Microsoft Teams just added a convenient new feature you can find in Slack

Microsoft has announced a raft of new updates for Teams, including a new threaded conversations feature that will simplify long-winded discussions for users.

In a blog post detailing the new features, Noga Ronen, senior product marketing manager for Microsoft Teams, revealed this will be introduced in channels and aims to make collaboration “more efficient and focused”.

With the feature, users will be able to reply directly to specific messages within channels, essentially keeping separate discussions grouped together without breaking up the flow of general chatter.

“This preserves context and order, making it easier to stay up to date, while allowing for in-depth discussions,” Ronen explained.

“You can follow the threads that matter most to you, and when an important update or decision is made, you can send it back to the main conversation, so everyone stays aligned without requiring them to sift through every reply.”

As part of the move, users will also have access to a ‘Followed Threads’ feature which “brings all of your followed conversations into one interactive list”, Ronen added.

This means Teams users can view all current threads and respond to messages through a single interface without having to manually sift through channels.

Better still, once users are done with a thread, they’re able to unfollow it to stop receiving updates. Meanwhile, users will only be included if they’ve explicitly chosen to follow a certain thread, or if they’ve started, replied to, or been mentioned in one.

“While posts are ideal for announcements and broad updates, threads are a better fit with dynamic, scaled collaboration,” Ronen said.

“When creating a new channel, select between threads or posts layout, and don’t worry, this can be changed later without loss of fidelity.”

Microsoft Teams finally catches up with Slack

If this all sounds rather familiar, then you’re not far off. The new threaded conversations feature bears some similarities to Slack’s own threads-style approach – albeit with some notable differences.

While Slack allows users to respond to any individual post in any given channel, Teams will only allow users to create posts or specific threads in a single channel.

This, Ronen noted, will help declutter channels and avoid having a cacophony of overlapping conversations between colleagues while still fitting in nicely with the traditional post layout users know.

“The new threads layout complements the existing post layout. While posts are ideal for announcements and broad updates, threads are a better fit with dynamic, scaled collaboration,” Ronen explained.

“When creating a new channel, select between threads or posts layout, and don’t worry, this can be changed later without loss of fidelity,” she added.

“By setting up dedicated channels for each project, you can keep stakeholders, files, and updates all in one place—making teamwork more connected, transparent, and efficient.”

The threaded conversations feature is now available in public preview and can be enabled by users through the app.

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