Adding the Microsoft Teams Channel9 min read

To add Microsoft Teams channel to your bot, you must create a bot in the Microsoft Bot Framework account to configure the connection between Microsoft Teams and Kore.ai.

Note: You need an active subscription to Azure services with admin access to subscribe for a new Azure service.

To add the Microsoft Teams channel to your bot, follow the below steps:

• Create the Bot – You must create a bot in the Microsoft Bot Framework by adding all the bot details and creating the App ID and Password.
• Register the Bot – To register the bot, you must have created and registered for a free account in the Microsoft Bot Framework developer portal.
• Integrate Kore.ai’s Virtual Assistant – After registering the bot, integrate Kore.ai VA in MS Teams.
• Create and Publish an app in App Studio – After the channel is enabled and all configurations are verified, you can optionally publish the bot to make it available for developers.
• Approve the App Publish Request – After publishing an app, approve the request in the Microsoft Teams Admin Center.
• Configure the Proactive Notifications (optional) – To send proactive notifications to users, configure notification settings in the MS Team Admin Center.

Integrating Kore.ai’s Virtual Assistants with Microsoft Azure in MS Teams

Important: An active subscription to Azure services with Admin access is required to subscribe for a new Azure service.

To integrate the Kore.ai’s virtual assistant with Microsoft Azure in MS Teams admin center, complete the following steps:

• Create a new ‘Azure Bot’ resource in Azure portal.
• Register the Bot in Azure portal.
• Create a new App using MS Teams App Studio.
• Approve / manage your MS Teams App using the MS Teams Admin Center portal .
• Optionally, configure proactive notification. This is not needed for Kore.ai VA

Create a new ‘Azure Bot’ Resource in Azure Portal

To set up Microsoft Teams as a channel, you must register a Bot Channel service in Azure and enable a webhook for the Kore.ai XO Platform to receive messages.

To create a Azure Bot, follow these steps:

1. Login to the Azure portal.
2. Click the + Create a resource link from the portal menu.
3. Search and select Azure Bot on the screen.
4. Select the Multi-tenant option in the Type of App field.
   
5. Enter in the required details and click the Review + Create button.
6. Review the details and the Validation status shows as Passed.
7. Click the Create button to proceed.
   

Register a Bot Channel

1. Log in to the Microsoft Bot Framework portal.
2. On the portal menu, click + New.
3. Search and select Bot Channels Registration from the search window.
4. Click Create and proceed to the next screen to enter the details.
5. Enter all the required details to register the bot channel.
6. From the Bot Builder platform, copy the Webhook URL from the Configurations tab of the Channel page for Microsoft Teams and provide it in the Messaging Endpoint field.

Configure Azure Bot Resource Property

Once the deployment is completed, click on the bot name that was entered in the earlier screen under the Deployment details section.

To complete the resource configuration, follow these steps:

1. In the Bot Details page, click the Go to resource button.
   
2. Click on Configuration in the left navigation.
3. Copy the Kore.ai’s Bot Webhook URL from the Configuration tab of this window.
   
4. Paste it under the Messaging Endpoint under the Configurations module in Azure Portal.
   
5. Click on Apply to save the entered value.
   

You need an active subscription to Azure services with admin access to subscribe for a new Azure service.

The Bot Channel Regsitration must be associated with a Microsoft App ID and Password. You can choose to go with the default option of Auto-create App Id and password if you want your bot to be available for multiple tenants or users outside of your Azure domain. You can also choose to create your own App ID and password and define who is eligible to access your bot. Follow the instructions available here for more details.

1. Click Create to complete the registration.
2. After successful creation, you are redirected to the Dashboard of your Azure account.

Configure App Id and Password

From your Azure Dashboard, select the resource that you have created in the previous steps. You are redirected to the details page of the new resource that you have created.

1. On the left pane, click Settings > Manage next to the Microsoft App ID field.
   
2. In the Certificates and secrets section, click on the + New client secret option
3. Enter the necessary details and click on the Add option to create a new client secret.
4. Copy the Value of the new client secret as illustrated:
   
5. Paste it in the App Password field present in the Configurations tab of the Kore.ai window.
6. Make a note of the Microsoft App Id and enter it in the Configurations tab of the Kore.ai window.
   
7. Click the Save option at the end of the page to save your changes.
8. Close the Certificates and secrets section to return the Configuration section of the resource using the breadcrumbs.

Enable Microsoft Teams Channel

1. On the menu, go to the Channels and select the MS Teams channel.
2. You are redirected to the channel information page. Review the information and click Save to complete the channel setup.

Enable Microsoft Teams Channel

To enable Microsoft Teams channel, follow the below steps:

1. On the menu, go to the Channels and select the MS Teams channel.
2. You are redirected to the channel information page. Review the information and click Save to complete the channel setup.
   

1. In the Bots section of the Bot Builder, click the bot you want to add the Microsoft Teams channel to.
2. On the Channels tab, click the Microsoft Teams icon. The Microsoft Teams channel page is displayed.
3. Go to the Configuration tab of the Microsoft Teams channel page to update or review the app configurations and enable the channel.

Create and Publish a new app using App Studio in MS Teams

The virtual assistant should be now published in the MS Teams account so that your users would be able to discover and converse with the VA.

Create a Virtual Assistant

To publish a VA, you need to create an MS Teams App:

1. Log in to the MS Teams account.
2. Navigate to Apps and search for Studio.
3. Open to the App Studio and select the Create a new app option.
4. Enter all the information requested in the App details section.
   

Configure and Publish the Virtual Assistant

To select a VA, proceed to the Bots section on left-nav under Capabilities, and complete this configuration:

1. Click on Set up and choose the Existing bot option.
2. Select the Connect to a different bot id option and enter the Microsoft App Id associated with the Azure Bot in the previous steps.
3. If you would like to allow your users to send attachments to your bot, then select the My bot supports uploading and downloading files option under the Messaging bot section.
4. Select all the required options from the Scope section and Save.
   
5. Go to the Test and distribute section and click on the Publish option using the left-nav under Capabilities.
6. Review and select the Publish option that is suitable for your use case.
   

Approve the MS Teams App Publish Request

The request to publish the MS Teams App should be approved by an MS Teams Admin.

To approve the MS Teams app, follow these steps:

1. Login to MS Teams Admin Portal and go to the Manage apps under the Teams apps section.
2. Search for the app that was published in the previous step.
3. Select the app and change the Publishing status to Published.
4. This completes the process of publishing your bot for the MS Teams account users.

Configure Proactive Notifications [Optional]

If you want to send Proactive Notifications to your users, you need to complete a few more actions.

You can skip the following instructions and process to the Configurations tab, if you do not intend to send Proactive notifications.

1. Copy the App ID associated with the MSTeams App that is approved. You can find this information on the details page of the app.
2. Enter this App Id in the channel Configurations tab.
   
   The bot requires additional app credentials for sending the Proactive Notifications.
3. Go to the Azure portal, select the App registrations and click on the New registration option.
4. Enter the required information and click Register. You will be redirected to the details page of the newly registered app.
   
5. From the Manage menu, select the API permissions section and then click on the Add a permission option.
6. From the Request API permissions menu, select the Microsoft Graph and choose the Application Permissions option.
7. From the permissions list, select the following permissions and click on the Add permissions.
   • TeamsAppInstallation.ReadForUser.All
   • TeamsAppInstallation.ReadWriteSelfForUser.All
   • TeamsAppInstallation.ReadWriteForUser.All
   • User.Read.All

   

8. Click on the Grant admin consent for option to complete the granting of the permissions.
9. Proceed to the Certificates & secrets section and select the New client secret option.
10. Copy the Value of the newly created certificate and enter it in the Configurations tab of this page.
11. Go to the Overview section of the app and copy the Application (client) ID and Directory (tenant) Id and enter them in the Configurations tab of the Kore.ai window. This completes the setup actions required for Proactive Notifications.
12. Navigate to the Configurations tab of this page to review and enable the Microsoft Teams channel for your bot.

Edit Microsoft Teams Channel

To edit the Microsoft teams channel, follow the below steps:

1. Hover over the channel and click to modify. Make necessary updates to your channel configurations and save them.
2. You can also disable or delete the channel information by clicking the Settings icon.
   
   Select one of the following commands to modify the channel:

• Disable/Enable – Click Disable to temporarily disable the use of the Microsoft Teams channel for your bot. To enable the use of the Microsoft Teams channel, Click Enable.
• Delete – Click Delete. On the Delete Confirmation dialog box, click OK to permanently delete the bot channel configuration.