We all know Microsoft Teams is where conversations happen. But even with constant communication, it can feel…quiet.
Whether it’s employees zoning out or customers dropping off, keeping engagement high takes more than just messages and meetings.
The reality is that while Teams is great for communication, it wasn’t designed to drive meaningful interaction on its own. It simply lacks the specialized features needed to keep people engaged.
The good news? With the right apps, you can bring energy back to your team chats and customer conversations without ever leaving Teams. Keep reading to discover the top Microsoft Teams engagement tools that can make that happen.
Native Microsoft Teams Features for Boosting Engagement
Before diving into third-party tools, it’s worth checking out a few built-in Microsoft Teams features designed to help boost engagement.
While they’re not as advanced as some external apps, they’re simple to use and can go a long way in keeping conversations active and teams connected.
Praise app
The Praise app lets you send recognition badges to coworkers directly in Teams chats or channels, making it easy to celebrate wins and boost morale.
Key features:
- Choose from a variety of pre-designed badges like “Thank You” or “Achiever”
- Add a personalized message with each badge
- Send in private chats or public channels
Pricing:
This feature is included with Microsoft Teams at no extra cost.
Polls (via Microsoft Forms)
Polls in Teams, powered by Microsoft Forms, allow you to create quick surveys or poll questions right in your chats or meetings. It’s a great way to check in with your team, gather feedback, or simply keep everyone engaged with light, interactive questions.
Key features:
- Add polls to chats, channels, or meetings
- View real-time results as people respond
- Customize poll questions and answer options
Pricing:
Polls are included with Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 subscriptions.
Breakout rooms
Breakout rooms give you the option to split a large Teams meeting into smaller, focused groups for discussion or brainstorming. This encourages more active participation, especially in larger meetings where some people might not feel comfortable speaking up.
Key features:
- Manually or automatically assign participants to rooms
- Organizers can move between rooms and broadcast messages
- Set timers and announcements for all rooms
Pricing:
Breakout rooms are included with Microsoft Teams at no additional cost.
Together Mode
Together Mode transforms standard video meetings by placing participants in a shared virtual environment, like an auditorium or coffee shop, instead of the usual grid layout.
Key features:
- Multiple virtual backgrounds to choose from
- Works with five or more participants
- Designed to reduce visual fatigue
Pricing:
Together Mode is available as part of Microsoft Teams with no additional fees.
Viva Connections
Viva Connections acts as a central hub for company news, resources, and conversations, bringing them directly into Teams.
Key features:
- Personalized dashboard with company news and resources
- Integration with SharePoint and Yammer
- Accessible across desktop and mobile devices
Pricing:
Viva Connections is included with Microsoft 365 plans that have SharePoint Online.
5 Microsoft Teams Engagement Tools for Employees
While Microsoft Teams’ built-in features offer a strong foundation, employee engagement often needs something a little more interactive.
The following Microsoft Teams apps integrate seamlessly with Teams and give you simple, effective ways to keep your team motivated throughout the workday.
Polly
Polly brings instant polls, surveys, and quizzes right into Teams, making it easier to gather feedback and keep everyone engaged during training sessions or team discussions.
Key features:
- Anonymous polls or surveys for honest feedback
- Schedule recurring pulse checks
- Templates for quizzes, icebreakers, or feedback forms
- View real-time responses inside Teams
Pricing:
Polly offers a free version with basic functionality. Paid plans with advanced features start at $49/month.
Karma
Karma is a recognition and rewards app that makes it easy to encourage positive behavior and celebrate wins within Teams. It goes beyond the standard Praise app by adding leaderboards, goals, and even automated rewards like gift cards.
Key features:
- Peer-to-peer recognition with customizable messages
- Automated rewards (gift cards, perks)
- Leaderboards and goals to gamify recognition
- Integrates with other tools like Slack and Google Workspace
Pricing:
Karma offers a free tier with limited features. Paid plans with automation and advanced analytics start at $2/user/month.
Donut
Donut helps teams build stronger relationships by setting up random coffee chats, mentorship pairings, or peer learning sessions within Microsoft Teams channels. This makes it especially useful for remote or hybrid teams,
Key features:
- Automatically pair teammates for virtual coffee chats or intros
- Set up mentorship programs
- Integrate with Slack and Teams for seamless scheduling
- Track participation and engagement metrics
Pricing:
Donut’s free plan includes basic pairing functionality. Paid plans with customization and analytics start at $49/month.
Miro
Miro is a collaborative online whiteboard that integrates with Teams to give your team a visual space to organize ideas, draw diagrams, or map out project management workflows together in real time.
Key features:
- Pre-built templates for brainstorming, mapping, and planning
- Real-time collaboration with sticky notes, drawing tools, and comments
- Integration with Teams meetings and channels
- Supports large groups for workshops or planning sessions
Pricing:
Miro offers a free plan with three editable boards. Paid plans with unlimited boards and advanced features start at $8/user/month.
Health Hero for Teams
Health Hero makes wellness challenges, fitness tracking, and health check-ins part of your Teams workspace. By promoting physical and mental well-being it helps improve employee engagement beyond just work tasks.
Key features:
- Run wellness challenges like step counts or hydration goals
- Track progress with leaderboards
- Send automated wellness tips and reminders
- Supports mental health check-ins and personalized plans
Pricing:
Health Hero offers a free version with basic wellness features. Custom pricing is available for enterprise plans based on team size.
5 Microsoft Teams Engagement Tools for Customers
Engaging customers through Teams can feel a little different from engaging your internal team (but it’s just as important). For example, there’s often more pressure to respond quickly and get things right.
With the right Microsoft Teams apps, you can meet those expectations without adding extra work.
Dynamics 365 Customer Service
Dynamics 365 Customer Service connects all your customer data, so everyone is on the same page when responding. Instead of bouncing between platforms, you can manage cases, track issues, and collaborate with your team in one place.
Key features:
- View and manage customer cases without leaving Teams
- Chat with teammates while working on support tickets
- Access customer history and service details in real time
- Works seamlessly with other Microsoft 365 apps
Pricing:
Plans for Dynamics 365 Customer Service start at $50/user/month for the Professional tier.
SurveyMonkey for Teams
SurveyMonkey for Teams makes it easy to gather customer feedback without leaving your chat or channel. Whether you’re following up after a support conversation or running a quick NPS survey, you can collect insights and share results right where your team works.
Key features:
- Build custom surveys and send them through Teams
- See results in real time and share them in channels
- Use advanced question logic for more tailored surveys
- Includes built-in analytics dashboards
Pricing:
SurveyMonkey for Teams starts at $25/user/month, with larger plans available for growing teams.
Zoho CRM for Teams
Zoho CRM keeps your customer info and updates right where your team chats. With this integration, sales and support teams can check on leads, track deals, and get important customer alerts directly in Teams.
Key features:
- See customer profiles and deal progress in Teams
- Get notifications when customers take action
- Collaborate on sales or support issues without leaving the app
- Syncs with Zoho CRM workflows for easy customization
Pricing:
Zoho CRM’s pricing starts at $14/user/month, with more advanced features on higher-tier plans.
ClickDimensions
ClickDimensions brings marketing automation into the Teams mix, helping sales and marketing teams work together on email campaigns, customer journeys, and tracking results.
Since it connects with Dynamics 365, you’ve got everything in sync without juggling tools.
Key features:
- Run email campaigns and track them right from Dynamics 365
- Build customer journeys to guide prospects along
- Collaborate on marketing efforts directly inside Teams
- Includes tools for landing pages and web forms
Pricing:
ClickDimensions pricing depends on your contact volume and needs, but plans typically start around $499/month.
Power Automate
Power Automate helps you set up automated workflows for things like customer follow-ups, survey requests, or CRM updates.
Key features:
- Automate follow-ups, notifications, and more
- Connect Teams to CRM, email, or other apps
- Use pre-built templates or create your own flows
- Supports over 500 integrations
Pricing:
Power Automate has a free tier, but paid plans with premium features start at $15/user/month.
Social Intents: A Tool That Works for Both Employee and Customer Engagement
Some tools are flexible enough to handle both internal team needs and external customer conversations – and Social Intents is a great example.
Social Intents lets you manage live chats and AI-powered chatbots directly inside Microsoft Teams.
For customer engagement, it connects your website visitors or social channels directly to your Teams workspace.
For employee engagement, it powers internal help desks for IT, HR, or general support – keeping everything organized in one spot.
This way, you can stay responsive across the board easily.
Key features:
- Live chat for customers directly through your website, Facebook Messenger, or WhatsApp
- Codeless AI chatbots that handle FAQs or route requests (works for both customer and employee support)
- Internal help desk functionality to manage IT, HR, or general team support inside Teams
- Customizable chat widgets for websites or internal portals
- Integrates with popular tools like Zapier, Google Analytics, and HubSpot
Pricing:
Social Intents offers a free trial to get started. Paid plans begin at $39/month, depending on the number of chats and users.
Don’t Sleep on These Microsoft Teams Engagement Tools
Engagement doesn’t happen by accident – but with the right tools, it’s easy to make it part of your everyday workflow in Teams.
If you’re ready to keep conversations flowing – whether with customers or your internal team – Social Intents gives you everything you need in one place. With live chat and chatbots built right into Teams, you can respond faster, support better, and stay connected without the hassle.
Try Social Intents free for 14 days and see how simple it is to bring real engagement into Teams.