What’s new for Microsoft Teams – January 2026

By Feb 1, 2026 What's New 0 Comments

I’ve been highlighting the importance of user personalization in these monthly Teams roundups for a long time, not just because it improves the experience for each of us, but because it genuinely helps with adoption. And this month, I want to bring your attention to two new features that fit perfectly into that category.

The first one is branded reactions in meetings. Admins can now replace the default five reactions with custom ones that match the organization’s brand. It’s a small change, but these details help companies create a more consistent and recognizable experience across Teams. The second one is something many of us have been waiting for: choosing what the Enter key does. Who hasn’t sent an incomplete message by mistake? Now you can finally decide if Enter sends or simply adds a new line. And while we’re on this topic, the new quick draft area is also a great addition, it keeps your unsent content easy to find, edit, and send later, making those half-written ideas much more manageable.

My final highlight of the month is one I’m personally excited about: digital signage support on Microsoft Teams Rooms devices running Android. This one is special to me because Appspace is one of the partners available on day one, making the experience fully integrated from the start.

You’ll find all the details and everything else that landed in January in the full post.

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What’s new for Microsoft Viva – December 2025

By Jan 2, 2026 Microsoft Viva 0 Comments

On the last day of December, we said farewell to Viva Goals, the OKR tool that was once part of the Viva Suite. It is now officially retired, marking the end of an era for organizations that relied on it for goal-setting and alignment. But December was not only about goodbyes. It also brought updates that improve engagement and expand AI-driven experiences across Viva.

First, Viva Engage received enhancements to its mobile experience, making it easier for employees to stay connected and participate in conversations wherever they are. In addition, Microsoft introduced features that complement the growing role of AI and Copilot in Microsoft 365. The Copilot Dashboard now provides broader access to M365 Copilot Chat insights, with adoption metrics rolling out by January 2026. These analytics offer visibility into usage trends, group adoption, retention, and app-level breakdowns, giving admins powerful tools to monitor and optimize Copilot usage.

Finally, Viva Connections adds more accessibility with AI audio overview support for pages and additional languages. This feature delivers multilingual audio summaries for the top ten news items in the Viva Connections news reader experience. If the SharePoint Knowledge Agent is available, site pages and news posts will also include AI-generated audio summaries, making content easier to consume and more inclusive for everyone.

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What’s new for Microsoft Teams – December 2025

By Jan 2, 2026 What's New 0 Comments

Every now and then, Microsoft introduces a set of small updates to Teams that end up making a big difference in how we work. December 2025 is no exception. This time, I’m highlighting three features that aren’t related to Copilot but still have the potential to improve productivity and create a stronger sense of connection within organizations.

The first update is a game-changer for Private Channels. For a long time, these channels were limited to chat-only interactions, but that’s about to change. Starting mid-January 2026, apps will be supported in Private Channels, enabling bots, tabs, and message extensions. This upgrade transforms Private Channels into true collaboration spaces, backed by new governance controls. Admins and developers should review policies and update apps to ensure compatibility with channel-level permissions and data compliance.

The second improvement addresses a long-standing pain point: forwarding messages. Until now, forwarding multiple messages meant doing it one by one. With the latest update, you can forward messages in batch, making conversations easier to share. And finally, customization gets a boost with branded reactions. Organizations can now upload custom reaction icons that reflect their brand or event themes, creating more cohesive and on-brand meeting experiences. A simple but powerful way to make meetings feel more connected.

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What’s new for Microsoft Viva – November 2025

By Dec 8, 2025 Microsoft Viva, What's New 0 Comments

As we come to the end of the year, I’m seriously considering whether it’s worth continuing a separate roundup for Microsoft Viva. Updates have become fewer each month, and most of them are already covered in the other roundups I publish. Nonetheless, from the few announcements this month, here are my highlights.

First, Viva Amplify introduces a new publishing stack with improved error handling. This enhancement aims to make content publishing more reliable and efficient, reducing friction for communication teams and ensuring messages reach the right audience without unnecessary delays.

On the engagement side, Viva Engage received improvements to community feeds. These updates focus on making interactions smoother and more intuitive, helping communities stay active and connected with less effort. While small, these refinements contribute to a better overall experience for users who rely on Viva for collaboration and engagement.

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What’s new for Microsoft Teams – November 2025

By Dec 8, 2025 What's New 0 Comments

November brought some exciting updates to Microsoft Teams, and I’ve been exploring what they mean for everyday collaboration. This month was all about making communication smoother, simplifying admin tasks, and improving the overall experience for users and IT teams alike. If you’ve been waiting for features that make Teams more flexible and connected, this roundup is for you.

One of the biggest highlights is the ability to chat with anyone using an email address. This change opens up new possibilities for external collaboration without the need for complex setups. Combined with simplified admin controls for managing external access, organizations now have more control and flexibility when working beyond their own tenant. These updates make cross-company communication easier while keeping security and governance in check.

Presence accuracy also got a boost with new activity detection settings for Teams on the web, ensuring your status reflects what you’re actually doing. On top of that, improvements to the activity feed and the accounts/orgs panel make it simpler to stay on top of notifications and switch between organizations. These refinements might seem small, but they add up to a more seamless experience for users juggling multiple contexts.

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How to Keep Using Elgato Stream Deck with Microsoft Teams After API Deprecation

By Nov 28, 2025 Devices 0 Comments

If you’ve been using your Elgato Stream Deck to control Microsoft Teams, there’s an important change coming: starting December 2025, the official integration will stop working. This is confirmed in the Elgato Marketplace, and it’s happening because Microsoft is removing the third-party API that powers these features.

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How to Keep Using Logitech MX Creative Console with Microsoft Teams After API Deprecation

By Nov 28, 2025 Devices 0 Comments

So… Microsoft decided to kill the third-party API integration for Teams. Yep, the same API that made your Logitech MX Creative Console super handy for reactions and quick actions. This change is rolling out in December 2025, and if you’ve been using the console for Teams, you’re probably thinking: “Great… now what?”

Don’t panic. Your investment in that shiny console isn’t wasted. You can still make it work with Teams — just in a slightly different way.

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What’s new for Microsoft Viva – October 2025

By Nov 3, 2025 Microsoft Viva, What's New 0 Comments

October brought important updates for Viva Engage, some features are being retired, while others make the experience more integrated than ever. Desktop notifications and access to non-native Viva Engage networks are being retired.

On the positive side, one improvement I’m excited about is the ability to access your Engage communities directly from the chat area in Microsoft Teams. This is a great step toward unifying communication and collaboration inside Microsoft 365, making it easier to stay connected without switching contexts.

And that’s just the beginning—there’s more in the full article for those interested in how Viva is evolving to simplify engagement and bring communities closer to where work happens.

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What’s new for Microsoft Teams – October 2025

By Nov 3, 2025 What's New 0 Comments

Ocotber was packed with updates across every corner of the platform. My top highlight is the new image search capability: now you can search for images by message content, people, or where they were shared. Results appear as you type, with filters and a dedicated Images tab for quick exploration—all from the search bar.

Another big step forward is Teams Channels in Context IQ prompts, making suggestions smarter and more connected. And the feature I welcome with open arms, finally, Apps in Private Channels. I’ve never understood why this wasn’t possible from day one, so this change is long overdue.

Beyond these, there’s much more to discover in the full article—whether you’re interested in new features for devices, meetings, or chats, Microsoft is updating Teams on all fronts.

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What’s new for Microsoft Viva – September 2025

By Oct 1, 2025 Microsoft Viva 0 Comments

September brings the smallest batch of Microsoft Viva updates since I started this monthly roundup, but don’t let the size fool you—there are still some valuable enhancements worth noting. Even in a quieter month, Microsoft continues to refine the Viva experience with features that make workplace engagement and information access smarter.

The highlights this time include a new AI-powered audio briefing in Viva Connections mobile, delivering quick summaries of top news with playback controls, and AI agents in Viva Engage communities, now in Public Preview, that draft answers using community content and SharePoint grounding for improved accuracy. These updates may be fewer, but they show how AI is steadily becoming part of the Viva ecosystem.

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João Ferreira

I've been working with Microsoft Technologies over the last ten years, mainly focused on creating collaboration and productivity solutions that drive the adoption of Microsoft Modern Workplace.

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