Microsoft Teams Live Chat feature is being retired

Microsoft Teams live chat is being shut down barely 18 months after launch, the latest casualty in a broader clear-out of Teams features this year. New setups have already been blocked since 6 August, with full support ending on 5 October 2026.

The Live Chat feature enabled small and midsize businesses using Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard, and Premium plans to add a support widget to their websites where customer queries are directed to Teams.

Conversations could be handled by up to 25 employees who could set working hours for themselves or assign queries to an AI bot from Copilot Studio. Beginning from October, all incoming messages will no longer reach Teams, and widgets will become invisible.

Earlier this month, the Together Mode option from the tech giant was withdrawn, and the Whiteboard function will be phased out in the coming month, thus further reducing the list of Teams add-ins offered over recent years.

Organisations will not lose access to any of their data. The chat history, customer information, and Teams channels created via the function will remain in place under the organisation's tenant according to the usual Microsoft 365 retention policies.

Microsoft is advising organisations to remove the live chat widget from their organisation's website before 5 October and inform support personnel about the upcoming change.

In case an organisation requires live chat on their website, then Microsoft is recommending Dynamics 365 Contact Center or Copilot Studio options as alternatives.