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SMS is also coming to Microsoft Teams Phone for Calling Plan users in the US and Canada
Published: January 8, 2025
Charlie Mitchell
Microsoft Teams has developed a live chat widget that’s coming to all Microsoft 365 Business plans.
The feature offers small businesses a way to engage with customers on their websites directly from Teams.
These businesses may configure the widget through the Microsoft Teams Admin App, which is available in the Teams App Store.
As they do so, Microsoft promises an “out-of-the-box” implementation experience.
Alongside baseline communications, the widget will enable users to collect visitor contact information, assign cases, and close conversations from Teams Chat.
Meanwhile, employees may post customer requests and associated transcripts in the Teams channel for real-time support and escalations.
Additionally, managers can dashboard all customer queries across a given timeframe, as evidenced in the screenshot below.

As suggested, the widget will be available in all Microsoft Business Plans, including the Business Basic, Standard, and Premium offerings.
However, businesses on Enterprise plans won’t be able to access the tool, as Microsoft stresses that the solution aims to support SMBs in boosting their customer service.
The rollout will start in mid-January in the US and expand globally in March 2025.
Microsoft offers a standalone CCaaS platform for enterprises: the Dynamics 365 Contact Center.
Yet, SMBs don’t need all the bells and whistles of a CCaaS platform.
Recognizing this, Microsoft launched its Queues Apps for Teams last year. Available at $10 per user per month, this add-on allows customer service teams to manage, monitor, and handle inbound and outbound customer interactions from the UCaaS platform.
Now, with Microsoft throwing live chat into the mix, Teams looks increasingly like a Contact Center Lite for SMBs.
While its chief UCaaS rivals – including Cisco, RingCentral, and Zoom – have built adjacent CCaaS platforms for midmarket and larger companies, Microsoft can target smaller brands that typically rely on bolt-ons for customer service.
Many of these brands won’t have a formal customer service department. Instead, everyone chips in.
For such businesses, a Teams Lite Contact Center may be ideal as employees can communicate with customers from the first app they open up every morning.
Moreover, the familiar UI will significantly lower training requirements.
Alongside live chat, Microsoft will soon make another channel available on Teams: SMS.
In doing so, the tech giant will allow users to send and receive SMS messages natively in their Teams client – with texts appearing on the Teams app, no matter the operating system.
The capability will come to all Microsoft Teams Phone for Calling Plan users in the US and Canada. Its launch is slated for the end of Feb 2025.
There’s currently no date touted for a global rollout of SMS across Teams Phone.
Zach Bennett, a Microsoft Teams MVP & Principal Architect at Loop, shared the news on LinkedIn. In doing so, he wrote:
Although I think this is a valuable addition for US- & Canada-based customers, are we still seeing a demand for SMS-based communication?
“For someone in the UK with an iPhone and WhatsApp, I can’t remember the last time I sent an SMS to someone, especially not for business purposes.”
However, some niche businesses may ask for it, alongside others moving from competitive UC platforms that offer the capability.
Additionally, this could help lay the foundation for an SMS channel if Microsoft ever formalizes a contact center lite offering within Teams.
Eager to make sense of Microsoft’s contact center portfolio? If so, check out CX Today’s article: Microsoft’s Big Contact Center Push? 2025 Seems Set to Be the Year
 
 
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