How It Connects
HelpBot deploys as a Microsoft Teams app that integrates through the Bot Framework and Teams App SDK. It appears as a bot in your Teams directory that employees can message directly. It also installs as a tab in any channel, providing IT managers with a live ticket dashboard inside Teams itself.
When an employee messages HelpBot, the AI reads the request, classifies the issue, assigns a priority level, and creates a ticket in the HelpBot system. The employee receives an adaptive card with ticket details, status, and action buttons. When the ticket is updated or resolved, a new card appears in the conversation with the latest status.
The integration supports both personal chats (employee messages HelpBot directly) and channel-based support (employee posts in a designated support channel). IT teams can configure routing rules to direct tickets from specific channels to specific queues.
Setup Steps
Install the HelpBot Teams App
From your HelpBot admin panel, go to Settings > Integrations > Microsoft Teams. Click "Add to Teams" to begin the installation. This can also be done through the Teams Admin Center by uploading the HelpBot app manifest. Requires Teams admin privileges.
Authorize and Connect Accounts
Complete the Azure AD OAuth flow to connect your HelpBot account with your Microsoft 365 tenant. This grants HelpBot permission to receive messages, post replies, and access user directory information for automatic ticket attribution.
Configure Channels and Tabs
Select which Teams channels should have IT support enabled. Pin the HelpBot dashboard tab to your IT team's channel for real-time queue visibility. Optionally, add the HelpBot tab to department channels so managers can see their team's open tickets.
Set Routing and Escalation Rules
Configure which types of tickets go to which IT queues. Set escalation paths for SLA breaches. Define business hours for automated vs. human routing. Test with a sample ticket to verify the complete flow.
Announce to Your Organization
HelpBot generates a ready-to-post announcement message for your Teams channels. Share it with all employees to let them know IT support is now available directly in Teams. Include instructions for the /helpbot command and direct messaging.
Key Benefits
Adaptive Card Notifications
Tickets appear as rich, interactive cards in Teams conversations. Employees can update status, add comments, or confirm resolution directly from the card without navigating away.
Dashboard Tab for IT Managers
Pin a live ticket dashboard to any Teams channel. See open tickets, SLA timers, team workload, and escalation alerts without leaving Teams. Filter by priority, category, or assigned agent.
Azure AD User Sync
User profiles, departments, and org structure are synced from Azure AD. When an employee submits a ticket, HelpBot already knows their department, manager, and location for automatic routing.
AI Classification and Routing
HelpBot reads the natural language message, determines the issue category, assigns priority based on impact and urgency, and routes to the correct IT queue. No manual triage needed.
Proactive Notifications
IT teams can broadcast planned maintenance, outage updates, and system status to designated channels. HelpBot handles notification delivery and tracks acknowledgments.
Compliance and Audit
All ticket interactions are logged and searchable. Teams conversation history is synced to ticket records. Export audit trails for compliance reviews or security investigations.
Use Cases
A new hire starts on Monday and needs access to 8 different systems. Their manager messages HelpBot with the access list. HelpBot creates individual provisioning tickets for each system, routes them to the appropriate admins, and tracks completion. The manager sees a single status card that updates as each access request is fulfilled.
A conference room display is not working 10 minutes before a client meeting. An employee messages HelpBot with the room number and issue. HelpBot identifies it as high-priority (client-facing), alerts the on-site facilities team, and suggests an alternate room with working equipment while the fix is in progress.
An employee requests access to Adobe Creative Cloud. HelpBot checks available licenses, initiates the approval workflow with the employee's manager, and provisions access automatically once approved. If no licenses are available, it adds the employee to a waitlist and notifies them when one opens up.
An employee receives a suspicious email and forwards the details to HelpBot. The AI flags it as a potential phishing attempt, creates a security incident ticket, alerts the security team, and replies to the employee with immediate steps (do not click links, change password if credentials were entered).