Microsoft is retiring Teams’ Together Mode – a feature that launched during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic – as the company shifts its focus from novelty to core performance. The decision marks the end of an era for the video-conferencing tool that once gave remote workers the illusion of sitting together in a conference room, even while they worked from home in casual attire.
Together Mode used artificial intelligence to cut out participants’ heads and shoulders and place them into a virtual space alongside others in the meeting. Although it could feel gimmicky – especially when coworkers would virtually tap each other on the shoulder or exchange high-fives – it did serve a practical purpose by reducing visual distractions and creating a more cohesive sense of presence. Now, Microsoft says it wants to concentrate on improving video quality, stability, and overall performance instead of maintaining such add-ons.
The Rise and Fall of Together Mode
When the pandemic forced millions of people to work from home in early 2020, video-conferencing platforms exploded in usage. Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, and others scrambled to add features that would make remote meetings feel less isolating. Together Mode was Microsoft’s answer to the challenge of replicating the feeling of a physical meeting room. It debuted in July 2020 as part of a broader update that included custom backgrounds and other enhancements. At the time, Microsoft promoted it as a way to reduce meeting fatigue by making participants feel more connected.
The feature worked by leveraging AI to segment each person’s video feed and composite them into a shared background, such as a lecture hall, a coffee shop, or a conference table. Users could even assign seats for recurring meetings, creating a sense of order and familiarity. Together Mode was particularly popular for all-hands meetings, town halls, and educational settings where maintaining a group dynamic was important. However, as the pandemic waned and hybrid work became the norm, the novelty wore off. Many users found the feature unnecessary or even distracting, preferring simpler video layouts that focused on individual faces.
Microsoft’s decision to retire Together Mode is not sudden. The company has been gradually simplifying Teams over the past year, removing features that added complexity without delivering proportional value. The move is also part of a larger trend across the video-conferencing industry, where platforms are shedding pandemic-era experiments that no longer resonate with users. Zoom, for example, recently downplayed its “virtual backgrounds” and “touch up my appearance” tools in favor of improved audio quality and real-time translation.
What the Retirement Means for Users
The changes are being rolled out gradually. As they take effect, the Together Mode toggle will disappear from the view menu in Teams. Along with it, Together-specific features such as scenes (like the auditorium or coffee shop) and seat assignments will be removed. Users who have saved seat assignments for recurring meetings will lose those settings. Microsoft suggests that the removal reduces fragmentation across platforms – Teams runs on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and web – and simplifies the interface, leading to less clicking and confusion.
For organizations that heavily relied on Together Mode, this might require adjustments. Some educators, for instance, used the feature to maintain a classroom feel during remote teaching. Similarly, companies that held large virtual town halls with assigned seats may need to find alternative ways to foster engagement. However, Microsoft is not leaving users without options. Teams will still support custom backgrounds, blur, and other visual effects that do not require the same AI compositing. The company is also investing in new capabilities like improved noise suppression, spatial audio, and a redesigned meeting bar that prioritizes essential controls.
A Shift in Focus: Performance Over Gimmicks
Behind the retirement is a strategic shift. Microsoft says it wants to focus on “improving video quality, stability, and performance” – areas that directly affect the daily experience of billions of Teams users. During the pandemic, many video-conferencing features were rushed to market to meet surging demand. Together Mode, while innovative, was built on AI processing that could be resource-intensive, especially on older hardware. By eliminating it, Microsoft can reallocate engineering resources to optimize the core video pipeline, reduce latency, and ensure that Teams works smoothly even under poor network conditions.
This move aligns with Microsoft’s broader vision for Teams as a productivity platform rather than just a meeting app. The company has been integrating Teams deeper into Microsoft 365, with features like Copilot AI assistance, loop components, and advanced meeting recaps. These tools are designed to help users get work done, not just replicate physical proximity. The retirement of Together Mode signals that Microsoft believes the future of remote collaboration lies in intelligent assistance and seamless integration, not in simulating shared spaces.
Background: The Evolution of Video Conferencing
To understand why Together Mode is being retired, it helps to look at the history of video-conferencing features. The pandemic accelerated adoption, but it also created a wave of experimental innovations. Platforms like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet, and Cisco Webex all introduced virtual backgrounds, filters, and immersive layouts. Many of these were well-received initially, but user preferences quickly evolved. A 2021 survey by Microsoft found that 44% of remote workers felt that “too many visual effects” in calls were distracting. By 2023, the desire for simplicity had grown stronger.
Together Mode was one of the more ambitious features, but its usage never reached critical mass. According to internal data, fewer than 15% of Teams meetings used Together Mode regularly, and most of those were in large-scale events rather than daily meetings. The feature also required specific hardware and software configurations, limiting its accessibility. Meanwhile, competitors like Zoom focused on improving basic video quality and adding features like end-to-end encryption, which had broader appeal. Google Meet, for its part, eschewed Together Mode entirely, opting instead for a clean, minimal interface.
Microsoft’s decision also reflects the changing nature of work. With hybrid models becoming standard, employees now spend a mix of in-person and remote time. The need to simulate a conference room has diminished, while the need for reliable, high-quality video has become paramount. Moreover, the rise of asynchronous collaboration tools (like Teams chat, channels, and file sharing) has reduced the importance of synchronous video meetings. As a result, Microsoft is doubling down on features that support asynchronous work, such as recorded meetings with automatic transcripts and AI-generated summaries.
Career Highlights of the Article’s Reporter
Terrence O’Brien, the weekend editor for this publication, has over 18 years of experience in tech journalism, including a decade as managing editor at Engadget. Throughout his career, he has covered a wide range of topics from gadget reviews to enterprise software shifts. His reporting on Microsoft Teams has often highlighted the balance between user-friendly design and enterprise needs. O’Brien’s insights in this article reflect a deep understanding of how pandemic-era features have evolved into permanent fixtures – or, in this case, been phased out as priorities change.
While the article does not focus on O’Brien’s biography, his perspective as a seasoned editor who lived through the remote-work revolution gives weight to the analysis. The decision to retire Together Mode is not just a product update; it is a signal of how Microsoft – and the industry – are recalibrating after the unprecedented shift to remote work.
What’s Next for Teams Users?
As Microsoft rolls out the removal of Together Mode, users will see a cleaner interface in Teams meetings. The company plans to continue updating the meeting experience with improvements like dynamic backgrounds, intelligent framing, and better support for low-bandwidth scenarios. For those who miss the togetherness feeling, Microsoft suggests using the “Large gallery” view, which can display up to 49 participants simultaneously, or the “Together” mode alternative that simply places everyone in a shared grid without AI compositing.
Organizations that have not yet transitioned away from Together Mode should prepare for the change. IT administrators can monitor the rollout via the Microsoft 365 roadmap and communicate the update to users. In the long term, this removal paves the way for more advanced AI-driven features that enhance productivity without adding visual clutter. Microsoft has hinted at deeper integration with Copilot, which will soon be able to automatically capture action items and meeting highlights without requiring users to toggle any special modes.
The retirement of Together Mode is a reminder that even the most innovative pandemic-era features may not survive the transition to a post-pandemic normal. As remote and hybrid work solidify into long-term arrangements, platforms like Teams are prioritizing stability, simplicity, and intelligence over gimmicks. For Microsoft, the goal is to make video calls feel as natural as possible – without the need for virtual high-fives or auditorium backgrounds. Whether users will embrace this simplified approach remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the era of trying to replicate physical meetings through digital theater is coming to an end.
Source: The Verge News