Updated October 29, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.
What and Why:
Microsoft Teams will enable meeting participants to start and continue one-to-one or small-group conversations directly from the meeting chat experience. Users can create a side conversation without leaving the meeting context, helping them coordinate, ask questions, share information, and collaborate in parallel while keeping the main meeting discussion focused.
Rollout Schedule:
General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD): We will begin rolling out in early December 2026 (previously early January 2027) and expect to complete in mid-January 2027 (previously late January).
Impact on Your Organization:
Users will be able to start or continue private 1:1 and group chats directly from the meeting chat experience, without leaving the meeting window. Existing chat history is preserved, so conversations remain part of the user’s regular Teams chat history.
Action Required/Recommendations:
No admin action is required. This feature does not introduce a new chat surface, admin policy, or meeting option. Users can turn off the side-chat tab experience if they prefer not to use it.
Compliance considerations:
No compliance considerations identified. Review as appropriate for your organization.