What is Microsoft Loop (in plain English)

• Microsoft Loop is a flexible, AI‑assisted workspace where your team can think out loud, draft plans, and track work together in one place. Its secret sauce is portable “Loop components”—snippets like tables, task lists, notes, and voting blocks that stay in sync wherever you paste them (Teams chats, Outlook emails, and more). (support.microsoft.com)

• Loop runs in your browser and has iOS and Android apps, so you can keep work moving from anywhere. (apps.apple.com)

• With Copilot in Loop, you can brainstorm, outline, rewrite, and summarize right inside your pages. You’ll need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license for the AI bits; teammates without Copilot can still co‑edit the content. (support.microsoft.com)

Why Loop matters for a strong Back Office

• Clarity over chaos: Centralize SOPs, checklists, policies, and meeting notes in shared workspaces. Everyone sees the latest version—no hunting through email threads. (enablement.microsoft.com)

• Work where people already are: Embed synchronized components directly in Teams and Outlook to cut context‑switching. Edit once; updates appear everywhere. (support.microsoft.com)

• Accountability built in: Assign owners and due dates in Collaborative Notes; tasks sync to Planner and To Do so follow‑through doesn’t fall through the cracks. (techcommunity.microsoft.com)

• Governance and compliance: Loop workspaces live in SharePoint‑based storage, giving IT the familiar admin, retention, and compliance controls your back office expects. (techcommunity.microsoft.com)

• Asynchronous by design: Smart notifications, activity signals, and in‑app rules keep distributed teams aligned without constant meetings. (support.microsoft.com)

What you can actually do today

• Co‑create in real time: Type together, see colored cursors, and leave comments inline. @mention teammates to pull them in; they get notified and land right where you need input. (support.microsoft.com)

• Drop live components into conversations: Insert a task list or table in a Teams chat or channel; paste the same component into an Outlook email—everything stays in sync. (support.microsoft.com)

• Use quick slash actions: Type “/” inside components to insert content (mentions, dates, or even another component). In Teams, slash commands also speed up actions like inserting a Loop paragraph. (support.microsoft.com)

• Start fast with templates: Spin up project plans, meeting notes, decision logs, and more with ready‑made templates, then tailor them to your team. (create.microsoft.com)

• Stay on top of changes: Set simple in‑app rules (no Power Automate required) to notify stakeholders when a table row changes or a task is completed. (techcommunity.microsoft.com)

• Work on the go: The Loop mobile apps let you capture ideas, react, and edit components while away from your desk. (apps.apple.com)

How Loop fits into your Microsoft 365 stack

• Microsoft Teams: Add a Loop workspace tab to a standard channel so your project hub lives where the team chats. Rolling out in 2025 for general availability. (app.cloudscout.one)

• Outlook: Compose emails with live components—agenda tables, trackers, or Q&A blocks—and let recipients co‑edit without leaving the message. (support.microsoft.com)

• Whiteboard and more: Paste Loop components onto Whiteboard for visual sessions; edits flow back to every instance. (support.microsoft.com)

• Planner and To Do: Actions created in Collaborative Notes sync to your task tools so owners and due dates don’t get lost. (techcommunity.microsoft.com)

• Third‑party tools (via Teams): Teams supports Adaptive Card–based Loop components from apps like Jira, Trello, Confluence, Lucid, and more—handy for Back Office ops that span multiple systems. (devblogs.microsoft.com)

Pricing and access at a glance

• Loop app access: Most core features are available with a work/school account. To create/manage shared workspaces, you’ll typically need Business Standard/Business Premium or Microsoft 365 E3/E5 (or the related Extra Features entitlement). Personal Microsoft accounts are supported for the app as well. (support.microsoft.com)

• Copilot in Loop: Requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license (add‑on) to use AI features; collaborators without Copilot can still view and edit content. (support.microsoft.com)

Quick start for your team

• Create a workspace for a project or function (Finance, HR, Facilities). Add pages for SOPs, intake, approvals, and meeting notes. (enablement.microsoft.com)

• Seed it with templates (project plan, decision log, retrospective), then sprinkle in components (tasks, progress tracker, voting table). (create.microsoft.com)

• Embed components into Teams and Outlook so updates happen in the flow of work—no duplicate documents. (support.microsoft.com)

• Turn on simple rules to nudge owners when statuses change or deadlines approach. (techcommunity.microsoft.com)

Notes and recent updates (as of September 28, 2025)

• Teams channel integration: Adding a Loop workspace as a tab in standard Teams channels reached general availability during spring 2025, making it easier to anchor a project hub inside a team. (app.cloudscout.one)

• Forward Loop components in Teams: You can forward a message that contains a Loop component to another chat/channel while managing access—useful for cross‑team handoffs. Rolled out January–February 2025. (techcommunity.microsoft.com)

• Word for the web change: Interactive Loop components inside Word for the web are being retired on September 1, 2025. Existing components will show as read‑only placeholders with a link to open them in Loop. Plan to use Teams/Outlook/Loop pages for live editing. (mc.merill.net)

• Storage and governance: Loop workspaces use SharePoint Embedded under the hood (with a new personal workspace model), keeping content inside your tenant’s compliance boundary. (techcommunity.microsoft.com)

Bottom line

• If your Back Office needs a tidy, shared place to design processes, log decisions, and keep tasks moving—while letting people contribute from email, chat, or mobile—Loop gives you one living workspace that travels with your team. It’s simple, structured, and stays in sync, which is exactly what solid operations need. (enablement.microsoft.com)