Zed has introduced a new feature called channels, designed to enhance collaborative programming by acting as a virtual office for software teams. This feature supports both active and passive collaboration, allowing team members to work together more effectively on long-term projects. Channels provide structure by organizing work into streams that last over extended periods, facilitating remote collaboration through a CRDT-based replication layer that simulates local file editing. Each channel includes a "Notes" file for sharing ideas and updates, ensuring smooth transitions between collaborators. The feature has already improved internal operations at Zed, particularly during the GPUI2 upgrade, and the company anticipates further enhancements as they move towards open source collaboration.