How-to Updated October 2026

How to add a bot to Microsoft Teams

Adding a bot to Teams takes three things: an app to install, permission from your Teams admin, and a place for people to find it (a chat, a channel, or a pinned app). This guide covers ready-made AI bots and custom ones.

Start with Microsoft All guides
InstallFrom the Teams app store, a dashboard link, or an uploaded app package
AllowTeams admins control which apps users can install
Add to a channelSo people can @mention the bot in conversations
Pin itAn app setup policy puts the bot in everyone's sidebar
Before You Start

What you need

  • A Microsoft 365 work account (not a personal Microsoft account).
  • Teams admin rights, or a Teams admin who can approve the app.
  • For an AI bot that answers from documents: the documents, and an OpenAI or Azure OpenAI account if the bot uses your own key.
Step by Step

Add a ready-made AI bot to Teams

  1. 1

    Install the app

    With ChatGridAI: sign in with Microsoft at chatgridai.com, open the dashboard, and choose Install Teams App. Other bots install from the Teams app store (Apps, then search) or from an app package your vendor gives you.

  2. 2

    Allow it in the Teams admin center

    If your tenant restricts apps, a Teams admin opens the Teams admin center, goes to Teams apps, then Manage apps, finds the app and allows it. Permission policies decide which users can use it.

  3. 3

    Start a chat with the bot

    Users open Apps in Teams, find the bot and select Add or Open. A 1:1 chat with the bot is the quickest test.

  4. 4

    Add it to a channel

    In the channel, open the app options or type @ and the bot name to add it, so people can @mention it in threads. Start with one pilot channel such as #ask-hr.

  5. 5

    Pin it for everyone

    In the Teams admin center, an app setup policy can pin the bot to the left sidebar for chosen users, so nobody has to search for it.

Custom Bots

Building your own Teams bot instead

If no ready app fits, you can build one. The common routes are Copilot Studio (low-code, Microsoft-hosted), the Teams Toolkit for Visual Studio Code, or Azure Bot Service with the Bot Framework SDK. You then upload the app package in Teams (if custom app upload is allowed) or publish it to your organization's app catalog in the Teams admin center.

"Teams bot without Azure" is a common search. A ready app is the usual answer, because the vendor hosts the bot. Building one yourself almost always means an Azure bot registration.

Troubleshooting

When the bot does not show up or reply

  • The app is blocked: check Manage apps and the user's app permission policy in the Teams admin center.
  • Custom app upload is off: needed only for uploaded packages, not for store apps.
  • The bot does not reply in a channel: it has to be added to that team or channel, and people need to @mention it.
  • The bot replies but knows nothing: for a document bot, check that documents were added to the group the user belongs to.
  • It works for you but not for others: check that the user was added as a member of the bot's group.
FAQ

Common questions

Open the channel, add the app to the team (from the app's options or by typing @ and the bot name), then @mention the bot in a message. The bot has to be allowed by your Teams admin first.
Not always. If your tenant allows users to install apps, anyone can add a store bot. Many companies restrict apps, so a Teams admin has to allow it in the Teams admin center first.
Teams has some Microsoft apps and Copilot (with a license), but no built-in bot that answers from your company's HR or IT documents. For that you add an app like ChatGridAI or build one.
Yes, by installing a ready app that the vendor hosts, such as ChatGridAI. Building your own bot usually needs an Azure bot registration.
For ChatGridAI, the whole setup (OpenAI key, documents, members, Teams app) is under 30 minutes. Admin approval can add time if another person owns the Teams admin center.

Add an AI bot to Teams in under 30 minutes

Sign in with Microsoft, connect your OpenAI key, add your documents and install the Teams app.

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