Forget about Zoom backgrounds. Microsoft Teams will put you in the same space as your coworkers

A new Microsoft Teams feature can give the video chat service an edge over its quirky Zoom backgrounds. With Together mode, Teams uses AI to digitally place you in a shared background with up to 49 of your coworkers, making it look and feel more like you’re sitting in the same room with them while remotely meeting, similar to a virtual reality experience, CNET editor Scott Stein said.

Together mode helps you focus on people’s faces and body language, making it easier to detect non-verbal cues that are often lost during video conferencing. You can choose between different views, such as sitting in an auditorium or at a conference table. It will also help reduce the fatigue of video meetings by making video meetings feel more like in person, Microsoft said in a blog post on Wednesday.

Read more: Microsoft’s new Together mode in Teams places your video chat in a shared virtual space

Together mode with auditorium view is now being implemented and will be generally available in August. More views will come in the future.

Here we show you how to use Together mode once it is implemented in your Microsoft teams he says, according to a Microsoft demo video:

• Make sure you have the most current version of Teams.
• Start a team call.
• Click the three dots on the toolbar at the top left of the screen.
• Click together mode.

From what we can tell so far, the app will digitally transport you and your co-workers together to a digital auditorium.

Read more: 10 free alternative Zoom apps for video chats

With many people working and socializing from home during the coronavirus pandemic, video chat services like Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, FaceTime, and Facebook Messenger Rooms have seen a massive increase in users. While Zoom took an early initiative, adding millions of participants to daily meetings, security concerns led some people to move to other platforms.

Along with Together Mode, Teams is rolling out a number of other updates, including a hand creation and emoji creation tool, whiteboard support, Cortana integration, and meeting transcripts.

For more information, see how Teams compares to Zoom and how to customize the Teams background.

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