In December 2023, Microsoft launched a new feature for Teams (in public preview) which allowed you to generate custom wallpapers for video meetings. The company announced that this AI-powered feature is now available to all users of Microsoft Teams Premium. As revealed by the Redmond company itself in a post on its blog: “With the latest advances in generative AI, it’s possible to seamlessly blend physical and digital spaces, allowing you to revamp what you see of your physical meeting space for every call. This technology allows you to easily clean rooms, add virtual plants or festive decorations for special events, all without the need for frequent consultation with the interior designer”.
Teams: How AI backgrounds work for Premium users
Microsoft Teams Premium users can access the new AI background generation feature from the “Video effects” e “Wallpapers”. The new feature can be used before joining an online video meeting or during such a meeting. You can also change the video background with this feature in several ways. One of these cleans up the video background removing any clutter the app might notice on the screen. On the contrary, it is also possible insert decorative objects on background. Another mode will add virtual plants so that it appears that the user has a green thumb in the office or at home. For special occasions, they can also be inserted virtual balloons, streamers or other similar objects. Finally, Microsoft proposes the “surprise me”, which allows you to transform the background using different styles, such as an underwater environment, Minecraft style, etc.
After choosing the AI-created wallpaper theme in the app, the user just needs to click on “Generate background” and select one of the two options provided. If you want to view other options, just click on the same button again. Once you have made your choice, simply click on “Apply and save wallpaper” to save the desired wallpaper. This can also be used again in future video meetings. Teams Premium users can try this feature free for 30 days. If the plan is purchased before June 30tha cost of 7 dollars a month per user. After that date, the price will rise to 10 dollars a month per user.