Microsoft Teams will soon get a new app called Virtual Appointments that will act as a single location for professionals and administrators where they can schedule and manage scheduled and on-demand virtual appointments in Microsoft Teams. They can also view appointment insights and analytics, get real-time status updates in a queue view, and send appointment reminders.
The following features are basic Virtual Appointments features available in all Microsoft 365 and Office 365 license plans.
Mobile browser join:
Make it easier for external attendees to join virtual appointments through their mobile phones without requiring them to download the Teams app. This enables a seamless experience for customers no matter from where they choose to join.
Forms integration:
Customers can complete all pre-appointment forms requested through the Microsoft Forms integration—further streamlining the pre-appointment process and keeping relevant information in one place.
Waiting room:
Customers, clients, and patients can comfortably wait in the waiting room until their appointment is ready to begin.
Bookings Schedule
Virtual Appointments integrates with Microsoft Bookings and Outlook calendar to reflect real-time availability, prevent double-booking, and show all virtual appointments in one place. Schedulers can easily create an appointment from their schedule or enable clients to self-schedule an appointment through a website.
Virtual Appointments Teams Meeting template in Teams calendar
Directly from their Teams calendar, schedulers can create a virtual appointment using the Virtual Appointments Teams meeting template. The template has the familiarity of a basic Teams meeting but comes with custom fields that are tailored for personalized business-to-customer (B2C) engagement.
The following features are premium Virtual Appointments features available for Teams Premium subscribers:
SMS text reminders and notifications
Send text message notifications to reduce no shows and make it easier for attendees to join virtual appointments through their mobile devices. Admins can set up text messages by default when creating virtual appointments and schedulers can adjust it on an as-needed basis. Attendees will receive a personalized confirmation and reminder text message with details of their appointment including the date, time, and meeting join link.
Custom waiting room
Create a custom waiting room for your external attendees so they receive a branded, first-class experience from the get-go. Customize with your company’s logo, branding, and more.
Post-appointment surveys
Coming soon, send customers a post-appointment survey so they can provide feedback and rate the overall effectiveness of their experience. This feedback can help improve and make enhancements to future appointments.
Streamline appointment management
Empower scheduling administrators to set up and manage scheduled and on-demand virtual appointments in one location – with advanced capabilities like appointment queuing and custom waiting rooms that allow for pre-appointment chat.
