Do you sometimes forget to select Teams meeting when you create an appointment in Outlook? Then your colleagues sit waiting at ten o'clock for a link that isn't there. With one setting, every new meeting automatically gets a Teams link. This article shows how it works in the new and classic Outlook, on your phone, and what you can control as an admin.
How does it work?
Normally you add a Teams link by switching on the Teams meeting toggle in a new appointment. With the setting below, that toggle is on by default as soon as you add attendees. When you send the invite, Outlook creates the meeting in Teams and puts the join link and any dial-in details in the invitation. How to create a meeting directly from Teams is explained in schedule a Teams meeting. Meetings for an entire channel are best planned in the channel calendar.
In the new Outlook and Outlook on the web
- Go to Settings > Calendar > Events and invitations.
- Check Add online meeting to all meetings.
- Make sure Microsoft Teams is the selected provider and select Save.
The setting belongs to your mailbox, so it applies right away in both the new Outlook and Outlook on the web.
In classic Outlook
- Go to File > Options > Calendar.
- Under Calendar options, check Add online meeting to all meetings.
- Select Meeting Providers if you need to choose, and pick Microsoft Teams. Select OK.
On your phone
In the Outlook app for iPhone and Android you'll find a similar option in your account settings, usually under Online meetings. Turn it on so meetings you create on the go also get a Teams link automatically. The name of the option can differ slightly between versions.
Once without Teams?
For an in-person appointment, simply switch off the Teams meeting toggle in that appointment. Appointments without attendees don't get a link. Want to tell in-person and online appointments apart easily? Give them their own color with categories in your calendar.
Note: the setting only applies to new meetings. Existing invitations don't get a link afterwards. Open them, switch on the toggle and send an update.
Common problems
- The Teams button is missing in classic Outlook. Go to File > Options > Add-ins, choose COM Add-ins at the bottom and select Go. Check the Microsoft Teams Meeting Add-in for Microsoft Office and restart Outlook.
- The option is grayed out. Your admin has probably set the behavior centrally, or your account isn't in Exchange Online.
- External attendees can't get in. Check the meeting options, such as who can bypass the lobby.
- The invitation must not be forwarded. In Outlook you can turn off forwarding per meeting in the response options. Read how to prevent forwarding of a meeting invite.
- You invite an entire group. You can add a distribution list or Microsoft 365 group as an attendee, just like a single person.
For admins
In most organizations this option is already on by default. As an admin you can control it with the Exchange Online setting OnlineMeetingsByDefaultEnabled (via Set-OrganizationConfig, or per mailbox with Set-MailboxCalendarConfiguration). A mailbox-level setting takes precedence over the organization setting. Also check in the Teams admin center that the meeting policy allows the Outlook add-in, otherwise users can't create a Teams meeting in classic Outlook.
Nederlandstalige versie: Elke Outlook-vergadering automatisch een Teams-link geven