What you need to know
- Microsoft has announced "the biggest update to GroupMe" yet.
- The messaging platform, owned by Skype, hasn't seen any love from Microsoft in a long while.
- Today's update revitalizes the platform with new features that includes an overhauled app, new Copilot AI capabilities, 1-1 calling, and more.
- While you may not use GroupMe, the app is popular among the student demographic.
In a surprise announcement, Microsoft has unveiled a major update to its GroupMe messaging service that introduces a whole bunch of new features, including integrated Copilot AI functionality, 1-1 calling support, reactions, and an overhauled interface for iOS and Android.
GroupMe is an app Microsoft obtained when the company acquired Skype back in 2011. The app has seen numerous updates since, but has unfortunately fallen by the wayside in the last handful of years. That changes today, as Microsoft says this new update is just the start, with more updates planned based on user feedback.
If you've never heard of GroupMe, you're not alone. While it may not be that popular of a messaging service, it has found a niche among colleges and universities across the United States, with students opting to use it for school projects, classes, and even parties and events.
All of the communication features available in GroupMe are now powered by the Microsoft Teams service under the hood, which shouldn't come as much of a surprise. This should deliver a more reliable messaging and calling experience.
Copilot in GroupMe
The big feature arriving with this new GroupMe update is Copilot integration, which allows users to chat with Copilot directly within the GroupMe app. You can also ask Copilot for context or additional information by highlighting a message and tapping "Ask Copilot."
Copilot integration in GroupMe is an unsurprising addition considering how AI obsessed Microsoft has become over the last year. Pretty much all Microsoft services are being tasked with integrating AI experiences in some way, and GroupMe has opted to utilize Copilot's excellent ability to search the web for answers.
Enhanced chats and calling
Microsoft is also highlighting improvements to the overall chatting experience in GroupMe, with new features such as reactions, link previews, and featured pins. Message reactions are a feature that is popular among other messaging services such as Telegram and WhatsApp, and now GroupMe is joining the fray. You can now tap on a message and respond with an emoji of your choice!
Additionally, users can now pin messages in group chats, which will appear along the top of the screen. Polls will now automatically pin, too. Link previews are a quality of life feature that more platforms need to adopt, and allow you to see the content of certain websites right within the chat interface.
The calling experience has also been updated, with the ability to now make one to one audio calls. Group chats now support video too, all powered by Microsoft Teams.
Events get a new look
Lastly, Microsoft is touting big updates to the events feature in the GroupMe app. Now, event pages look awesome, with a fresh new design that places emphasis on your specific theme for your event. Event pages will include details such as location, date, time, and people that are attending, with options to join the event or decline. Useful for parties on college campus!
Overhauled apps
Microsoft says all these improvements, including an overhauled interface for Android and iOS that has been built from the ground up, will begin rolling out over the coming weeks. There's also a web app, which is now replacing the Windows app in the Microsoft Store.
The GroupMe web app is fully featured, and even includes multi-chat support for communicating with two or more people in different chat windows at once.
