M365 Changelog: Announcing annotations in PowerPoint Live in Teams

MC258229 – Updated June 01, 2021: Microsoft has updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

This new release will allow users to use a virtual laser pointer and make ink annotations when presenting through PowerPoint Live in Teams. Just as a presenter would use a physical laser pointer in a room, PowerPoint Live allows users to highlight by pointing at different places or data so the audience can easily follow along. This is rolling out on Microsoft Teams desktop, web and Mac.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 81966.

When this will happen:

Microsoft will begin rolling this out in early June (previously late May) and expect to complete rollout mid-June (previously early June).

How this will affect your organization:

With this update, the active “in control” presenter will be able to use these new annotation tools. These tools enable presenters to better express or add content and engage more with their audience by drawing attention to certain sections within the PowerPoint slide show.

• Only the active “in control” presenter will be able to see and make annotations via the annotation toolbar.
• Annotations made by the presenter will only remain for the duration of the Microsoft Teams meeting.
• Meeting attendees joining late will be able to see annotations previously made by the presenter.
• No annotations will be saved in the PowerPoint file.

Note: Annotations will not be visible for users using Microsoft Teams on a mobile platforms.

What you need to do to prepare:

You might want to notify your users about this new capability and update your training and documentation as appropriate.