To bring full functionality of Microsoft Teams Platform into DOD, we are very excited to announce the availability of Conversational Bots and Message Extensions in DOD, as a Line of Business (LOB) app. Please note that Third-Party (3P) and calling and meeting apps are not available as a part of this release.
A bot (also referred to as a chatbot or conversational bot) is an app that runs simple and repetitive tasks by users such as customer service or support staff. Interactions with bots can be quick questions and answers, or complex conversations. Message extensions allow the users to interact with your web service through buttons and forms in the Microsoft Teams client. They can search or initiate actions in an external system from the compose message area, the command box, or directly from a message. You can send back the results of that interaction to the Microsoft Teams client in the form of a richly formatted card.
As part of the release, we have enabled:
- Developers to register a bot in DoD environment
- Admins to sideload an app with bots (as an LOB app)
- Conversational platform features available in the Teams Commercial (WW) instance, including:
- Bot APIs
- Messaging Extensions
- SSO support
- Adaptive Cards
- Task Modules
To enable communication of Bots and Message Extensions with external endpoints, Tenant administrators now have the option to opt-in through a customized app upload user experience to offer their apps as a Line-of-Business (LoB) application. In highly regulated environments like DOD, enabling bots will expand the tenant's compliance boundaries. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the tenant administrators to ensure that they stay compliant with their FedRAMP, DFARS, ITAR, and other applicable requirements.
Additional links
To learn about how to use Bots and Messages Extensions in DOD, please reference the following documentation:
If you'd like more help with Bots in Teams, please reach out to your Microsoft account team.
