Microsoft Teams: Create new channels faster from the "New items" menu at top of the list of chats and channels

Updated June 13, 2025: We have updated the timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

Coming soon in Microsoft Teams: When creating a new channel, creators can select any team to host the channel -- including teams with no shown channels -- provided they have the necessary permissions to create channels in that team. Previously, only teams with shown channels were included in the list of host teams.

This message applies to Teams for Windows desktop, Teams for Mac desktop, and Teams for the web.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 479744.

When this will happen:

Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out early May 2025 and expect to complete by early May 2025.

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out mid-May 2025 and expect to complete by late June 2025 (previously late May).

How this will affect your organization:

The admin or user creating a channel from the New items drop-down will be able to select any team to host the channel (not just the user's teams with shown channels in the teams and channels list), provided they have the necessary permissions to create channels in that team. During the channel creation process will appear alphabetically in the window called Pick a team to add the new channel to.

To create a new channel, the user selects the New items icon at the top of the list of chats and channels, and then selects New channel from the menu:

The user completes the new channel details:

When the user selects Select a team to host the channel in the previous screenshot, an alphabetical list of teams displays on the screen called Pick a team to add the new channel to (like this example):

This change will be available by default.

What you need to do to prepare:

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date with no admin action required before the rollout. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation.

Learn more: Create a standard, private, or shared channel in Microsoft Teams - Microsoft Support