Microsoft Teams update will finally make PowerPoint your friend

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Giving presentations on Microsoft Teams is about to get a lot better for users everywhere thanks to a new update to the service.

PowerPoint Live looks to take a lot of the headaches out of setting up a presentation using Microsoft's video conferencing platform, with the various software products now working together much more seamlessly.

According to the Microsft 365 roadmap, the update is coming for Microsoft Teams users on Windows users later this month, with macOS customers also set to receive the upgrade soon.

Teams & PowerPoint

The new PowerPoint Live feature will allow presenters to start presentations directly in a Microsoft Teams meeting without needing to share your screen with the audience.

Users can start presenting just by clicking on the new "Present in Teams" button in PowerPoint, allowing the presenter to navigate around their device between different apps and windows without the audience seeing anything.

Alternatively, presenters can also share their presentation using the "Share content" menu within a Microsoft Teams call. This will now have a dedicated PowerPoint Live section, where the presenter can click on the file they need to start presenting.

Presenters will also be able to use a single view to look after their slides, notes and the chat all within a single view. Accessing the chat window directly alongside the presentation should mean presenters don't miss any urgent questions or prompts, and also allows attendees to click on hyperlinks and videos within the presentation at any point.

PowerPoint Live will be available to Microsoft Teams users with an Office 365 E3/A3/E5/A5 or Microsoft 365 for Government license when it rolls out soon.

The news comes shortly after Microsoft revealed that Teams will soon automatically record all meetings.

The feature, which is already available in rivals such as Zoom, has apparently been in the works for some time, and will see a warning displayed at the start of a call to alert users that the meeting is being recorded, with the recording set to be available to download and listen back to after the call has ended.

And we've ranked the best headsets for conference calls

Via WindowsLatest

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Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.