Microsoft Teams has caught up with Zoom faster than you might think. With Zoom being accused of putting users at risk of being hacked and lacking end-to-end encryption, Microsoft Teams has emerged as a safe and secure alternative.

The service offers end-to-end encryption, video and audio conferencing, screen sharing, and even live captioning. The latest feature in its bid to give users a viable Zoom alternative is the ability to add custom backgrounds to your video feed.

Let’s take a closer look at Microsoft Teams’ new “Background Effects” feature. This lets you use a virtual background during a meeting. In theory, this feature should make the app better than Zoom, if not on par.

Background effects are third-party backgrounds that can be applied to your video feed. These effects use Microsoft Teams’ built-in AI to remove the background and replace it with a background of your choosing. This eliminates the hassle of embarrassing moments when your friends or family members might be in the background.