This week Microsoft is gearing up to announce some major AI changes for productivity and new ways of working in a special live event on Thursday featuring Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella and Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President of Modern Work and Business Applications.
Recently the tech giant introduced more AI-powered functionality for Teams Premium, announced a stack of new changes throughout Teams and issued guidance on how to improve audio and video quality for Teams Rooms.
Teams participants can already use AI-powered capabilities to soften the appearance of video feeds, plus apply backgrounds.
Video Filters to Enhance Meetings
Now meeting Teams participants can deploy Video Filters, a functionality that allows Teams meeting attendees to enhance their video stream with a variety of visual effects, from animated frames to styles that change the hue of the video.
Users can also apply these filters before clicking to join the meeting from the lobby.
The filters are built on the infrastructure of the Teams platform and delivered as apps that participants can add to their meeting experience. Microsoft first introduced filters using a first-party app called Custom Filters.
Why filters? Microsoft's thinking is to lighten stress in meetings by letting attendees express themselves, change the mood or even introduce a new phase into the discussion. For post-pandemic remote and hybrid work, small changes like filters can be vital in decompressing online gatherings when company culture can seem distant, stale or cold. One only has to think of using thumbs up, applause or praise emojis to see the positive impact of introducing more personal touches on others watching.
