💡 Our Technical Review in summary
Summary
- Feature Overview: Microsoft is introducing a capability that allows Teams users to initiate chats with external individuals using only their email address. Unlike previous requirements, the recipient no longer needs to create a Microsoft account to participate; they can join the conversation as a guest.
- Timeline: Targeted Release began in November 2025. General Availability (Worldwide) is now expected in May 2026 (delayed from February).
- Scope: This update specifically targets Small and Medium Business (SMB) customers with Teams Essentials, Business Basic, Business Standard, or Business Premium licenses.
- Roadmap ID: 513271.
Impact
- User Experience: Internal users can start a chat with any external email address. The recipient receives an email invitation and joins the chat directly as a guest. Note that external users cannot initiate these chats; they must be invited by someone within your organization.
- Cross-Platform Support: The feature will be functional across Windows, Mac, Web, iOS, and Android versions of Teams.
- Security and Governance: Chats remain within your organization’s security boundary. The feature respects existing Entra B2B Guest policies and Teams Admin Center Guest Access settings. It will not override any current domain blocks or restricted collaboration policies.
- Eligibility Requirements: Only organizations that have guest chat enabled and do not restrict collaboration to specific domains are affected. Users must currently be enrolled in Public Preview to access the feature during the rollout phase.
Action Required
- Review Policies: Verify your organization’s Entra B2B Guest policies and Teams Admin Center Guest Access settings to ensure they align with your desired security posture for external collaboration.
- Administrative Control: If you wish to disable this feature, you must use PowerShell. Use the
Set-CsTeamsMessagingPolicycmdlet to set theUseB2BInvitesToAddExternalUsersattribute to false. - Documentation: Update internal training materials and “How-To” guides to reflect that external recipients are no longer required to sign up for a Microsoft account to respond to chat invites.
- Helpdesk Preparation: Inform support staff about the change in the guest onboarding workflow to handle potential inquiries regarding the new email-based invitation process.
Microsoft Official Update
Service: N/A
Category: planForChange
Severity: normal
Updated February 4, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience.
[Introduction]
Teams users in tenants with open collaboration policies have long been able to start a chat with anyone who has an email address. However, recipients without a Teams account were previously asked to sign up for one before being able to collaborate. We’re introducing a new capability in Microsoft Teams for certain tenants (see ‘Who is affected’ below) that allows these recipients to join the chat as a guest— no account needed, and as long as it is allowed by the tenant’s existing policy configuration.
This feature will be available across Windows, Mac, Web, iOS, and Android platforms.
This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 513271.
[When this will happen:]
- Targeted Release: Rollout for users with the aforementioned licenses begun in early November 2025 and was completed in mid-November 2025
- General Availability (Worldwide): May 2026 (previously February)
[How this affects your organization:]
Who is affected:
This capability is currently available only to small and medium business customers enrolled in public preview with a Teams Essentials, Business Basic, Business Standard, or Business Premium license. It also only affects organizations with guest chat enabled and that do not limit guest collaboration to specific domains. Organizations without users enrolled in public preview or without users with these licenses may still see this post even if they are not affected.
What will happen for those who are affected:
- After Teams users start a chat with someone who is not on Teams, the recipient will receive an email inviting them to join the chat as a guest. Only Teams users in your organization can start the chat, as users without Teams accounts cannot initiate chats.
- Chats will remain within your organization’s boundary.
- This feature is enabled by default but will be governed by your organization’s Entra B2B Guest policies and Teams Admin Center Guest Access policies. It will not override any existing policy configurations.
[What you can do to prepare:]
- Update internal documentation to reflect this new capability.
- Inform helpdesk and support teams about the change.
- Review the documentation here: Chat with anyone not using Teams – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn
- To disable the feature, set the UseB2BInvitesToAddExternalUsers attribute of TeamsMessagingPolicy to false. Set-CsTeamsMessagingPolicy documentation here.
[Compliance considerations:]
No compliance considerations identified, review as appropriate for your organization.
