Microsoft Teams is a multi-use platform for chatting, calling, video conferencing and collaboration, which means it has a lot of features, as well as integration with other Microsoft 365 apps. If your workplace relies on Teams, there are several hacks you need to know to work more efficiently and get the most out of the platform.
Use email forwarding to send attachments directly to a Teams channel
If you receive an email (and email attachment) related to a team conversation, you don’t need to send it to someone else’s inbox, copy and paste it, or download and upload it to an appropriate chat or channel. Instead, you can forward it directly from Outlook to Teams, and both the email and the attachment will automatically populate for recipients, who can click Preview to see the full content in Teams. When viewing email in Outlook on the desktop, select Share in the team in the toolbar and select Open the Teams app. Then select a destination, add an optional message and press Share it. You can also choose to include or remove attachments before sending.
Pin your team window to sneakily multitask
If you’re working on other things while in the team call, don’t make it clear. You can pin your team’s window on top of another app, which remains visible even when you switch between windows so you can maintain eye contact and get quick access to call controls. Pinning is also handy when you’re actively chatting or need to refer to a team while working in another app. choose More options In the upper-right corner of the window you want to pin and hit Pin the window to the top. You can resize or drag a pinned window anywhere on your screen.
Turn on voice isolation to hide where you’re working
If you’re joining team calls and meetings from a public location—a coffee shop, co-working space, bar, poolside, etc.—you can enable voice isolation to make it seem like you’re alone in a quiet office instead. The AI-powered feature recognizes your voice and blocks out other sounds, including those from other speakers. (Teams also have noise suppression Reduce background noise.) To use voice isolation, you must first add a voice profile, which takes about 30 seconds and requires a quiet environment. This feature will be active in calls and meetings until you turn it off.
Use live transcripts to watch meetings if you join late or run out of space
Teams has a built-in live transcription feature that captures audio in (near) real time with speaker attribution, so you can quickly review if you have to join late, step away for a few minutes, or miss things while you’re multitasking. Transcription starts automatically for recorded meetings, although organizers and presenters can start live transcription even if recording is not in progress. More actions > Record and transcribe > Start transcription > Confirm. If you are an attendee and do not see the transcript window, you may need to go to the same menu and select Show transcript.
Start a solo “meet now” to practice your public speaking
Teams has an instant meeting function called Meet Now—in just a few clicks, you can start an instant meeting for a channel, group chat, or just yourself. These are recorded at the same time as scheduled meetings, so you can use the alone time to practice a presentation for review later or jot down notes for transcription. Go to Calendar and tap meet now in the upper-right corner. Name and select the meeting Start a meeting > Join now. Recordings are saved to your OneDrive.
Use Loop components to collaborate without leaving the team
Loop is a Microsoft 365 collaboration feature that allows you to create tables, task lists, and written content in Teams Chat and edit them in real time, so you don’t have to leave the app to create a separate file or keep sending static updates that might get lost in active chats or channels. When you create a loop component for a meeting agenda, list of action items, or group notes, edits will instantly sync to everyone — including Outlook and other Microsoft apps like Whiteboards. Click loop Select an icon and a component type in your team chat or channel. Once created and sent, anyone can contribute to the chat.
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Bundle messages to forward action items or information to other chats
Teams has a forwarding feature that lets you send messages from one chat to another – instead of copying/pasting, the original message, image or loop component appears directly in the recipient’s chat or channel. Earlier this year, Microsoft expanded forwarding to include up to five messages in a bundle, which are sent as one message in the original order. You can use this to share multiple action items or pieces of feedback with another chat, and they won’t get separated or lost in the feed. Hover over the message and select More options > Forward > Multiple messagesThen check the box next to the messages you want to forward. Click NextAdd recipient name, group chat or channel and press Next.
Use a visual meeting timeline so you don’t have to watch the entire replay
If you missed a team meeting that was scheduled and recorded, you’ll likely have access to written notes from the call, such as a transcript or AI summary. But there may be situations in which you actually need to watch the recording to get a full picture of what was discussed. Instead of reviewing the entire replay or scrubbing the video to find specific parts of the conversation, you can see where your name is mentioned and go directly to that part of the recording. Timeline markers are part of Teams’ intelligent meeting recap, an AI-powered feature suite available to premium subscribers. To view individual timelines as well as audio and video recaps, go to the Recaps tab in Teams Chat or Calendar.
Use your phone as a remote control or camera during team meetings
When you join a Teams meeting on your computer, you can easily add your phone as another device without screwing up the audio or having to log out and in. Your phone can also be used as a static webcam, to show live video, or to control a presentation on your primary device if you need to move around the room. While you’re in a meeting on your computer, open and select Teams on your phone Join a call > Add this device. Your camera and mic will be muted automatically, but you can enable one or both as needed.
Assign calls to a copilot for follow-up when you’re too busy to answer
If you’re busy, out of the office, or just want to screen the team’s calls before you answer, you may need an AI receptionist. With its April 2026 update, Microsoft added a Copilot call delegation feature to Teams that can screen your calls (and block potential spam), gather caller intent, and decide how to respond. If the call is urgent, it will be routed to you. If not, Copilot will schedule callbacks and meetings based on your availability. This feature is currently available as part of the Microsoft 365 Copilot Frontier program with support for Teams desktop and web (your language must be set to English).
