Microsoft Teams now offers custom dictionaries integrated with Intelligent Recap and Copilot to simplify communication. These dictionaries help clarify industry-specific jargon, acronyms, and technical terms during meetings, making collaboration smoother and more efficient. For example, acronyms like "CSAT" (Customer Satisfaction Score) or technical terms such as "API rate limiting" are automatically explained, ensuring everyone – new hires included – stays on the same page.
Key Highlights:
- Custom Dictionaries: Tailored to your organization’s language for better transcription and summaries.
- Intelligent Recap: Creates detailed, accurate meeting summaries using custom dictionaries.
- Copilot: Applies these dictionaries in real-time to ensure consistent terminology in emails, documents, and chats.
- Setup Requirements: Requires specific Microsoft 365 licenses and admin configuration.
- Management: Dictionaries hold up to 500 terms, require regular updates, and apply organization-wide.
By using custom dictionaries, Teams eliminates confusion, improves transcription accuracy, and ensures consistent communication across departments, especially when dealing with industry-specific language.
Microsoft Teams gets custom dictionary for Copilot
Setup Requirements and Initial Configuration
To get custom dictionary functionality working alongside Intelligent Recap and Copilot, you’ll need to ensure the right licenses are active and settings are properly configured. Below, we’ll break down the necessary licensing and administrative steps.
Required Licenses and Admin Permissions
To enable Intelligent Recap and Copilot, you’ll need to activate several licenses. Here’s what to know:
- For Intelligent Recap, users must have a Microsoft 365 subscription that includes Teams (or Microsoft 365 without Teams plus a separate Teams license) and either a Teams Premium license or a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. If audio recap features are required, a Microsoft 365 Copilot license is mandatory.
- Organizations using Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) calls must also have a Teams Phone license and an active calling plan.
- Copilot features require one of the following: a Microsoft Business license (Basic, Standard, or Premium) or a Microsoft 365 license (E3/E5/F1/F3/A3/A5/G3/G5). Additionally, you’ll need a Teams Enterprise or Teams Enterprise (EEA) license and a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
Make sure transcription and recording policies are enabled to allow access to meeting content. Assign either Global Administrator or Teams Administrator roles to configure the custom dictionary integration.
US Configuration Settings
Once licensing is squared away, you’ll need to fine-tune your Teams environment to align with US-specific standards. These adjustments ensure that Intelligent Recap and Copilot interpret data correctly.
- Date Format: Set the format to MM/DD/YYYY. This ensures dates like "12/03/2024" are understood as December 3rd, not March 12th.
- Time Format: Use the 12-hour format with AM/PM indicators. For example, when someone mentions "2:30 PM EST", the system can accurately contextualize the time.
- Measurement Units: Configure imperial units as the default. This is especially important for discussions involving feet, inches, pounds, or Fahrenheit.
- Currency: Set the default to US dollars ($) with standard formatting. Financial data will appear as "$1,500.00" in summaries.
- Language and Spelling: Use US English for spelling conventions like "organize" and "color." Custom dictionaries will also reflect these standards, ensuring consistent terminology across your organization.
These configurations help Intelligent Recap and Copilot seamlessly adapt to your team’s industry-specific language and US-based formatting needs, creating a smoother experience for all users.
How to Set Up and Use Custom Dictionaries
If you’re looking to create custom dictionaries for Teams Intelligent Recap and Copilot, you’ll need to format and upload them correctly. This involves using CSV files and managing them through the Microsoft 365 admin center. Each dictionary can hold up to 500 terms and may take up to 24 hours to activate across your organization. Here’s a breakdown of the steps to set up and manage your custom dictionary.
Step-by-Step Dictionary Creation Guide
- Log in to the Microsoft 365 admin center using your AI Administrator or Global Administrator credentials. From the left-hand menu, go to Copilot and select Settings.
- Navigate to Copilot Custom Dictionary and open the management interface. Click Upload Dictionary to get started. You can also download a CSV template from this section.
- Open the CSV template in Excel, ensuring you use UTF-8 encoding with comma delimiters. The template includes four columns:
- Term (required)
- Sounds like
- Long form of the term (for acronyms)
- Definition and context
Only the first column is mandatory.
- Stick to American English spelling conventions to improve the accuracy of transcription.
- Save the completed file in CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) format. Go back to the upload interface, select your file, specify the target language, and finish the upload process. Keep in mind that uploading a new file for a specific language will replace any existing dictionary for that language.
Dictionary Management Best Practices
To make the most of your custom dictionary, it’s important to manage it effectively. Each dictionary supports just one language and applies across the entire organization. As your business evolves, remember to update the dictionary to reflect new terminology. Since uploading a new file replaces the current dictionary, maintain a master spreadsheet with the latest terms to avoid losing information during updates. Also, plan updates carefully, keeping the 24-hour activation period in mind.
Applying Custom Dictionaries Across Teams
Custom dictionaries work at the tenant level, meaning they’re applied across all scheduled meetings, webinars, and town halls in your organization. This ensures consistent recognition of terms without requiring setup for individual teams. However, note that this functionality is limited to scheduled events and does not extend to group or 1:1 calls. For transcription to work, meeting organizers or those initiating the transcription must have Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses.
Only administrators can modify these dictionaries. If you need to update terms, you’ll need to submit them through an admin. Rest assured, your custom terms are kept private and are not included in AI model training.
Real-World Uses: Better Meetings and Workflows
Custom dictionaries can completely change how teams communicate during meetings and handle their daily tasks. When your organization relies on industry-specific jargon, acronyms, or technical terms, these dictionaries ensure everyone is on the same wavelength. They not only boost transcription accuracy but also help maintain clear and consistent communication across the board.
Making Jargon Clear During Meetings
In live meetings, Intelligent Recap taps into your custom dictionary to transcribe specialized terms accurately in real-time. Instead of ending up with misheard phrases like "ROI" or incorrect product names, transcripts reflect what was actually said.
For instance, when your team discusses "API endpoints" or refers to CustomerSync Pro, the system uses your custom definitions to ensure summaries are clear and accessible – even for new team members or stakeholders unfamiliar with the terminology.
This clarity shines in follow-up actions. Copilot generates precise tasks like "CustomerSync Pro integration" or "Q4 KPI review", cutting down on confusion about what was discussed or decided.
Meeting recordings also become far more useful. New hires can review past discussions and fully grasp the context because technical terms are accurately captured. This turns your meeting archives into a reliable knowledge base, reducing the need for constant explanations. The clarity achieved in meetings naturally extends into everyday workflows.
Consistent Language in Daily Work
Beyond meetings, custom dictionaries bring consistency to daily tasks, reducing the need for post-editing of AI-generated content.
Document collaboration becomes easier when everyone sticks to the same definitions. For example, if your custom dictionary defines "customer churn rate" using your company’s specific formula, Copilot will apply that definition consistently across documents and team interactions. This avoids the confusion that arises when different departments interpret the same term in different ways.
The same consistency applies to task management and project updates. When Copilot generates status reports or project summaries, it uses your organization’s terminology correctly. Your "sprint retrospectives" won’t be mistaken for "project reviews", and "user acceptance testing" will remain distinct from "quality assurance testing."
Cross-team communication also gets a major boost. When marketing works with engineering, Copilot bridges the gap by applying consistent definitions to shared concepts. Technical terms are explained in context, while business language is accurately incorporated into technical discussions.
The benefits add up fast. Teams spend less time clarifying acronyms or explaining company-specific processes to new hires. This not only saves time but also keeps everyone focused on what really matters.
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Managing Custom Dictionaries: Governance, Security, and Updates
Once your custom dictionaries are set up and integrated, keeping them secure and up-to-date is crucial. This ensures they remain reliable tools for maintaining clarity and consistency across your organization.
Dictionary Governance Rules
To manage dictionaries effectively, assign a clear owner, implement version control, and carefully control editing access. Each custom dictionary should have a designated owner responsible for its accuracy and relevance. For instance, technical dictionaries might be overseen by IT, while marketing could manage brand-specific terms.
Control who can make changes. For example, sales teams may need read-only access to technical dictionaries, but they shouldn’t be able to modify engineering terms. Similarly, contractors or temporary staff might require limited access compared to permanent employees.
Documenting each entry is critical for long-term consistency. Include details like the source of the definition, the date it was added, and the reason for its inclusion. This makes it easier to review entries later and helps new team members understand the rationale behind specific terms.
Regular audits are key to keeping dictionaries relevant. Conduct quarterly reviews to identify outdated terms, conflicting definitions, or gaps. Involve representatives from various departments to catch issues that might not be obvious to a single team.
Security and Compliance Requirements
Custom dictionaries often contain sensitive information, so safeguarding them with strong security measures is essential. These dictionaries might include proprietary product names, internal project codes, or financial terms, all of which require careful handling.
Start with data classification to determine the level of security needed. For example, dictionaries with proprietary terms demand stricter controls than those containing general industry language. Classify and label dictionary data in line with your organization’s data governance policies.
Access logging is another important layer of security. By tracking who accesses or modifies dictionaries, you create an audit trail that supports compliance reporting and incident investigations. Tools like Microsoft 365’s audit logs can help, but it’s crucial to establish processes for reviewing and acting on unusual activity.
Backup and recovery plans protect against accidental data loss. While Microsoft provides infrastructure-level backups, maintain separate copies of critical dictionaries and regularly test your restoration procedures. Offline backups can be particularly useful for safeguarding terminology that would be hard to recreate.
Compliance requirements vary by industry but often include demonstrating control over data assets. Custom dictionaries, especially in regulated sectors like healthcare, finance, or government contracting, fall under these rules. Document your management processes to satisfy auditors and meet regulatory standards.
If your organization integrates third-party tools with Microsoft Teams, evaluate their security practices. Ensure these vendors handle dictionary data responsibly by reviewing their certifications and data processing agreements before granting access.
Keeping Dictionaries Current and Accurate
Maintaining the accuracy of your dictionaries requires ongoing effort. Monitor performance metrics, gather user feedback, and stay informed about industry trends to make proactive updates. Set up alerts for terms or phrases that frequently cause confusion or require manual correction.
Encourage employees to report issues or suggest improvements. Create easy-to-use feedback channels, such as a dedicated Teams channel or an email alias, where users can flag problems or propose new terms. This collaborative approach often identifies issues faster than formal review processes.
Track performance metrics to gauge dictionary effectiveness. Metrics like transcription accuracy, user satisfaction, and the frequency of manual corrections can signal when updates are needed. A drop in these metrics may indicate that your dictionary needs refinement.
Schedule seasonal reviews to align updates with your business cycles. Quarterly reviews often work well, but faster-moving industries might require monthly updates, while more stable sectors might manage with semi-annual reviews.
Coordinate dictionary updates with broader organizational changes. For example, align updates with product launches, system upgrades, or restructuring efforts to minimize disruption and ensure smooth adoption.
Finally, update training resources when you make significant changes to your dictionaries. Whether it’s adding new terms or redefining existing ones, communicate these updates to your teams through brief training sessions or email notifications. Testing updates in controlled environments before rolling them out ensures they improve performance and avoid introducing new issues. Regular updates will keep your team aligned and relying on consistent, accurate language.
Benefits and Drawbacks of Custom Dictionaries
Custom dictionaries in Microsoft Teams help streamline communication by standardizing specialized terms and acronyms. When set up properly, they lead to clearer transcriptions and fewer misunderstandings.
Main Benefits of Custom Dictionaries
One standout advantage is improved meeting efficiency. Accurate transcriptions mean less time spent clarifying technical jargon during or after discussions. They can also support new team members in quickly learning company-specific language. Additionally, using standardized terminology ensures consistency across departmental documentation.
Common Challenges and Solutions
While custom dictionaries offer clear benefits, they aren’t without hurdles. Here are some common challenges and ways to address them:
- Initial Setup Complexity: Creating a thorough dictionary takes time and effort, especially for industries with extensive specialized vocabularies. To make it manageable, start small – focus on frequently used terms first and expand gradually.
- Ongoing Maintenance: As terminology evolves, regular updates are necessary. Assign clear ownership of the dictionary and establish straightforward update processes to keep it current without overwhelming the team.
- User Adoption: Resistance to change is natural. Some team members might hesitate to adjust their workflows. Offering targeted training that highlights the practical advantages can make the transition smoother and encourage buy-in.
- Performance Inconsistencies: Factors like poor audio quality or varying speaking speeds can impact transcription accuracy, even with a well-built dictionary. Setting realistic expectations and ensuring good meeting conditions can help minimize these issues.
- Integration and Resource Demands: Integrating custom dictionaries with existing systems and dedicating resources for setup, training, and ongoing management can be challenging. A pilot-based rollout allows teams to adapt gradually and refine their approach based on feedback.
Conclusion: Better Communication with Custom Dictionaries
Custom dictionaries play a key role in improving clarity and consistency in Microsoft Teams communications. By ensuring accurate transcription of specialized terms, they help AI models correctly interpret industry-specific jargon, acronyms, and product names that might otherwise be misunderstood.
These dictionaries aren’t just about transcription. Tools like Intelligent Recap and Copilot rely on precise entity recognition to create useful summaries and responses. Without proper dictionary management, critical context can be lost, which can hurt productivity.
To make the most of custom dictionaries, organizations need a centralized management system. Administrators should regularly update dictionary files and establish clear processes for submitting new terms or revisions. This approach ensures consistency across departments and projects while making it easier to include relevant terminology.
Custom dictionaries should be treated as living documents. Regular updates are essential to remove outdated entries and incorporate localized variations for regional terms. By adopting these practices, organizations can ensure that every meeting fosters better understanding and boosts productivity.
FAQs
How do custom dictionaries in Microsoft Teams help simplify communication?
Custom dictionaries in Microsoft Teams make conversations smoother by letting your organization upload its own specialized terms, acronyms, and industry jargon. This ensures that features like meeting transcripts and AI tools, such as Copilot, can accurately understand and present information – even during detailed or complex discussions.
By aligning everyone with standardized language, custom dictionaries help minimize confusion, improve communication, and make teamwork more efficient. This is particularly helpful for teams that rely on technical or specialized vocabulary, ensuring clarity and boosting productivity across the board.
What do I need to set up Intelligent Recap and Copilot with custom dictionaries in Microsoft Teams?
To access Intelligent Recap and Copilot with custom dictionaries in Microsoft Teams, your organization needs a Microsoft 365 Copilot license that allows for managing custom dictionaries. You’ll also require the appropriate Teams license and access to either the Microsoft Teams Public Preview or Teams Premium, as these features are exclusive to tenants with the necessary licensing and preview access.
Setting it up is straightforward. Log in to the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to the Copilot settings, and upload your custom dictionaries in supported languages like English. This setup helps your team communicate more effectively by standardizing industry-specific terms and acronyms.
How can I ensure my custom dictionaries stay accurate and up-to-date?
To ensure your custom dictionaries remain accurate and up-to-date, it’s important to review and revise them regularly. This helps them stay aligned with evolving terminology, industry trends, and your organization’s specific needs.
Set up regular audits to spot outdated or incorrect entries. You might want to assign a team member or data steward to oversee updates and ensure everything stays consistent. Using cloud-based tools can also make collaboration easier, allowing team members to contribute and make revisions seamlessly.