M365 Changelog: (Updated) Co-organizer Meeting Role

MC292796 – Updated March 29, 2022: Microsoft has updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

Organizers will soon be able to assign the co-organizer meeting role to up to 10 specific people they invite to their meeting. Co-organizers will be granted most of the capabilities of the organizer in the meeting, including being able to access & modify the meeting options for the meeting.

Usage of the co-organizer role for a meeting will be optional. If users choose not to use the co-organizer feature, there will be no change.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 81391.

When this will happen:

Microsoft expects this feature to begin rolling out in mid-May (previously mid-March) and expect the rollout to be complete by late May (previously late March).

How this will affect your organization:

Once this feature has been enabled, a “Choose co-organizers” meeting option will be available. The default value for this option is “None.” The option operates similarly to when “Specific people” are selected as presenters for the meeting. The meeting organizer can click on the selector box to open a dropdown menu where they can choose from the list of qualified people who have been invited to the meeting.

To qualify for the co-organizer role, an invitee must be using an account that is on the same tenant as the organizer’s account. Organizers will be able to assign the co-organizer role to up to 10 people.

Co-organizers will be displayed as additional organizers on the meeting roster, and they will have most of the capabilities of an organizer in the meeting. Co-organizers can do the following:

• Access and change meeting options
• Bypass the lobby
• Admit people from the lobby during a meeting
• Lock the meeting
• Present content
• Change another participant’s meeting role
• End the meeting for all

Co-organizers cannot do the following:

• Create & manage breakout rooms
• View & download attendance reports
• Manage the meeting recording
• Edit the meeting invitation
• Remove or change the Organizer role

The “Only me” selection for the “Who can present?” meeting option has been updated to reflect that this will apply to “Only me and co-organizers.”

The “Only me” selection for the “Who can bypass the lobby?” meeting option has been updated to reflect that this will apply to “Only me and co-organizers.”

Usage of the co-organizer role for a meeting is optional. If users choose not to use the co-organizer feature, there will be no change.

What you need to do to prepare:

There is nothing you need to do. The “Choose co-organizers” meeting option will appear automatically on the meeting options page when the feature has rolled out.