Microsoft Teams 'Together Mode' makes meetings feel like you're in the same room

More people are working from home than ever right now, which can leave you feeling a little disconnected from your teammates. In an update expected later this year, Microsoft Teams will try to break down some of those barriers with new viewing modes in your meetings. One of them is Teams' new "Together Mode," which quite literally puts you and your co-workers in a (virtual) room together.

"Together mode is a new meeting experience in Teams that uses AI segmentation technology to digitally place participants in a shared background, making it feel like you're sitting in the same room with everyone else in the meeting or class," Microsoft said in a blog post today. The goal, Microsoft says, is to make it easier for meeting participants to be able to pick up on visual cues and see who is talking.

Microsoft says the Together Mode auditorium view is rolling out now and is expected to be generally available in August. More Together Mode views will roll out later, including the coffee shop view pictured above.

In addition to Together Mode, Microsoft also has a new "Dynamic View" that gives meeting presenters mode control over the content of what participants are seeing. "Using AI, meetings dynamically optimize shared content and video participants. New controls — including the ability to show shared content and specific participants side-by-side — let you personalize the view to suit your preferences and needs."

Dynamic View is expected to roll out to Microsoft Teams later this year. It will join Microsoft's large gallery view, which lets you see more participants on the screen at once and is expected to launch in August.