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Accessibility Enhancement for Facilitator in Teams

K Erdner 0 Reputation points
2025-12-04T17:51:34.32+00:00

We recommend an enhancement to Facilitator (the AI-powered meeting notes and summarization feature in Microsoft Teams) to improve accessibility and ADA compliance.

Current Limitation

  • Only meeting organizers or co-organizers can enable Facilitator.
  • If the organizer does not have Facilitator licensed, the feature cannot be enabled—even if an attendee does.
  • This creates friction for participants who need real-time notes or summaries for ADA purposes, requiring awkward pre-meeting requests for co-organizer status.

Proposed Enhancement

Introduce a “Request Facilitator for ADA Access” option that allows any licensed attendee to request Facilitator during a meeting they did not organize, subject to sponsor approval—even if the sponsor does not have Facilitator but the attendee does.

Feature Proposals

Request Flow

  • Attendee clicks “Request Facilitator for ADA Access” in meeting controls.
    • Organizer receives an approval prompt with details and privacy notice.
      • On approval, Facilitator activates and notifies all participants.
        • Option for series-level approval for recurring meetings.
        Accessibility Classification 
        - Add a meeting-level tag: **“Accessibility Enabled”** when ADA features are active.

   - Automatically enable live captions if not already on.

   **Security & Compliance**

      - Maintain existing safeguards (participant notifications, audit logs).

         - Apply sensitivity labels for accessibility-related sessions.

            - Ensure retention and legal hold policies align with transcription/notes.

            **Admin Controls**

               - Policy toggles:

                     - `AllowAccessibilityRequests`

                           - `RequireSponsorApproval`

                                 - `AutoApproveForADAProfiles`

                                       - `AllowedFeaturesOnADARequest` (Captions, Transcription, Facilitator, Summaries)

                                          - Reporting dashboard for ADA-enabled meetings.

                                          **License Flexibility**

                                             - Allow Facilitator activation if **any attendee has the license**, even if the organizer does not—subject to sponsor approval.

                                             **Notifications**

                                                - Standard privacy banner: “AI is listening and taking notes.”

                                                   - Visible to all participants when Facilitator is enabled.

Benefits

  • Ensures equitable access for participants with ADA needs.
  • Reduces administrative burden and awkward pre-meeting requests.
  • Preserves security, privacy, and compliance standards.
  • Allows accessibility features to work even when the organizer does not have Facilitator, provided the attendee does.We recommend an enhancement to Facilitator (the AI-powered meeting notes and summarization feature in Microsoft Teams) to improve accessibility and ADA compliance.

    Current Limitation

    • Only meeting organizers or co-organizers can enable Facilitator.
    • If the organizer does not have Facilitator licensed, the feature cannot be enabled—even if an attendee does.
    • This creates friction for participants who need real-time notes or summaries for ADA purposes, requiring awkward pre-meeting requests for co-organizer status.

    Proposed Enhancement

    Introduce a “Request Facilitator for ADA Access” option that allows any licensed attendee to request Facilitator during a meeting they did not organize, subject to sponsor approval—even if the sponsor does not have Facilitator but the attendee does.

    Feature Proposals

    1. Request Flow
      • Attendee clicks “Request Facilitator for ADA Access” in meeting controls.
      • Organizer receives an approval prompt with details and privacy notice.
      • On approval, Facilitator activates and notifies all participants.
      • Option for series-level approval for recurring meetings.
    2. Accessibility Classification
      • Add a meeting-level tag: “Accessibility Enabled” when ADA features are active.
      • Automatically enable live captions if not already on.
    3. Security & Compliance
      • Maintain existing safeguards (participant notifications, audit logs).
      • Apply sensitivity labels for accessibility-related sessions.
      • Ensure retention and legal hold policies align with transcription/notes.
    4. Admin Controls
      • Policy toggles:
      • AllowAccessibilityRequests
      • RequireSponsorApproval
      • AutoApproveForADAProfiles
      • AllowedFeaturesOnADARequest (Captions, Transcription, Facilitator, Summaries)
      • Reporting dashboard for ADA-enabled meetings.
    5. License Flexibility
      • Allow Facilitator activation if any attendee has the license, even if the organizer does not—subject to sponsor approval.
    6. Notifications
      • Standard privacy banner: “AI is listening and taking notes.”
      • Visible to all participants when Facilitator is enabled.

    Benefits

    • Ensures equitable access for participants with ADA needs.
    • Reduces administrative burden and awkward pre-meeting requests.
    • Preserves security, privacy, and compliance standards.
    • Allows accessibility features to work even when the organizer does not have Facilitator, provided the attendee does.
Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams for business | Meetings and calls | Other
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  1. Q&A Assist
    2025-12-04T17:51:48.39+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    The proposed enhancement for the Facilitator feature in Microsoft Teams to improve accessibility and ADA compliance addresses current limitations effectively. By introducing a “Request Facilitator for ADA Access” option, any licensed attendee can request the Facilitator during a meeting they did not organize, which would significantly reduce the friction currently experienced by participants needing real-time notes or summaries for ADA purposes. This enhancement would allow for greater flexibility and accessibility, ensuring that all participants, regardless of their role, can benefit from the AI-powered meeting notes and summarization feature.

    The proposed flow, which includes an approval process for organizers and the automatic enabling of live captions, aligns with best practices for accessibility. Additionally, maintaining security and compliance standards while providing these features ensures that organizations can meet their ADA obligations without compromising on privacy or security. Overall, this enhancement would promote equitable access and reduce the administrative burden on both organizers and participants.

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  2. Ryan-N 7,870 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-12-04T18:21:08.8466667+00:00

    Hi @K Erdner,

    Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

    Thank you for sharing your suggestion. I truly appreciate your patience in providing detailed feedback and practical recommendations.

    To help this information reach Microsoft’s product development team more quickly, I’d like to share two methods:

    Method 1: Submit your suggestion directly via Microsoft Teams

    • Step 1: Open the Teams app.
    • Step 2: Go to Settings → Feedback → Suggest a feature. User's image

    Method 2: Submit your suggestion through the official Feedback Portal

    This action will help your idea reach others with similar interests. When your post receives more engagement, Microsoft can better understand customer needs and experiences, enabling us to deliver features that enhance the user experience.

    Once again, I truly value your input and suggestions. Thank you very much!

     If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". 

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