Microsoft Teams native integration is removed from Windows 11 – Microsoft

The chat feature will be replaced by the free, more flexible version of Microsoft Teams which is also available as a standalone app for Windows 10. Microsoft announced the changes when it released a new test build of Windows 11 this week.

“Beginning with this beta, Chat is now Microsoft Teams — free,” said Brandon LeBlanc, Senior Director of Programs at Microsoft. “Microsoft Teams – Free Edition is pinned to the taskbar by default and can be removed from there like other taskbar apps.”

The original Teams integration in Windows 11, called Chat, was deeply intertwined with the operating system. The chat app is enabled by default on the taskbar and you will have to dig into the settings to remove it. Chat provides users with a way to use Microsoft Teams to communicate with friends and family. But it was strangely limited to just consumers, which made it useless for the vast majority of Microsoft Teams users who use the enterprise version of the app. Windows 11 users in many cases have ended up installing two confusing versions of Teams to handle company needs as well as personal calls.

So far, Microsoft is constantly adding new features to chat within Windows 11, with improved video calling features in October, Discord-like communities, and an AI tool earlier this month. The chat functionality built into Windows 11 was based on the Microsoft Teams 2.0 client that served as the basis for the new Microsoft Teams app that’s currently being released for business.

Microsoft’s decision to remove the Teams client built into Windows 11 comes just days after the company announced plans to end support for Cortana in Windows 11 later this year. The reason is the company’s focus on artificial intelligence, as it announced Windows Copilot, which greatly expands the capabilities of Windows.

Teams Chat icon in Windows 11

Windows president Panos Panay has previously alluded to the importance of AI to Windows, claiming at CES earlier this year that “AI will reinvent the way you do everything in Windows.” There is no doubt that artificial intelligence will play a huge role in the next major version of Windows as well.

The changes to Teams also come just months after Microsoft agreed to stop bundling Teams with Office. The Financial Times reported in April that Microsoft would stop forcing Office customers to install Teams on their devices, in a move intended to appease EU regulators. Microsoft from Teams in Office and Windows.