Standardised meeting configurations
Microsoft has announced a new feature for Teams that allows IT administrators to set default templates for all scheduled meetings. These templates dictate how a meeting behaves from the start, covering aspects such as who can bypass the lobby, who is permitted to present, and whether the meeting is automatically recorded.
Currently, meeting organisers must often adjust these settings manually for each individual calendar invite. The update aims to standardise these settings across a business, ensuring that company policies regarding privacy and security are applied by default when a meeting is created through Outlook or the Teams calendar.
Licensing requirements
It is important to note that this feature is not included in the standard Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, or Premium subscriptions. Microsoft has confirmed that only users assigned a Teams Premium license will be able to use these default templates.
Teams Premium is an additional monthly cost per user. For businesses that do not wish to pay for this extra tier, meeting organisers will need to continue managing their meeting options manually for each session. This involves clicking 'Meeting options' within the calendar invite to set specific restrictions.
Timeline for deployment
Microsoft currently lists the General Availability date for this feature as November 2026. This is a long-term roadmap item, and the specific technical requirements or interface layout may change before the final release.
We do not yet know if Microsoft will offer a grace period or if existing manual templates will be migrated into this new system. We will monitor the roadmap for any changes to the expected release date or licensing terms.
For businesses that require strict compliance or data protection settings during video calls, this update provides a way to enforce those rules centrally, provided the licensing costs are met.