• by Colin Kirkland , April 10, 2023

By partnering with Snapchat, Microsoft is introducing a new flare to its Teams video-call experience. As of Monday, Teams users are able to enhance virtual backgrounds with Snap's popular augmented reality (AR) lenses.

During meetings, Teams users will now be able to pick from 26 different Lenses, allowing anyone to transform their backgrounds into Volcanic landscapes oozing with molten lava or snow-capped mountains.

Users can also transform their Teams look by introducing a virtual chicken or sloth onto their head and can turn their coworkers into horses or make them become rosy-cheeked and fox-eared.

The new visual Snap offerings, which the company says it created to inspire more fun and engaging meetings, require no download. They are simply available in “Video effects” under the “Snapchat” tab.

“Since AR uses cameras, sensors, and displays, which are already built into video conferencing, it is a perfect and seamless fit with Teams,” said Microsoft in a recent statement.

Snap added that the integration was created via the platform's SDK called Camera Kit, which allows partners like Microsoft to leverage Snap's AR technology in their own applications and websites.

“With the rise of hybrid and flexible work, our customers need tools that help build connections and foster a productive and enjoyable work environment,” Microsoft Teams Vice President Nicole Herskowitz told TechCrunch.

Microsoft originally integrated Camera Kit into its video learning platform called Flip, which invited educators to post prompts and promote video discussions for online learning. The company says it has seen a 60% increase in students and teachers creating videos since adding Snap AR to Flip.