Many tech news outlets reported that Microsoft is looking to boost Office with some advanced media creation tools. Microsoft is adding Clipchamp video editing to the Office suite as part of a sweeping set of updates. The recently acquired web-based tool helps users to make professional-looking clips regardless of their skill level. Users can also produce videos for their other Office projects, but Microsoft also sees Clipchamp as a straightforward editing tool for personal footage.

However, it will also be much easier to add that professional sheen to their PowerPoint presentations. It is interesting that Microsoft is adding a recording studio to PowerPoint to enable them to capture audio for those moments when they can’t present live.

Users can margin or footnote slides and customize the background as well as pick the view that will best help them record. They can preview the presentation and re-record as much as necessary when you’re done. So, be patient with this feature, however, as Microsoft only expects it to become generally available in early 2022. However, other updates are slighter but could be just as helpful in the right circumstances. Microsoft is showing off Context IQ, a set of Artificial Intelligence experiences for Microsoft 365 that will primarily make situational aware recommendations in Editor.

The Context IQ will suggest relevant contacts when you want to tag people, for instance, or recommend meeting times when everyone is available. Moreover, developers will also have a much better reason to try Excel. It is noteworthy that Microsoft is presenting a JavaScript framework in the spreadsheet app that enables them to create custom data types and functions using the web-based language. JavaScript will be available later in November in preview form. However, many Excel users won’t have much need for this, but it could be valuable if their job revolves around data.