Microsoft has launched a premium Teams messaging offering that is powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The company made the announcement in a blog post, touting, “Teams Premium brings the latest technologies, including Large Language Models powered by OpenAI’s GPT-3.5, to make meetings more intelligent, personalized, and protected.”
Microsoft’s Teams Premium subscription currently has a special introductory price of $7 per month. The price will remain unchanged throughout the entirety of the first subscription term (except for some month-to-month and some three-year annual billed monthly subscriptions). After June 30, 2023, the price will go back to the regularly advertised $10 per month per user that has been in place since the service’s preview launch in October of last year.
With the release of Microsoft Teams Premium, the software giant has introduced an Intelligent Recap feature, which users can take advantage of, to take automatic meeting notes, get task suggestions, and design custom meeting templates.
Intelligent recap uses OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 model to make meeting notes and highlights. This is especially helpful when meetings are scheduled at inconvenient times or when team members are in different time zones or otherwise unavailable to participate in the meeting in person. Whenever a coworker brings up your name in a meeting, you’ll receive timeline markers so you can easily review the information that was discussed and shared. Microsoft says that some intelligent recap features won’t be available until the second quarter of 2023.
Furthermore, the company is reserving certain Teams features for paid subscribers only. Premium users will have access to previously free features like live caption translation and scene customization in Together Mode, as well as a variety of virtual appointment options. For current Microsoft Teams users, there will be a “grace period” of 60 days during which live translated captions will be available, and 30 days during which virtual appointment features will be available.
Advanced meeting security is another Microsoft Teams Premium feature that could prove more attractive to businesses. As an example, users can be prevented from recording meetings or copying text from the meeting chat, and sensitive content can be watermarked and labelled. Microsoft claims this feature could “deter leaks” or preserve the confidentiality of meeting discussions.
Webinars are a part of Microsoft Teams Premium, allowing businesses to host online events with features like registration waitlists, flexible event scheduling, and digital green rooms.
Microsoft Teams Premium now has the GPT-3.5 model from OpenAI. This comes just days after Microsoft extended its partnership with OpenAI in a “multibillion dollar investment.” Reportedly, Microsoft is planning to integrate OpenAI technology into Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook, and the company would also like to integrate the AI chatbot ChatGPT into Bing.
