Not a Trace of SQL in the New Teams Search Box

In June 2020, Microsoft introduced support for basic Keyword Query Language (KeyQL) searches against Teams chat and channel messages. I’m not sure how many people dedicated much time to constructing queries, but the facility existed for those who cared. Five years later, Microsoft is revisiting KeyQL search for Teams, and this time it’s done in a more comprehensive manner because Teams now supports KeyQL searches across more than messages.

The news comes in MC1130388 (6 August 2025, Microsoft 365 roadmap item 496590), which announces that “Teams is introducing SQL-like structured search queries (e.g., from:, in:, is:) to filter messages, files, and conversations more precisely.” The reference to SQL-like search queries excited many commentators, but the allusion to SQL is misleading. What the Teams search bar supports is a modified version of KeyQL to build queries tailored for the Teams environment. It’s like the way that KeyQL supports different kinds of queries for Exchange Online (email items) and SharePoint Online/OneDrive for Business (files). There isn’t a sniff of SQL in the vicinity.

The new search box is rolling out to targeted release tenants and is available for desktop and browser clients. The new search isn’t available for mobile clients. Microsoft expects KeyQL-powered searches to be generally available worldwide by mid-August 2025. User documentation is available online.

Target Audience for the Teams Search Box

Microsoft is more accurate that the new feature “is especially useful for developers and power users who prefer to express specific search intent to narrow down search results.” If users put the effort into learning how to use search effectively, they will find it easier to find what they’re looking for. This is especially so in large organizations that have used Teams for several years when people attempt to find something in a mass of chats and channels can be difficult.

Funnily enough, an organization like Microsoft is exactly the type that is likely to benefit most from the new search box. A large population of technical folks who have been using Teams since its 2017 debut and might have participated in hundreds of chats in that time. Despite the best effort of Teams to hide inactive channels from view, those users probably interact with too many channels for their own sanity, and finding material from more than a few months ago is challenging. The new search box should help these people find items faster.

Using the New Search Box

Figure 1 shows an example of using a KeyQL query to find messages. The query includes a keyword followed by three filters to focus on who sent the messages (from:), when they sent the message (sent:), and the is:Messages filter to specify that the query should only return messages rather than any other type of content like a file. The from: filter accepts either a user’s display name or primary SMTP address. In this example, “Office 365” is in quotes to force Teams to look for an exact match. Without the quotes, Teams find messages with Office or 365.

Other useful search options include:

• In:Channel or group chat name. For example: “in:Microsoft 365 News” searches the Microsoft 365 News channel in any team the user has access to that has a channel of this name.
• Subject:Keyword from a channel message with a subject line. For example, subject:Copilot finds messages with Copilot in the subject.
• Is:Meetings searches calendar items for the keyword text. For example, “Teams is:Meetings” returns any calendar items that have Teams in the meeting subject or message body.
• With:username finds messages involving a user. For example, this query finds any message containing the “production” keyword involving Paul Robichaux on 5-May-2024: “production is:Messages with:Paul Robichaux sent:5-May-2024.”
• Use an asterisk (*) for partial matches. For example, “Microsoft 3*” is:Messages finds messages containing “Microsoft 365.”
• Unsupported or badly formed queries force Teams to default to standard search results.

When typing into the search box, you’ll find that Teams attempts to auto-correct or auto-match terms (like people or channel names). Like other auto-correct scenarios, this can sometimes get in the way. If you pick a category, like messages or files, Teams shows a list of recently-accessed objects of that type.

After running the query, the search box has additional built-in refiners to filter the set further. For instance, the date refiner supports setting a date range (it would be nice if the query supported a date range, but it does not seem to), while the More refiner includes options to find messages that @mention the user or have attachments.

Overcoming Muscle Memory

The thing about computer searches is that people tend to accrue muscle memory and search like they have for years. You see people interrogating Teams like they search Google or Bing. I’m unsure how many users, even power users, will embrace the ability of Teams to search more intelligently than before, but it’s nice to have the option.

So much change, all the time. It’s a challenge to stay abreast of all the updates Microsoft makes across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Subscribe to the Office 365 for IT Pros eBook to receive insights updated monthly into what happens within Microsoft 365, why it happens, and what new features and capabilities mean for your tenant.