Connect Microsoft Teams
Overview
The connection brings notifications from the system into a Teams channel — where the team already reads. A Teams channel is linked to a project; that project's notifications then go there.
The link is unique on both sides: a project has at most one channel, a channel at most one project. A second entry on either side is rejected with an error message rather than quietly accepted.
The direction is deliberately kept simple: the system reports to Teams, and a few commands can be issued from the channel. It is not a second surface to work in — replies and decisions stay on the case, where they remain traceable.
Core tasks
Establish the connection. The bot credentials (app id, app password, tenant) do not live on this page but under Integrations, provider Microsoft. Without a stored app id the inbound route stays closed.
Link a channel. Under Settings → Teams you pick the project and enter the channel id. From then on that project's notifications go there.
Pause or remove a link. Active off stops the notifications and keeps the assignment; deleting removes it entirely. The history in the channel remains in both cases.
Connect your own Teams account. Bot commands always act under an Octibiz account. Each employee creates the mapping themselves: under My Profile, card Microsoft Teams, click Create code, then send @octibiz connect <code> in the chat with the bot. The code is valid for 10 minutes and only once; a new code replaces an open one. Preferably send it in the personal chat with the bot, not in the channel. The bot then replies "Connected …" and commands act with that account's permissions. There is no matching by e-mail address — only someone who uses both accounts can connect them. With every new mapping the employee receives a notification ("Your account was connected to the Microsoft Teams account …") with a link to disconnect — whoever did not redeem the code themselves notices right away. The e-mail for this notice is mandatory: it can be neither turned off nor moved to the digest in the notification settings.
Remove a mapping. The employee themselves via Disconnect on the same card; administrators (octi.msteams.manage) in the list Employee mappings under Settings → Teams, for example when someone leaves. Afterwards commands from that Teams account no longer work until a new code is redeemed.
Talking to an AI team member. An AI team member can be reached in Teams like a colleague:
- With
@octibiz Lisa: …in a channel or group chat with the bot; in the personal chat with the bot simply
Lisa: … (or Lisa …). Commands such as add or help stay commands.
- The bot confirms right away ("Lisa has received your message …"), and the message lands in the team member's
inbox — exactly like an assignment or a mention in Octibiz. The requester is the Octibiz account connected to your Teams account (My Profile → Microsoft Teams); it needs the permission Give tasks to AI team members in the team member's brand.
- The reply comes in the same conversation (in a channel: in the thread of your message) once they have
worked — sessions take minutes, not seconds. It always carries the name as a prefix ("Lisa (KI-Assistenz): …") and is thus recognisable as AI, internally too. Keep replying in the same thread or chat — no name needed; they remember the conversation.
- If Octibiz does not know the name, the bot lists the AI team members you can talk to; if the permission or the
connection is missing, it says so.
- External participants in the conversation — the message comes from another tenant (your own tenant ID is
stored with the Microsoft integration): then the AI team member sends nothing on their own. Their reply waits as an approval with their supervisor (Approvals → AI team) and only appears afterwards.
Fields in detail
The What it does column answers what changes in the system — not what the field is called. The grey name behind it is the API field: the same thing runs under that name through automation, import and AI tools.
Channel link
| Field | Required | Values / format | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
Project projectId | yes | existing project | Whose events are reported. A project can be linked only once. |
Channel ID channelId | yes | text, max. 190 characters, form 19:…@thread.tacv2 | Where notifications go. Addressing uses the id, not the name — channels can be renamed, the id stays. |
Channel name channelName | no | text, max. 120 characters | Display only in this list, so the row stays readable. It is not used for delivery and may stay empty. |
Active active | no | yes/no (default: yes) | Whether the link carries. Off means no event posts and no bot commands from this channel — the assignment itself is kept. |
What is not set on this page
| Item | Where it lives | Why there |
|---|---|---|
| App id, app password, tenant | Integrations, provider Microsoft | Credentials apply to the whole connection, not per channel. The app id is also the expected audience of every incoming token: without it everything is rejected. |
| Reply address of the channel | learned | It depends on tenant and region. The system remembers it from the channel's first incoming activity instead of asking for it. |
| User mapping Teams ↔ Octibiz | My Profile, card Microsoft Teams (one-time code, command @octibiz connect <code>); overview and removal under Employee mappings | A bot command acts with the mapped account's permissions. Only the employee can prove that both accounts are theirs — that is why they create the code. Without a mapping nothing happens — the bot replies with a hint instead of acting anonymously. |
| Which events are reported | Notifications | The channel is a shared room, so it is not switched on by default. Everyone enables for themselves what should appear in the project channel. |
Without a configured app id everything is rejected — "not set up yet" means closed here, not open. Incoming requests are verified against Microsoft's key set; an unsigned method is rejected outright.
Settings & permissions
- View links and employee mappings:
octi.msteams.read - Manage links, remove employee mappings:
octi.msteams.manage - Connect and disconnect your own Teams account:
octi.msteams.link_own(all internal staff roles)
Module flag: module.msteams. Which events are reported at all is controlled by the notification settings — the link only decides the route.
FAQ & troubleshooting
No notifications arrive. First check whether Teams notifications are switched on for the project at all. The channel is not pre-enabled; without an event there is no notification.
The project cannot be linked a second time. That is intended: one channel per project, one project per channel. Remove the existing row or set it to Active = no.
A bot command replies "channel not linked". Then the row for this channel is missing, or it is set to Active = no.
The bot replies "Your Teams account is not linked to an Octibiz account". Create a code under My Profile and send @octibiz connect <code>.
The code is rejected. It has expired (10 minutes), was already used or was replaced by a newer one — create a new one. The bot refuses more than five redemption attempts from one Teams account within 15 minutes ("Too many attempts"); likewise at most five codes can be created within 15 minutes.
The AI team member does not reply. Is the AI team switched on, the team member active and the background worker ai_staff running? Does the bot have an app password (without it nothing goes out)? If the message comes from another tenant, the reply waits under Approvals → AI team.
"Who do you mean?" The name at the start matches no AI team member you may talk to (or several with the same first name — then write the full name).
The connection has expired. Renew the credentials under Integrations; the links on this page remain.