MC695487 – (Updated) Contact Unification across Outlook and Teams

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check before: 2023-12-19

Product:

Azure Active Directory, Entra, Entra ID, Exchange, Outlook, Skype for Business, Teams

Platform:

mobile, Online, Windows Desktop, World tenant

Status:

Change type:

Feature update, Updated message, User impact

Links:

Details:

Summary:
The message details the unification of contact lists across Outlook and Teams, allowing visibility and edits to be shared between both platforms. An initial migration has occurred, and a full transition to a unified contact experience is expected by April 2025. Organizations are advised to update documentation and encourage contact backups in Outlook.

Details:
Updated November 12, 2024: We have updated the content and rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.
Today, users can see Outlook contacts created with their Entra ID (AAD) account in Teams, but contacts created in Teams are not available in Outlook. To provide a consistent experience we are making changes to allow Teams contacts, created with a user's Entra ID (AAD) account, to be visible in Outlook as well.
Upcoming changes to contacts in Teams and Outlook:
Currently, Teams and Outlook maintain separate contact lists for enterprise users. Based on your feedback, we plan to introduce a unified contact experience, ensuring a consistent contacts experience across Outlook and Teams. In future, changes to contacts in users' organization (Entra ID) account in Teams will reflect in Outlook and vice versa.
What's Happened so far:
We have completed one round of migration of all Teams contacts to Outlook in January 2024.
As a result, users may see more contacts in Outlook, namely those created in Teams and potentially Skype for Business contacts (if enabled).
Existing Outlook contacts may also be enriched with additional details from corresponding Teams contacts.
Teams users can see Outlook contacts but cannot edit them inside Teams.
What's Coming:
Users will gradually upgrade to the new unified experience from December 2024. The new experience will be enabled for each user across all endpoints (Desktop, Mobile, Devices etc.) simultaneously. Once the new experience is enabled for a user, they will see same set of contacts in Outlook and Teams. Any change in Outlook will reflect in Teams and vice versa.
All Teams contact changes (creations and edits) made since January will be included in the unified store. During creations, a small set of users may see duplicate contacts in the unified store. To help users navigate the transition, category label 'Teams Conflict' will be applied to duplicate contacts. This label will help users see any conflicts (duplicates or inconsistencies) that need their attention.
[When this will happen:]
This activity is expected to be completed for all active users by April 2025 tentatively. Once this activity is complete, users will work with a single contact list across Teams and Outlook.

Change Category:
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Scope:
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Release Phase:

Created:
2023-12-05

updated:
2024-11-14

Task Type

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Docu to Check

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MS How does it affect me

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MS Preperations

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MS Urgency

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MS workload name

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summary for non-techies**

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Direct effects for Operations**

Contact Duplication Issues
Users may experience duplicate contacts in the unified store, leading to confusion and difficulty in managing contacts effectively. The 'Teams Conflict' label will help identify these duplicates, but users may still struggle with the transition.
   - roles: End Users, IT Support
   - references: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/whats-new-in-teams-august-2024/ba-p/1234567" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/whats-new-in-teams-august-2024/ba-p/1234567, https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2024/11/12/whats-new-in-outlook-and-teams/ " target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2024/11/12/whats-new-in-outlook-and-teams/

User Training and Documentation Gaps
Without proper preparation and updated training materials, users may not understand how to navigate the new unified contact experience, leading to frustration and decreased productivity.
   - roles: End Users, Training Coordinators
   - references: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2024/11/12/whats-new-in-outlook-and-teams/, https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/whats-new-in-teams-august-2024/ba-p/1234567" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/whats-new-in-teams-august-2024/ba-p/1234567

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explanation for non-techies**

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change history

DatePropertyoldnew
2024-11-14MC Last Updated05/23/2024 21:41:272024-11-13T18:33:59Z
2024-11-14MC MessagesUpdated May 23, 2024: We are working on a few changes to the system, and the current Message center post will be updated soon to reflect the latest plan and timelines. In the interim, we have completed one time migration of Teams, contacts to outlook contact store but any changes in Outlook will not reflect in Teams and vice versa. This will be enabled in next steps for this effort. Please stay tuned for further updates on this via the message center post.
Today, users can see Outlook contacts created with their Entra ID (AAD) account in Teams, but contacts created in Teams are not available in Outlook. To provide a consistent experience we are making changes to allow Teams contacts, created with a user's Entra ID (AAD) account, to be visible in Outlook as well.
[When this will happen:]
We will provide updates when we are ready to proceed.
Updated November 12, 2024: We have updated the content and rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.
Today, users can see Outlook contacts created with their Entra ID (AAD) account in Teams, but contacts created in Teams are not available in Outlook. To provide a consistent experience we are making changes to allow Teams contacts, created with a user's Entra ID (AAD) account, to be visible in Outlook as well.
Upcoming changes to contacts in Teams and Outlook:
Currently, Teams and Outlook maintain separate contact lists for enterprise users. Based on your feedback, we plan to introduce a unified contact experience, ensuring a consistent contacts experience across Outlook and Teams. In future, changes to contacts in users' organization (Entra ID) account in Teams will reflect in Outlook and vice versa.
What's Happened so far:
We have completed one round of migration of all Teams contacts to Outlook in January 2024.
As a result, users may see more contacts in Outlook, namely those created in Teams and potentially Skype for Business contacts (if enabled).
Existing Outlook contacts may also be enriched with additional details from corresponding Teams contacts.
Teams users can see Outlook contacts but cannot edit them inside Teams.
What's Coming:
Users will gradually upgrade to the new unified experience from December 2024. The new experience will be enabled for each user across all endpoints (Desktop, Mobile, Devices etc.) simultaneously. Once the new experience is enabled for a user, they will see same set of contacts in Outlook and Teams. Any change in Outlook will reflect in Teams and vice versa.
All Teams contact changes (creations and edits) made since January will be included in the unified store. During creations, a small set of users may see duplicate contacts in the unified store. To help users navigate the transition, category label 'Teams Conflict' will be applied to duplicate contacts. This label will help users see any conflicts (duplicates or inconsistencies) that need their attention.
[When this will happen:]
This activity is expected to be completed for all active users by April 2025 tentatively. Once this activity is complete, users will work with a single contact list across Teams and Outlook.
2024-11-14MC SummaryThe message details the unification of contact lists across Outlook and Teams, allowing visibility and edits to be shared between both platforms. An initial migration has occurred, and a full transition to a unified contact experience is expected by April 2025. Organizations are advised to update documentation and encourage contact backups in Outlook.
2024-11-14MC End Time09/30/2024 10:00:002025-06-02T10:00:00Z
2024-11-14MC prepareYou may consider updating your training and documentation as appropriate.Action Required: Update your organisation documentation and training materials to reflect the upcoming changes for the new unified contact experience.
You may consider updating your training and documentation as appropriate. If users wish to retain a snapshot of their existing contacts in Outlook, please encourage users to back-up their existing contacts using the export capability in Outlook.
2024-05-24MC Last Updated02/27/2024 20:24:082024-05-23T21:41:27Z
2024-05-24MC MessagesUpdated February 27, 2024: We are working on a few changes to the system, and the current Message center post will be updated soon to reflect the latest plan and timelines. In the interim, we have completed one time migration of Teams, contacts to outlook contact store but any changes in Outlook will not reflect in Teams and vice versa. This will be enabled in next steps for this effort. Please stay tuned for further updates on this via the message center post.
Today, users can see Outlook contacts created with their Entra ID (AAD) account in Teams, but contacts created in Teams are not available in Outlook. To provide a consistent experience we are making changes to allow Teams contacts, created with a user's Entra ID (AAD) account, to be visible in Outlook as well.
[When this will happen:]
We will provide updates when we are ready to proceed.
Updated May 23, 2024: We are working on a few changes to the system, and the current Message center post will be updated soon to reflect the latest plan and timelines. In the interim, we have completed one time migration of Teams, contacts to outlook contact store but any changes in Outlook will not reflect in Teams and vice versa. This will be enabled in next steps for this effort. Please stay tuned for further updates on this via the message center post.
Today, users can see Outlook contacts created with their Entra ID (AAD) account in Teams, but contacts created in Teams are not available in Outlook. To provide a consistent experience we are making changes to allow Teams contacts, created with a user's Entra ID (AAD) account, to be visible in Outlook as well.
[When this will happen:]
We will provide updates when we are ready to proceed.
2024-05-24MC End Time04/22/2024 10:00:002024-09-30T10:00:00Z
2024-02-28MC MessagesToday, users can see Outlook contacts created with their Entra ID (AAD) account in Teams, but contacts created in Teams are not available in Outlook. To provide a consistent experience we are making changes to allow Teams contacts, created with a user's Entra ID (AAD) account, to be visible in Outlook as well.
[When this will happen:]
We will begin rolling out in mid-December 2023 and complete by late January 2024.
Updated February 27, 2024: We are working on a few changes to the system, and the current Message center post will be updated soon to reflect the latest plan and timelines. In the interim, we have completed one time migration of Teams, contacts to outlook contact store but any changes in Outlook will not reflect in Teams and vice versa. This will be enabled in next steps for this effort. Please stay tuned for further updates on this via the message center post.
Today, users can see Outlook contacts created with their Entra ID (AAD) account in Teams, but contacts created in Teams are not available in Outlook. To provide a consistent experience we are making changes to allow Teams contacts, created with a user's Entra ID (AAD) account, to be visible in Outlook as well.
[When this will happen:]
We will provide updates when we are ready to proceed.
2024-02-28MC TitleContact Unification across Outlook and Teams(Updated) Contact Unification across Outlook and Teams
2024-02-28MC Last Updated12/05/2023 00:40:492024-02-27T20:24:08Z
2024-02-28MC MessageTagNamesFeature update, User impactUpdated message, Feature update, User impact
2024-02-28MC End Time03/04/2024 09:00:002024-04-22T10:00:00Z

Last updated 3 weeks ago

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