Microsoft updates Cortana for Microsoft Teams Rooms with new capabilities

Microsoft Teams Rooms is Microsoft’s enterprise-level video conferencing solution, featuring purpose-built calling and meeting room solutions that deliver a native Microsoft Teams experience with HD audio and video.

Today Microsoft announced that Microsoft Teams Rooms is getting a Windows Service Update and New Skills in Cortana.

Service Update:

• The service update will occur on Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows devices during the week of August 23rd, 2021. This service update will facilitate the release of additional features in the future. Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows Service Update plus new skills in Cortana.
• No action is required for this service update.

New skills in Cortana:

There are two upcoming changes in Cortana:

• You will soon be able to use Cortana to call someone or add someone to a meeting in your Microsoft Teams Room on Windows.
• You will soon be able to “Push To Talk” Cortana to use it, meaning the user will be able to tap on the console microphone and say “join my meeting” on all newly imaged devices

Examples include:

• Saying “Cortana, add Sruthi to the meeting” will add Shruthi to the meeting you joined in your Teams Room.
• Saying “Cortana, call Leo” will dial Leo’s number from your Teams Room.

Push To Talk will be on by default. If your device is set up as new just out of the box or you reset it from scratch, Cortana Push To Talk will be enabled by default. Any person using those rooms will be able to tap on the microphone that says Cortana and use any of the skills. This is a change from the previous release to production when the IT admins needed to change the Skype xml settings file to turn on Cortana Push to Talk.

To access the feature admins need to update their newly imaged device to the latest release in store and the new skills will be available to use.

Microsoft expects to begin rolling this out in early September and expect to complete the full rollout by mid-September.