Microsoft Teams needs to copy Slack's new option for scheduling messages

What you need to know

• Slack announced a new option today that allows you to schedule messages within the app.
• Microsoft Teams lacks native functionality to schedule messages.
• Imitating Slack's new feature would help Microsoft Teams keep pace with its competitor.

Earlier today, Slack announced a new option that allows you to schedule messages (via The Verge). The feature lets people schedule messages in rooms, as direct messages, or in group threads. People will be able to schedule messages on the iOS, Android, and desktop versions of Slack.

With many people working remotely, schedules don't always line up. For example, our news editor, Rob Carnevale, and I work in different time zones. I usually sign off around 7 PM in England, and he stays on for several hours since he's based in the United States. Carnevale often leaves messages for "future Sean" with the intention of me seeing them when I sign on in the morning. This works fine for some cases but is an awkward workaround.

Being able to schedule messages for any time in the future opens up new possibilities. A person could schedule a reminder to be sent while they're away on vacation, or a boss could schedule a congratulatory message for when a major event wraps up.

At the moment, Microsoft Teams doesn't offer a native way to schedule messages. Almost 2,000 people have requested the functionality through UserVoice.

There is an app available for Microsoft Teams called "Send Later" that lets you schedule messages, but you'll likely need to pay for a plan for it to be useful. The free version only allows for 10 messages per month from two users.