Whether answering questions or taking care of mundane tasks, bots in Teams save you and others time to focus on what's most important.

Tip: Not sure what to say to a bot? Keep in mind each bot has a set of commands it understands and responds to. You can see these commands when you start typing a message to a bot.

Add a bot

There are a couple ways to add a bot in Teams:

  • Go to Apps on the left side of Teams. Search for your favorite app or browse the app categories to find new ones.

  • In a channel or group chat type @ in the text box and select Get bots.

Note: If you're a team owner, you can add bots that receive and send messages in conversations without being @mentioned. Before you add this type of bot, make sure you understand the permissions it's requesting.

Chat with a bot in a channel or group chat

Bots can contribute to channel and group chat conversations, such as providing important updates or helping a team organize its work.

Typically, you or someone else @mentions a bot to interact with it, but some bots can play a more proactive role in conversations. These bots receive messages and respond without an @mention. (Whoever adds this kind of bot—whether it's you or another member—must consent to the required app permissions on for the conversation.)

  1. Type @ and the bot's name in the text box.

  2. Chat with the bot and use it to assign tasks, reminders, or whatever task the bot assists with.