Microsoft Teams introduces 'Workflows' app with AI features and Power Automate integration

Microsoft has introduced a new Workflows app to its Microsoft Teams platform, aiming to incorporate workflow management features directly into Teams. The foundation of these features is Microsoft Power Automate, a tool that streamlines processes by connecting different applications within the Microsoft 365 365 suite and beyond.

The user experience has been rebranded as 'Workflows' in Microsoft Teams, offering capabilities for discovering, creating, editing, and managing workflows. Teams now contain a wide range of templates in the Workflows section, with options from Microsoft and third-party companies such as JIRA, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Bitbucket, Zendesk, Freshdesk, and even YouTube.

The Workflows section's landing page has been revamped, highlighting new categories like 'Calendar' and 'Notifications', and displaying recently published templates. Users can now create and set up new workflows directly from their Teams chats or channels, using a new menu option. Workflow templates are now also accessible in individual chat conversations.

Additionally, Microsoft is developing AI features to integrate into Teams' workflows, allowing users to describe their desired workflow and have the AI tool design it using triggers and actions. The company also plans to integrate OpenAI's DALL-E 3 into Teams for Premium users, enabling custom AI images for virtual meeting backgrounds. This feature is exclusive to Premium subscribers, while free users can personalize Channel announcement backgrounds. The release date for this feature is yet to be announced.