Microsoft is preparing to remove the built-in Microsoft Teams app from Windows 11, nearly two years after the integration was first announced. This is reported by The Verge.

The Chat functionality will be replaced by a more flexible free version of Microsoft Teams, which is also available as a Windows app. Microsoft announced these changes in a new test build of Windows 11.

“Starting with this build, Chat is now Microsoft Teams – Free,” Microsoft senior program manager Brandon LeBlanc explained in a blog post. “Microsoft Teams – Free is pinned to the taskbar by default and can be unpinned like other programs on the taskbar.”

The original Teams integration in Windows 11, called Chat, was deeply woven into the operating system. Enabled by default, the Chat app was pinned to the taskbar and you had to go to Settings to remove it.

It was previously reported that Microsoft improves the free version of Microsoft Teams for Windows 11. The built-in app now includes support for Microsoft Teams communities, the company’s answer to Facebook and the Discord platform.