Microsoft Teams Enhances Privacy: Introducing Smart AI-Powered Background Blurring

Microsoft is now rolling out a Teams feature that cleans up your messy bedroom. The feature, called Decorate Your Background, uses AI to create a more professional version of your real-world webcam background.

Decorate Your Background was first announced at Ignite 2023 . It was accompanied by several other AI features, including Copilot in Teams and Voice Isolation. General availability for Decorate Your Background opens today, though it’s exclusive to Microsoft Teams Premium customers. Those who use the free version of Teams can’t access Decorate Your Background.

To use this feature, open the “Video effects” menu and expand the “Backgrounds” subcategory. Click the “Decorate” button, and you’ll be asked to select from five different themes. Most of these themes add items to your background, though the standard “Clean Up” effect tidies your room without any additional flair.

• Clean Up: Tidies your surroundings to give your room a more professional appearance.
• Fancy: Adds some “lavish and traditional” decorations to your room for an elegant vibe.
• Greenhouse: Provides some ambiance by adding plants and other greenery to your room.
• Celebration: Adds balloons, streamers, and other party items to your space. This may also add holiday decor to your feed.
• Surprise Me: Cycles through a zany collection of styles inspired by outer space, Minecraft, and other sources.

After selecting a theme, press the “Generate” button. Microsoft Teams will generate two options. You can choose between these options or hit “Generate” again to produce another set of backgrounds. These AI-generated backgrounds can be saved to your Teams account for later use.

If you need to apply the Decorate Your Background effect during a meeting, click the downward arrow next to the camera button. Otherwise, you have to dig through the “More” menu at the top of your screen, which is time consuming. I suggest that you set everything up in the pre-meeting lobby to avoid any awkwardness.

Again, the Decorate Your Background feature is exclusive to Microsoft Teams Premium . Individuals and businesses that use the free version of Teams cannot access this feature. Note that Teams Premium is not included in Microsoft 365—it’s a separate purchase.

Source: Microsoft