Avatars are finally in Teams! Will avatars significantly reduce the number of people without cameras or is it just a gadget? Time will tell. Microsoft has released a preview version and now we can test it out in practice and see if it makes sense. In this post, I will show you how to enable Avatars and how to start using them.
Introduction
Avatars is a dedicated feature designed to give you more options in online and hybrid meetings. It’s part of Mesh – presence and shared experience features enabled through mixed-reality applications. What is an avatar, then? It’s a 3D model which you can customize and use during a Teams meeting. The avatar also has predefined gestures and reactions.
Prerequisites
To enable Avatars you must switch to Teams Public Preview – to do this click on ellipses in the top right corner, select About and then click on Public Preview.
If there is an EA icon above your profile picture it means the Preview mode is enabled and you’re ready to play with Avatars.
Avatar customizations and options are available in the dedicated Teams application called “Avatars”. To install it open the Apps menu, search for Avatars, and then install the application.
When it’s installed you can open it from the left-hand navigation menu.
Customize your avatar
The first screen allows you to customize your first avatar. Later you can add up to 3 avatars (each one can be customized differently). Click Customize and play with the designer.
There are 5 sections – body, face, hair, appearance, and wardrobe. In the Body section, you can customize your model’s body shape, prosthetic, and skin tone.
In the Face section, you can modify face shapes and details to make your avatar your own (you can customize eyes, nose, mouth, and much more).
Hair options give you control over your avatar’s hair look and feel.
In the next section, you can modify your appearance.
The last section is dedicated to the wardrobe. Select your shirt, jacket, or glasses.
When your avatar is finished, you can start using it during the Teams meetings.
Use it during the meeting
During the meeting, you can enable the avatar using the Effects and Avatars section. Instead of choosing the camera select your brand-new avatar.
Other participants will see your avatar in the same way as they can see camera streams.
If you raise your hand or use reactions the avatar will react according to your action.
You have more options in the Effects and Avatars section
There are multiple reactions that you can use during the meeting.
You can also change the camera options and choose your avatar’s mood.
Summary
The Avatars feature is a fantastic addition to existing presence features. If you don’t want to show your camera (or you’re not able to) you can use it and show your mood or reactions. I like the idea and the implementation of Avatars. It’s simple but quite powerful and fits the meeting environment. For my colleagues, it’s a nice addition to boring non-camera meetings.
Reactions complement meetings with gestures and provide a sense of participation in a natural meeting. All gestures are predefined, and you can’t change them or add your own. The avatar can’t use your camera to mimic your moves.
In the beginning, people will use reactions more often (some are funny) but I think it won’t distract people too much.
Avatars are in preview mode and are not available in the new Teams feature. It makes testing it more complicated – new Teams are really fast and I can’t stop using it.
