MC1151685 – M365 Change Digest

One-line summary

Teams Town Hall Premium users will get a Raise Hand feature, enabled by default, to improve attendee engagement; rollout starts mid-October 2025 for most users.

Similar updates

Details

RoadmapIds

499889

FeatureStatusJson

{"499889":[{"RoadmapId":499889,"Platform":"Mac","Status":"Scheduled","LastUpdateTime":"2025-12-24T22:54:26.4831212Z","LatestRing":null},{"RoadmapId":499889,"Platform":"Desktop","Status":"Scheduled","LastUpdateTime":"2025-12-24T22:54:26.4831213Z","LatestRing":null},{"RoadmapId":499889,"Platform":"All","Status":"Scheduled","LastUpdateTime":"2025-12-24T22:54:26.4831214Z","LatestRing":null}]}

Summary

Microsoft Teams is launching a Raise Hand feature for Premium users in Town Hall events starting October 2025. Enabled by default, it allows attendees to signal to speak, helping organizers manage participation. Organizers can disable it if desired. No admin action is needed to enable this feature.

Platforms

Desktop, Mac

Body (from Message Center)

Updated September 19, 2025: We have updated the content with additional information OR resources.

Introduction

We’re introducing the Raise Hand feature in Microsoft Teams Town Hall for Premium users. This enhancement improves audience engagement by allowing attendees to signal when they’d like to speak or ask questions, creating a more interactive and inclusive experience during large-scale events. This message applies to Teams for Android, iOS, Web, Desktop and Mac.

This feature is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 499889.

When this will happen:

Targeted Release: Begins in early October 2025 and completes in mid-October 2025.
General Availability:
- Worldwide: Begins in mid-October 2025 and completes in late October 2025.
- GCC and GCC High: Begins in late October 2025 and completes in late November 2025.

How this affects your organization

Once available, organizers of Town Hall events with Premium licensing will see the Raise Hand option enabled by default. Attendees can use this feature to request speaking opportunities, which helps moderators manage participation more effectively.

A meeting option will be available to organizers to disable Raise Hand for attendees if desired, providing flexibility for different event formats and moderation styles.

This feature is on by default for eligible users and does not require manual enablement.

What you can do to prepare

Update internal documentation to reflect this new capability.
Inform Teams Premium users about the new meeting option to manage attendee interactions.
No admin action is required to enable this feature.

Compliance considerations

Does the change provide a new way of communicating between users, tenants, or subscriptions?	No
Does the change include an admin control and can it be controlled through Entra ID group membership?	Yes. The feature is available only to organizers with Teams Premium licenses, which can be managed via Entra ID group membership. Organizers also have the option to disable the raise hand feature.

Raw JSON (for debugging)

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{
  "snapshot_item": {
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    "ai_action_required_by": null,
    "ai_actions": [
      "Update internal documentation",
      "Inform Teams Premium users about new meeting option"
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    "ai_master_tags": [],
    "ai_model": "gpt-4.1",
    "ai_summary": "Teams Town Hall Premium users will get a Raise Hand feature, enabled by default, to improve attendee engagement; rollout starts mid-October 2025 for most users.",
    "ai_topics": [
      "Teams",
      "Entra"
    ],
    "category": "stayInformed",
    "details_map": {
      "FeatureStatusJson": "{\"499889\":[{\"RoadmapId\":499889,\"Platform\":\"Mac\",\"Status\":\"Scheduled\",\"LastUpdateTime\":\"2025-12-24T22:54:26.4831212Z\",\"LatestRing\":null},{\"RoadmapId\":499889,\"Platform\":\"Desktop\",\"Status\":\"Scheduled\",\"LastUpdateTime\":\"2025-12-24T22:54:26.4831213Z\",\"LatestRing\":null},{\"RoadmapId\":499889,\"Platform\":\"All\",\"Status\":\"Scheduled\",\"LastUpdateTime\":\"2025-12-24T22:54:26.4831214Z\",\"LatestRing\":null}]}",
      "Platforms": "Desktop, Mac",
      "RoadmapIds": "499889",
      "Summary": "Microsoft Teams is launching a Raise Hand feature for Premium users in Town Hall events starting October 2025. Enabled by default, it allows attendees to signal to speak, helping organizers manage participation. Organizers can disable it if desired. No admin action is needed to enable this feature."
    },
    "id": "MC1151685",
    "importance": 0,
    "is_major_change": false,
    "last_modified": "2025-09-19T16:01:10Z",
    "ms_products": [
      "Teams"
    ],
    "platforms": "Desktop, Mac",
    "roadmap_ids": [
      "499889"
    ],
    "services": [
      "Microsoft Teams"
    ],
    "severity": "normal",
    "tags": [
      "Updated message",
      "Feature update",
      "User impact"
    ],
    "title": "(Updated) Microsoft Teams Town Hall: Raise Hand feature launching in September for Premium users"
  }
}