There are two ways to have text discussions in Microsoft Teams. The first is by using instant messages called Chats, while the other is through team discussion groups called Channels. Chats and Channels have a lot in common: they’re both text-based and they both allow you to collaborate with your coworkers quickly and efficiently. However, in order to get the most out of Teams, it’s important to understand the unique features and use cases that set Chats and Channels apart.

Chats are very similar to cell phone text messages or direct messages on social media; they are conversations between you and your coworkers that you can initiate yourselves at any time, and can be between two or more people.

You can access your chats by selecting the Chat icon from the left sidebar of the Teams app. In the Chat tab, you can select any of your recent or pinned chats from the left, and they’ll appear on the right. You can initiate a new chat by selecting the New Chat icon and then typing the name(s) of whoever you want to chat with in the To: field. Then you simply need to type your message in the Type a new message field at the bottom of the window and select the Send icon (or press the Enter key on your keyboard) to send your message.

You can use the toolbar below the message field to do things like change the formatting of your text, attach files to the message, send emojis, and more. Note that files sent to a Chat will be sent directly to the participants to download.

For more information on Teams Chats, check out these articles:

• 6 Things to Know about Chatting in Teams
• Group Chats in Teams

This video from Microsoft also provides a great overview of Chats:

Channels are similar to Chats with a few key differences. Channels are specific to teams, which can have multiple people assigned to them. This can be a group of people in the same department, sales team, or working on a specific project. Teams also correspond to SharePoint groups. You can access your teams by selecting the Teams icon  from the left sidebar of the Teams app. This will show you any teams you’re a part of. Every team contains at least one Channel, called General. More channels can be added by the owner of the team or an administrator.

Aside from where you can find them, Channels also differ from Chats by being thread based. Every new message starts its own discussion thread, and everyone can add replies. It’s a lot like posting on social media. You can make a new post by clicking on the New conversation button in the lower left corner of the channel.

You can interact with messages in Channels the same way you would in Chats, and the same toolbar is available below the line where you write your messages to format text, add emoji, attach files, and more.

For more information about the basics of teams and channels, check out this video from Microsoft:

Channels also have a tab bar across the top that you can click on to access different functions. Tabs can be changed or added by the channel or team owners, but at a minimum, there will always be a Posts tab, where you can view the channel discussion, and a Files tab, where you can find any files that have been posted to the channel discussion. If the Team corresponds to a SharePoint site, you’ll also be able to find files from the channel posts there.

For more information about tabs within channels, check out this video: