Microsoft adds artificial intelligence features to Microsoft Teams as it turns one

Microsoft has announced several new enhancements to Microsoft Teams centered around artificial intelligence on its first year anniversary. Microsoft Teams is a chat-based workspace that consolidates all the people, content, and tools a team needs to be more engaged and effective.

One of the major features in this AI-centric rollout is the integration with the Cortana virtual assistant. Cortana voice interactions for Teams-enabled devices will allow workers to use spoken commands in Microsoft Teams. The initial voice controls will make it possible to join a call, start a new one and add colleagues to a teleconference already underway. Microsoft said the Cortana integration will work not just in the native interface but also with compatible devices such as conference phones.

Other machine learning features include:

• Proximity detection for Teams Meetings—This feature will make it easy for workers to discover and add a nearby and available Skype Room System to any meeting.
• Cloud recording—Provision of one-click meeting recordings with automatic transcription and time coding. This will provide all team members the ability to read captions, search within the conversation, and playback all or part of the meeting.
  It may also possibly include facial recognition capabilities, so remarks can be addressed to specific meeting attendees.
• Message translation and transcription—Different language speakers will be able to fluidly communicate with one another by translating posts in channels and chat.
• Mobile sharing in meetings—Meeting attendees will be able to share a live video stream, photos, or the screen from their mobile device.

The new features will begin rolling out in the second quarter. More information on the new Microsoft Teams release is available on the Official Microsoft blog.