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.