Microsoft Teams is where millions of teams communicate and collaborate, but polling inside Teams is more complicated than it looks. There's no single native poll button — instead, you're choosing between Microsoft Forms, a third-party app like Polly, or a dedicated decision tool shared via link. This guide walks through all three options honestly, so you can match the method to what the decision actually requires.
Why polling in Microsoft Teams is more complicated than it looks
Teams is built for communication — chat, video calls, file sharing. Polling has always been a secondary concern, which is why there's no single "create a poll" button that covers all use cases. What exists is a patchwork: Microsoft Forms for surveys, Forms cards embedded in meeting chat, third-party app integrations, and the fallback of just sharing a link. This matters because the method you choose determines whether you get anonymous responses, whether non-voters get reminders, whether results are documented permanently, and whether the process is actually fair. A show-of-hands during a Teams call, for example, produces visible results that are heavily influenced by whoever speaks first — that's not a poll, it's a performance of consensus. For anything that matters, you need a structured method.
Method 1: Microsoft Forms (share a link in Teams chat)
Create the form
Go to forms.microsoft.com and sign in with your Microsoft 365 account. Click "New Form," add a title, and insert a Choice question with your options. You can allow single or multiple selections. In the settings panel, you can set a response deadline, limit one response per person, and choose whether to show results to respondents.
Share it in Teams
Click "Collect responses," copy the link, and paste it into your Teams channel or chat with a short message describing the vote and the deadline. Alternatively, use the Forms app tab inside a Teams channel to embed the form directly — go to the + icon in channel tabs, search for Forms, and select an existing form to pin it.
What works
Microsoft Forms is free, already included in Microsoft 365, and familiar to most enterprise users. It handles branching logic, text responses, ratings, and date questions — far more flexibility than a simple poll needs. It integrates natively with Teams tabs so participants don't always need to leave the app.
What doesn't work
By default, Microsoft Forms identifies respondents by their Microsoft account, so it's not truly anonymous inside your organization — admins can correlate responses with accounts. There's no automatic winner declaration. Results require manual interpretation. There are no reminders to non-respondents. Forms also doesn't support ranked choice voting or dot voting — you get a flat tally.
Microsoft Forms works well for surveys and feedback collection. For decisions that need a clear winner, it requires extra manual work after responses close.
Method 2: Polly (Teams-native poll app)
Install and set up Polly
Go to the Teams App Store, search for Polly, and install it. Polly is available as a personal app and as a tab in channels. Once installed, use the Polly bot in Teams chat by typing @Polly, or use the Polly interface in a channel tab to create new polls. You can also trigger polls directly inside a Teams meeting using the meeting apps panel.
Create a poll
In the Polly interface, enter your question and answer options. Set whether the poll is open for single or multiple choices, whether results are shown immediately or only after closing, and set a deadline if needed. Polly also supports NPS questions, word clouds, and Q&A sessions. Submit the poll and it appears as a native Teams message with voting buttons.
What works
Polly feels native inside Teams — polls appear as formatted messages with click-to-vote buttons, and results update inline. It's especially strong for live meeting polls where you want to gather quick input from call participants in real time. The interface is polished and the experience is smooth for regular users.
What doesn't work
Polly's free plan is capped at 25 responses per month — many teams will hit this limit in a single week. Anonymous mode is a paid feature (Pro plan, billed per seat). Automatic reminders to non-voters are not available on the free plan. Polly also only reaches team members who are active in Teams; if anyone primarily works from email or uses a different communication tool, they won't see the poll.
Polly is a strong choice if you're already on a Polly paid plan and need live meeting polls. For async team decisions, the response cap and anonymity limitations become significant.
Method 3: Paste a Chooseday link in Teams (recommended for decisions)
Create the decision in Chooseday
Go to app.chooseday.co and create a new decision. Add your question, list the options, choose a voting method (majority vote, ranked choice, or dot voting), set a deadline, and enable anonymous mode if needed. The free plan supports up to 5 active decisions with anonymous voting always available — no paid tier required for the core features.
Paste the link into Teams
Copy the shareable decision link and paste it into your Teams channel or direct message. Write a one-line message: "We need to decide on X by [deadline] — takes 30 seconds to vote: [link]." Participants click the link and vote in their browser. No Chooseday account is required to vote — the link is the only thing needed.
Let reminders handle follow-up
Chooseday automatically sends email reminders to participants who haven't voted yet as the deadline approaches. You don't need to post a second Teams message chasing people — the system handles nudging. This consistently raises participation rates compared to passive polls that rely entirely on people seeing the original message.
Because voting happens in a browser outside Teams, this method works equally well for teammates who primarily use email, work in a different timezone, or aren't on Teams full-time.
Share the result back in Teams
When the deadline passes, Chooseday declares the winner automatically and the result is permanently saved. Post a summary back in the Teams channel: "The team voted — Option B wins (8 of 10 votes). Full breakdown: [link]." The decision record stays in Chooseday for future reference, so there's no ambiguity about what was decided or when.
Choosing the right method for your situation
Use Microsoft Forms when you need a structured survey with multiple question types, text responses, or you want results fed into Excel or Power BI. It's built for data collection, not decision-making. Use Polly when you're running a live Teams meeting and need to take a quick pulse from everyone on the call simultaneously — it's excellent for that narrow use case. Use Chooseday when the decision has real stakes: budget choices, process changes, hiring decisions, product priorities, or any vote where you need genuine anonymity, full participation from async team members, and a documented result that can't be relitigated later. The extra few seconds to paste a link into Teams is a small cost for a much more reliable outcome.
Frequently asked questions
Microsoft Teams does not have a standalone native poll feature. The closest built-in option is Microsoft Forms, which integrates with Teams via the Forms app tab or by sharing a link in chat. It works reasonably well for simple surveys but lacks anonymous voting, deadline enforcement, and automatic winner declaration.
Microsoft Forms collects respondent identity by default when used with a Microsoft 365 account — results are not truly anonymous inside an organization. Polly supports anonymous mode on paid plans. Chooseday provides genuine anonymous voting on its free plan; responses are collected outside of Teams and individual votes are never visible to organizers.
It depends on your use case. Microsoft Forms is best for structured surveys and quizzes. Polly is best for quick, live meeting polls if your team is on a paid plan. Chooseday is best for actual team decisions that need anonymous voting, a deadline, a documented winner, and no software installation — it works via a shareable link pasted into any Teams chat.
Create your decision in Chooseday (takes about 60 seconds), then copy the shareable link and paste it into any Microsoft Teams chat or channel message. Team members click the link and vote in their browser — no Chooseday account is required to vote. Chooseday sends automatic reminders to non-voters as the deadline approaches, so you don't need to chase people manually.