Forum Discussion
Guest accounts and groupchats
Hello everyone, I recently received a support request regarding adding a person with a guest account to a group chat. Unfortunately, Teams refused to add that account. Copilot explained that this is...
Take a look at the following and why group chat was blocked:
Guest User in Tenant (Azure AD B2B)
- Definition: A user added to your tenant via Azure AD B2B collaboration.
- Access:
- Teams channels (standard and private)
- Files shared in Teams
- Meetings and calendar invites
- 1:1 and group chats within the team they’re added to
- Limitations:
- Cannot be added to regular group chats outside of a team context.
- Group chat invitations fail unless the guest is removed from the tenant and reconnected via federation.
External User via Federation
- Definition: A user from another Microsoft 365 tenant who is not added as a guest in your Azure AD.
- Access:
- 1:1 chats
- Group chats with users in your tenant
- Audio/video calls
- File sharing (limited to chat context)
- Advantage:
- Behaves like a regular Teams user in chat scenarios.
- No need to manage guest accounts in Azure AD.
Why the Group Chat Block Happens
Once a user is added as a guest, Teams treats them as part of your tenant but with restricted permissions. They lose the ability to participate in group chats outside of Teams channels, which is why removing the guest account allowed you to add them back via federation.