Microsoft Teams on mobile wants to get rid of typos for good

Microsoft Teams
(Image credit: Shutterstock / Daniel Constante)

Using Microsoft Teams when running between meetings or public transport may soon be less of a pain thanks to a new update for the service.

The collaboration and  video conferencing platform will soon receive predictive text features to its mobile app, a new entry in the Microsoft product roadmap shows.

The new addition should make it harder to make spelling or grammatical errors when typing on the go, particularly as many workers embrace the new world of hybrid working, meaning they may be messaging on a train or bus, or just when rushing to a meeting.

Microsoft Teams mobile predictive text

The entry in the Microsoft 365 roadmap notes that the new feature uses "assistive AI" to predict a user's answers and gives text suggestions so that, "you can finish phrases in one tap."

The tool may use the same technology found in Microsoft Editor, which uses the company's own in-house AI technology to cut out errors across Word and Outlook.

The company recently announced that predictive text would be coming to Microsoft Edge, giving users of its web browser a similar "text predictions" feature that uses Microsoft's own in-house AI and ML technology to offer word suggestions to users.

Microsoft says the feature should roll out to all Teams users by March 2022. It will initially only be available to Android users, however given the huge popularity of Microsoft Teams (which recently topped 270 million monthly active users), it would be a surprise if an iOS version isn't forthcoming soon.

The new feature is the latest in a series of recent updates to Microsoft Teams as the company looks to help keep its new and existing users productive and happy across the platform.

Also recently announced was the ability to combine business and consumer Teams accounts, hopefully putting an end to any unfortunate confusion between the two, and even the possibility of adding Microsoft's Cortana voice-recognition software to the platform.

The company also recently confirmed the launch of its walkie talkie feature in Microsoft Teams, allowing customers to use their smartphone or tablet as a walkie talkie that can work over both a cellular or wireless connection. 

Mike Moore
Deputy Editor, TechRadar Pro

Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.