MS Teams App Setup

Integrate Digital Agent into Microsoft Teams by creating a bot app, configuring the messaging endpoint, and managing permissions.

Prerequisites

1. Administrator Roles: You must have Global Administrator or Teams Administrator roles to integrate Digital Agent with MS Teams. Refer App permission policies for further details.

2. Set up Azure Bot channel Service - Register for Azure Bot channel resource. A Microsoft Teams channel is a part of the standard channels and offers unlimited messaging at no cost. For more details, refer Azure Bot Services.

3. Microsoft Teams App Subscription - Required subscriptions for Microsoft Teams to set up the App. Refer to Microsoft documentation for subscription details.

4. App Publishing - The app (Digital Agent) must be published or enabled for end user access. For more information on how to search and add a required app, refer to Add an App to Microsoft Teams.

5. The end user email ID must be same for Apex and Microsoft Teams account. The Digital Agent conversation will start only for valid users registered in Apex.

Microsoft Teams integration

You need to register the App, create your bot and create your MS Teams app to integrate Digital Agent with MS Teams.

Following are the steps for integrating Digital Agent with MS Teams:

Step 1: Create a bot

Step 2: Create Microsoft Teams app

Step 1: Create a bot

There are two methods in which a bot can be integrated with MS Teams. Please follow one of the method to setup:

1. Method 1: Set up Azure Bot Channel Service

2. Method 2: Create a Bot Using Microsoft Bot Framework Developer Portal

Method 1: Set up Azure Bot Channel Service

1. Register for Azure Bot Channel Service: Azure Bot Channel Service is needed to create a bot for integration with Microsoft Teams. Microsoft Teams offers unlimited messaging as part of its standard channels.
   Create a new resource.

   1. Launch the Microsoft Azure portal at portal.azure.com.

   2. Navigate to Azure Services > click Create a resource.

   3. Search for Azure bot in the search bar and select it.

   4. Click Create to create a new resource.

   5. Specify the required values, where:

      1. Bot handler is a unique identifier for your bot. You can set it to be your bot name.

      2. Subscription is the relevant subscription that you select.

      3. Resource group is a container that holds related resources for an Azure solution. You can create a new one if you don't have one.

      4. Data Residency: Select Global.

      5. Pricing Tier: Select Free.

      6. Type of App: Choose Multi-tenant.

      7. Creation Type: Click Create new Microsoft App ID.

      8. Click Create and wait for the resource to be provisioned. (Make a note of the Microsoft App ID generated)

2. Configure the Bot Resource. Follow the below steps after configuring the Bot Resource:

   1. Click Go to resource once the bot resource is created.

   2. Navigate to Settings > Configuration.

   3. Enable the streaming endpoint.

   4. Specify the messaging endpoint for the Digital Agent (this is provided by the Apex support team).

   5. Click Apply.

3. Get the Bot Password by following the below steps:

   1. In the Microsoft App ID section, click Manage.

   2. Open the Certificates & secrets panel.

   3. Navigate to Client secrets > New client secret.

   4. Specify a description and set Expires to 24 months.

   5. Click Add. The generated Value is the bot password. Save this for later use as it is displayed only once.

   6. Both the Microsoft app id & client secret needs to be provided to the Apex support team for configuring on the bot side for integration.

4. Configure Microsoft Teams Channel

   1. Return to the Bot resource page and navigate to Settings > Channels.

   2. Click Add a featured channel and select the Microsoft Teams icon.

   3. Click Save to add the Microsoft Teams channel.

Method 2: Create a Bot Using Microsoft Bot Framework Developer Portal (Optional)

If Method 1 (Azure Bot Channel Service) is not followed, you can alternatively create the bot using the Microsoft Bot Framework Developer Portal.

To create the bot, perform the following steps:

1. Go to Microsoft Bot Framework developer portal.

2. Login with your admin credentials.

3. Fill in all the details on the Tell us about your bot page to complete your bot profile.

4. Copy the generated endpoint from the Digital Agent Microsoft Teams integration.

5. Paste the copied endpoint into the Messaging endpoint field under the Configuration section.

6. Select Multi-tenant as the app type.

7. Copy and paste the App ID.

8. Click Register.

9. Navigate to the Connect to channels page.

10. In the Add a featured channel section, click Configure Microsoft.

11. Go to the Configure Microsoft Teams page.

12. Select the relevant options under the Messaging, Calling, and Publish tabs.

13. Click Save.

14. Click Next to proceed with creating your MS Teams app.

Step 2: Create MS Teams app

After registering your application and creating your bot, you need to create your MS Teams app.

To create your Microsoft Teams app, perform the following steps:

1. Go to Microsoft Teams Developer Portal:

   1. Navigate to Microsoft Teams Developer Portal.

   2. Log in with your admin credentials.

2. Create a New App:

   1. Navigate to Apps > New App.

   2. Enter the required details, such as App Name, App ID, Developer Information, and App URLs.

   3. Copy the App ID generated when creating the Azure bot service (or the one from the Bot Framework Developer Portal) and paste it into the Application (client) ID field.

   4. Click Save.

3. Configure the App:

   1. Navigate to Configure > App features > Bot.

   2. Identify your bot by selecting it from the list or entering the Bot ID created during the bot creation process.

   3. Choose the scope in which the bot can be used: Personal, Team, and Group Chat.

   4. Click Save.

   5. Submit the app for publishing to the organization.

Publish MS Teams App

Your IT Admin will publish your MS Teams app after all the configurations are completed.

Allow and block apps

The Manage apps page is where you allow or block individual apps at the org level. The page displays all the available apps and their current org-level app status.

To allow or block an app:

1. Sign into the Teams admin center and access Teams apps > Manage apps.

2. Select an app from the list of apps. You can search by the name of the app.

3. Select Allow or Block option.

When you allow (or block) an app on the Manage apps page in Teams admin center, the particular app is allowed (or blocked) for all users in your organization.

Note:

• Allowing or Blocking Apps - Admins can allow or block individual apps at the organization level from the Teams Admin Center. This is done by navigating to Teams apps > Manage apps, selecting the app, and choosing to either Allow or Block.

• Viewing App Requests - Admins can view app requests by navigating to Teams apps > Manage apps. Requests can be sorted by user, though the specific users requesting an app cannot be identified. If an app is allowed, it will be available for users in the Teams store.

Note:

• Microsoft app id & client secret needs to be provided to Apex support team to configure on the bot side.

• Messaging endpoint needs to be provided by Apex support team which needs to be configured after creating the Azure bot service.

• Bot works only when the above two steps are followed.

• Once the integration is complete, end users will be able to start conversations with the Digital Agent in Microsoft Teams. Ensure that the end user's email ID in Apex matches their Microsoft Teams account for the conversation to be initiated.