Skype Rooms.
Whenever a Teams Rooms display is set up in a meeting or conference room, the attendees can all focus on a single screen at the end of the room rather than having to look down at their individual laptops.
Users who are working from home will now be able to get involved in the conversation that is taking place in a meeting room with the chat bubbles on a Teams Room display. Every participant will be able to check their messages in chat along with the video feed of the meeting.
This new feature is expected to be released in April 2022 and might come as a welcoming addition for companies that are implementing hybrid work policies.
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