Get Ready for a New “Storyline” News Feed in Microsoft Teams

The Microsoft Teams you know will soon try to imitate social networks with a “Storyline” news feed and following/followers system. Microsoft first mentioned the upcoming launch of a new “Storyline” feature during its Ignite conference in November, but The Verge’s Tom Warren has just shared a bit more information about how it will work.

“Storyline in Teams” didn’t exactly get a lot of exposure during Microsoft’s annual conference for IT pros, and it isn’t something that caught my attention in the very long list of announcements Microsoft made last fall. Anyway, this new Storyline feature in Teams builds on the similarly-named feature in Viva Engage, the enterprise-focused social networking tool that absorbed Microsoft’s existing Yammer platform two years ago.

Here’s what Microsoft said about Storyline in Teams in November:

“Employee communications are often scattered across multiple locations, leading to frustration, delays, and overload. Storyline in Teams empowers leaders to share communications with an entire company, and simplifies the ways you and your colleagues share and connect. The Storyline integration provides a new way to discover content, contribute your ideas and perspectives, and express yourself while staying in your flow of work in Teams.”

Microsoft previously published a video showing how this new Storyline feature will work in practice. In the Chat section of Teams, the button to create a new message or channel post will add a “new storyline post” option. These posts will be visible on a new “Storyline” tab on user profiles, where other employees in an organization will be able to react with emoji or write comments. It will also be possible for employees to follow their coworkers’ storyline and discover their new posts in the Teams’ Activity tab.

Microsoft said in November that Storyline in Teams would launch in public preview in early 2025. According to Warren, the company is currently testing the feature internally and “pitching this as a way for colleagues to share announcements, news, or progress on a project. It could also be used to congratulate colleagues on work goals or key milestones,” Warren explained.

According to the new report, IT admins will be able to manage who can create new Storyline posts within an organization. However, moderation may quickly become a headache if these messages don’t align with workplace policies. Warren also mentioned that Microsoft is considering paid features such as profile analytics for Microsoft Teams Premium subscribers, which is something other social networks offer for free.