Microsoft Teams new Together Mode is designed for pandemic-era meetings

Microsoft is introducing some big updates to Microsoft Teams today. The software giant has been working on a new “Together Mode” for Teams ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and it’s designed to create a virtual live avatar of yourself that’s supposed to help you better engage with meetings. Microsoft is using AI to segment your face and shoulders and place you and your co-workers together in a virtual space.

That space could be a meeting room-like environment, a coffee shop, or other places you’d normally have face-to-face meetings. I got a chance to experience this new mode earlier this week. It felt a little gimmicky at first, especially as you can wave at co-workers, tap them on the shoulder, or do virtual high fives. Once you...

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