What you need to know
- Microsoft Teams will gain support for scheduling messages within channels in the near future.
- Teams already supports scheduling messages, but the functionality is limited to chats at this time.
- The Microsoft 365 Roadmap lists scheduling messages within channels as set to ship in January 2025, but that date is subject to change.
Microsoft Teams on Windows and macOS will soon bring a handy feature from chats into channels. Right now, you can schedule messages within Teams but the functionality is limited to chats within the communication app. In the near future, that option is set to make its way to channels as well.
Microsoft detailed its plans for Teams in its Microsoft 365 Roadmap. An entry, which was first spotted by XDA, lists a planned rollout of January 2025 for message scheduling within channels. Like any feature listed on that roadmap, the date for message scheduling rolling out could change.
"Like in chat, you can now schedule send messages in channels," says the roadmap entry. "You can optimize the timing of your messages based on the recipient's work hours, out-of-office time, etc, and ensuring your messages are delivered at the most suitable time."
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Big changes to Microsoft Teams
While the addition of message scheduling to channels will be nice, it's a small change in comparison to what's on the way to Teams. Late last month, arguably the biggest change in Teams history was unveiled when Microsoft unveiled a revamp to the communication platform. Soon, teams will no longer have a dedicated section within Teams. Instead, all text-based communication will live within the chats section of the app.
Teams will let you customize its interface during onboarding and have a favorites section. That section will show pinned chats and channels from the current version of Teams by default, though you'll be able to tweak it.
Based on the videos and blog posts Microsoft has shared about the revamped Teams experience, the update looks like an improvement, but it is a big change. I'm curious to see how it will be received by everyday users of the app.
The revamped experience is in preview testing starting this month and should ship to everyone in the near future.
