Unable to pull custom bot into teams groupchat

Question

Hi There.

My organisation has created a custom chatbot. The bot was configured on personal channel and is available with no issues in direct conversations. Today we've attempted to enable both groupchat and teams scope.

However it appears that when attempting to add agents and bots to a groupchat, the bot does not appear as an installed app, even though it is visible as an "Added by your org" app in the "Apps" menu accessed from the left hand side bar.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Answer 1

It sounds like you're experiencing issues with your custom bot not appearing in group chat despite being configured for that scope. Here are a few things to check:

1. Scope Configuration: Ensure that the bot has been properly configured with both groupchat and teams scopes in the bot's manifest. This is essential for the bot to be accessible in group chats.
2. Installation: Verify that the bot has been installed in the group chat. Even if it's visible in the "Added by your org" section, it may not be installed in the specific group chat you are trying to access.
3. Permissions: Check if there are any permission restrictions that might prevent the bot from being added to the group chat. Sometimes, organizational policies can limit bot usage in certain contexts.
4. Bot Visibility: Remember that bots in group chats only receive messages when they are @mentioned. Ensure that you are trying to interact with the bot correctly in the group chat.
5. Testing in Teams: If you have made recent changes to the bot's configuration, consider testing the bot in a different group chat or creating a new group chat to see if the issue persists.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, you may want to consult the documentation for further troubleshooting or reach out to your IT department for assistance.

Answer 2

Hi @Weihan 

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum. 

If your bot works in personal chat but not in group chat, the first thing to check is your Teams app manifest. Make sure all three scopes are defined correctly: 

"bots": [ 
  { 
    "botId": "${{BOT_ID}}", 
    "scopes": [ 
      "personal", 
      "groupchat", 
      "team" 
    ], 
    "isNotificationOnly": false, 
    "supportsFiles": false 
  } 
] 

If groupchat is missing here, the bot will never be available in group chats.

You can find more details in Configure Bot Capability - Teams | Microsoft Learn. 

When you see the bot listed under Apps > Added by your org, that means it’s available to you, but it still needs to be installed into the specific group chat. In Teams, installation is scoped per chat or per team. 

To add the bot to a group chat: 

-Open the group chat where you want to use the bot. 

-Start a new message > (+) next to Shared or Add agents and bots as below image. 

-Search for your bot, select it, and complete the add flow. 

 

Once added, the bot will appear as an installed app for that conversation and can respond in the group chat. 

I hope this information is helpful. 

---

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".    

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.