November-December developments
Online meetings have become an integral part of everyday communication for individuals worldwide. As we approach the end of this year, several online platforms are introducing new features and innovations designed to improve the quality of virtual communication. One of them is Microsoft Teams, which this month introduces an expanded gallery view, enhancing the meeting experience for both attendees and presenters when the main window is minimised. The previous single-tile view, which showed only the active speaker, now offers an option to display up to four participants and a ‘Me’ video tile.
Town Halls are becoming more interactive with a revamped chat feature. Where previously only moderators and organisers could communicate privately, attendees, presenters, and organisers can now engage collectively in the event chat. Presenters and organisers can hold private conversations during the event, ensuring seamless collaboration.
Teams Rooms on Android has introduced dual-display capabilities, showcasing up to 18 video feeds (3×3 grid per screen) when content is not shared. Admins can now remotely manage and resolve screen issues in dual-display mode via device settings or the Teams admin centre, eliminating the need for on-site adjustments.
To bolster security, Teams now allows admins to block unwanted bots using a new policy in the admin centre. Known bot domains can be restricted through the External access setting, and a CAPTCHA test can be enabled for anonymous or non-federated users, ensuring only verified participants gain access.
Google Meet has introduced an auto-framing feature designed to optimise participant visibility. This intelligent functionality automatically centres each participant’s video at the start of a meeting, ensuring equitable representation for all attendees.
With the new update, Zoom allows users with the Feedback to Zoom setting to provide detailed feedback on the AI ​​Companion responses. After giving a thumbs up or down, users can choose reasons such as ‘Correct’, ‘Easy to understand’, ‘Incorrect or made up’, or ‘I misunderstood’. If the option to allow text feedback is enabled, users can also add free-text comments.
Zoom now offers AI Companion reminders for meeting hosts to activate helpful features like meeting summaries and questions during meetings. A prompt will appear if these features are not enabled at the start, making it easy for hosts to turn them on.
Smart speaker tags are a new addition to Zoom Rooms, simplifying identifying speakers in meetings. These tags assist in attributing speech for features like captions and meeting summaries. They can be added or adjusted in real time via the Zoom Rooms controller, enhancing meeting comprehension for all participants.
Are you planning an online meeting or event and need urgent advice?
Our ConfTech Help desk provides countries and organisations with immediate advice on how to organise and run online meetings and events. Get in touch with us at conftech@diplomacy.edu.
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