7 reasons to use Microsoft Loop

Although Microsoft announced Loop in November 2021, the company took its time and finally released the first preview in March 2023. While this Notion alternative was pretty bare-bones at launch, it has received a steady stream of updates since then. If you are still wondering about Microsoft’s new collaborative hub, check out the top reasons to use Microsoft Loop on your laptop.

From the maker of Windows came their newest offering: Microsoft Loop. This may puzzle many, as users have been comparing it with the company’s other apps like OneNote, Planner, Lists, and To-Do. However, Microsoft Loop goes way beyond these individual apps and offers a unique way to manage tasks, projects, and documents across team members.

What is Microsoft Loop

Before we go over some of the use cases for Microsoft Loop, let’s take a moment to generally learn about the company’s new collaborative software. Microsoft Loop aims to tackle communication issues in small teams and startups via collaboration tools, Loop components (more on that later), reactions, and comments. And thanks to its rich templates library, text editor, OneDrive integration, and universal Ideas tab, you can use Microsoft Loop as a sort of personal Wikipedia as well.

Make no mistake, Microsoft Loop isn’t designed to replace your existing OneNote or Microsoft Lists setup. It aims to compete with new productivity tools like Notion, Coda, Milanote, and others by offering better integration with existing Microsoft 365 apps. If you are an existing Notion user, you should find yourself right at home with its familiar setup, including page icons, banners, slash (/) command, and a block-based editor. If you haven’t used such software before, getting used to Microsoft Loop may take a bit of time.

Microsoft Loop is a web-based software solution. There are no native apps for Windows or Mac at the moment. That being said, the software giant does offer robust Microsoft Loop mobile apps so you can edit your workspace on the go.

1. Brainstorm ideas with team members

Whether creating a project brief, product wiki, marketing plan, or writing a proposal for a client, you can create a page in Loop and invite your team members to brainstorm ideas together.

Your Loop document or page won’t be limited to large blocks of text only. You can use tables and different column types such as number, date, person, vote, or label. You can assign your team members to specific tasks and even insert a Word or Excel file using the / command. Since Microsoft Loop is tightly integrated with your OneDrive account, you can simply enter / and start typing the document name to insert it.

Once your Loop document is ready, copy the page or workspace link and invite others, granting them editing access to enable optimal collaboration.

2. Manage projects like a pro

While Microsoft Loop doesn’t rival established project management solutions like Asana, Jira, and Airtable, it can replace your standard Trello board to manage small projects on the go. You can simply insert a Kanban board using the / command and start adding tasks under relevant columns.

You can add task owner, due date, sub-items, notes, comments, and other related content for each task. If you don’t prefer a Kanban board to manage your tasks, click the Switch view button at the top and change it to the traditional table view. Once you add a Kanban or table view, make sure to add other project details such as project overview, deadlines, client details, important documents, research links, and more. When the entire project page is ready, invite your team members to collaborate.

3. Utilize for taking notes

Microsoft Loop comes with decent note-taking features to jot down ideas on the go. For starters, it has an Ideas tab at the top, which is universal and easily accessible from any workspace. You can enter your quick ideas and decorate the page with a favicon and a banner picture at the top.

As for text editing options, Loop ditches a standard toolbar and instead hides all the options under the right-click menu. You can select text and right-click to check different heading styles, lists, colors, and highlighter options.

Understandably, Microsoft Loop doesn’t come close to OneNote or Evernote in terms of features. It lacks tags, math equations, audio recording, drawing tools, and others. That being said, the features available should be sufficient for many to replace their existing note-taking app.

4. Track your meeting details efficiently

Do you often have 1:1 meetings with your sales, marketing, or product team members? Microsoft Loop can be an excellent tool to share meeting agendas in advance for smooth communication. You can add all meeting details such as date, time, agenda items, content, key points, and more. Once the meeting is over, you can share the feedback notes on the same page. It encourages open and honest communication, and keeps everyone in the loop (no pun intended).

Of course, this is just one example of using a Loop page to track your meeting minutes. You can always add additional details like a timeline for a task, assignments, milestones, or otherwise on the Loop page and share it after the meeting is over.

5. Create a business directory

Microsoft Loop can be an excellent tool for businesses and startups. You can create a team homepage and stuff all the relevant company details with links on a single page. It can be used as a go-to source for newly hired employees.

You can enter details like company vision, company org charts with team member info, important brand materials, common acronyms, FAQs, upcoming events, and more. The admin could also share a view-only Loop page and update it frequently with the latest corporate announcements.

6. Track expenses

Microsoft Loop can function as a budget management and expense tracker tool, too. You can create a table and add different columns to manage monthly budgets like a pro. You can change the column type to Label in order to add expense categories, and use a Number column to enter the costs for items.

You can glance over a number of categories and total expenses from the bottom menu. Check the screenshot above for reference. It’s up to you to customize the expense table to your preferences.

7. Collaborate in sync with Loop components

Loop component is the USP of Microsoft Loop. It basically acts like synced blocks in Loop and across other Microsoft 365 apps like Outlook, Teams, and OneNote. You can copy a specific block or page as a component, then share it with team members anywhere within the ecosystem. For example, you can add several tasks to a Loop page, copy the entire block as a Loop component, and share it on a Teams channel. When one of your team members completes a task there, the changes reflect on your Loop page, too.

If you frequently communicate with your colleagues over Microsoft Teams or Outlook, you’ve got to try Loop components to see how your data will sync in real-time!

Optimize your workflow with Microsoft Loop

Although Microsoft Loop has made commendable progress after a rocky start, it still has a long way to go before it becomes the ultimate productivity software. That being said, it’s still a solid Notion clone for Microsoft 365 users. I would like to see more template options, offline mode, integration with third-party apps, reminders, an infinite blank canvas like Microsoft Whiteboard, and refined mobile apps on iOS and Android.

Microsoft Loop is still a newbie in the productivity space. Check our dedicated guide if you want to explore top productivity apps on Windows.