Earlier this year Microsoft announced that it would be bringing many Generative AI tools to it's Microsoft suite of products, including Word, Excel, Powerpoint & Teams. Microsoft has now announced that Teams Premium will be rolling out an innovative new feature called "Intelligent meeting recap", aimed at enhancing the experience of online meetings for its enterprise customers. This feature, which is powered by Generative AI, offers a comprehensive overview of Teams meetings, which could be a major advantage for those who may have missed out on a meeting due to other commitments or wish to revisit the key points discussed. This comes after Microsoft's studies revealed that 56% of Teams meeting attendees find it challenging to summarise the proceedings and 55% are unclear on the subsequent steps following a meeting.
Intelligent recap addresses these issues by using Generative AI to generate meeting notes, recommend tasks, and highlight key points, thus saving time for users who need to catch up or coordinate next steps. All of these can be found in the new 'Recap' tab in Teams calendar and chat. It also incorporates personalised timeline markers that show when a user's name was mentioned, their entry and exit times, and when a screen was shared. Additionally, speaker timeline markers denote when each participant spoke, allowing users to navigate efficiently to the most relevant parts of the meeting.
The intelligent recap is designed with privacy and compliance at the forefront. Microsoft stated that the feature is built based on the meeting data, which includes the meeting transcript, recording, attendance report, and the names of the invitees. It aligns with Microsoft's principles and commitments to data security and privacy in the enterprise, and the data is not exposed to third parties. Even the GPT-based models that power this feature are run internally by Microsoft, assuring users of the trustworthiness of this AI solution.
While the intelligent recap feature is currently only rolling out to English Teams Premium subscribers, Microsoft plans to introduce support for additional languages later in 2023. Users without a Teams Premium license will still be able to access a basic version of the meeting recap, which provides links to the meeting transcript, recording, and any manual notes taken. However, this version will not include the AI-powered insights that are integral to the intelligent recap feature. Microsoft's commitment to evolving the meeting recap experience signifies a promising step towards a more efficient and intelligent future for remote and hybrid working.
NOTE: This feature may not be available to all Teams Premium users at this time as Microsoft is slowly making this new feature available to eligible users.