Last month, Microsoft previewed a new feature coming to Microsoft Teams that got people talking: the “decorate your background” utilizes AI to reduce a caller’s background clutter, or even decorate a background for the holidays in a realistic way. Now, Microsoft has announced that the new feature has begun rolling out to Microsoft Teams Public Preview and Microsoft 365 Targeted Release users.
“As a Teams Premium user, you now have the option to leverage AI to augment your real-life surroundings and create a personalized atmosphere for your meetings when using camera,” reads the company’s announcement.
While only available to to Microsoft Teams Public Preview and Microsoft 365 Targeted Release users for now, wider availability is stated to begin in 2024. The new “decorate your background” feature is only available in the new Microsoft Teams app.
The following was originally published November 22, 2023:
The latest announcement in Microsoft’s recent slew of updates for Teams is one that could lead hybrid and remote workers to celebrate. Continuing the trend of leveraging AI to sharpen up all of its tools, the company has revealed two generative AI features that will allow those on Teams calls to sound and look their best.
Reminder: Google to delete inactive Gmail accounts December 1
First, the company is using AI in a fairly traditional manner to isolate the voice of those speaking in a call and suppress and background noise, be it another person speaking the room, a noisy TV, or outside chatter. “With voice isolation, Teams recognizes your voice and suppresses other noises to ensure you’re the only one to be heard in unscheduled calls and meetings,” explains Microsoft in a blog post.
What’s really transformative, though, is Microsoft’s use of generative AI to eliminate clutter and tidy up a caller’s background. While Teams and other videoconferencing platforms have given users access to digital backgrounds and even filters for quite some time now, the new “decorate your background” feature works on your actual background, organizing any mess and even adding plants, lights, and other accents. If it works as well as the GIF above, the new feature could be a great benefit for those who find themselves frequently in video calls.
Voice isolation will be coming to Teams later this year, with the declutter feature launching for Microsoft Teams Premium early next year.
