Microsoft Teams recently got rid of a bunch of key features, because according to the company, those capabilities were no longer helping users. Instead, what the software giant believes will help Teams users in a big way is its new chat and channels experience, which is designed to allow users to "collaborate more efficiently and effectively in the hybrid AI-infused workplace."

Microsoft's new Teams features will change the way you work

Simplifying conversations

Part of the new chat and channels experience is simplifying your workspace by bringing chats, teams, and channels under the Chat area. So, instead of switching between different sections, all your Teams conversations appear in one place. However, if you want to change your mind or want to keep them separate, you can do so at any time. You'll find a new setting to choose whether you want to view chat and channels separately or see them in a combined list.

Making it easier to find the most important conversations

Moreover, Microsoft has also announced new filters to help you sort through messages to find the most important ones. You can apply "Unread," "Chat," "Channels," "Meetings," and "Muted" filter options with a single click to find a specific type of conversation quickly. What's more, you'll also see a new @mention view that shows all the messages that mention you in a single, interactive list, allowing for quick interactions. Another major change is support for drag and drop to rearrange your conversation list, helping you make the most important conversation visible at the top.

Organize conversations the way you want

Microsoft has also announced a new favorites section that brings all your pinned chats and channels from the previous experience. This is enabled by default for everyone. But on top of this, you'll also be able to create what the company calls "custom sections." This way, you can bring chats, channels, meetings, Teams bots, and AI agents into one place, with the ability to sort a section's conversations. However, there is a limit to how many you can create: 50 sections and 50 items per section.

Helping you communicate more efficiently

There is also a major change in how you send messages to channels. Instead of navigating to a specific channel, you'll now be able to start a chat simply by clicking the new message option on the left side pane. The keyboard shortcut for this is Ctrl + N (Cmd + N on Mac). You can also quickly navigate your frequently used conversations by using the new Go to function (Ctrl + G on Windows and Cmd + G on Mac).

When are they coming?

In its official blog post, Microsoft made it amply clear that the new chat and channels experience will be available across all platforms, including desktop, mobile, iOS, and Android. However, you'll have to wait until next month to get your hands on them, as Microsoft will push them to public preview in November.

More powerful Teams features are on your way

Microsoft has more high-impact features planned for release next year. It wants to start testing threaded conversations with customers this quarter and if all goes well, the feature will be broadly available in the middle of the next year. The company also keeps announcing new Teams features it's working on its roadmap website. So, if you're really into tracking all of that, make sure to visit the website.