This documentation describes the integration of MindsDB with Microsoft Teams, the ultimate messaging app for your organization. The integration allows MindsDB to create chatbots enhanced with AI capabilities that can respond to messages in Microsoft Teams.

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Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure the following prerequisites are met:

  1. Install MindsDB locally via Docker or Docker Desktop.
  2. To connect Microsoft Teams to MindsDB, install the required dependencies following this instruction.

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Connection

Establish a connection to Microsoft Teams from MindsDB by executing the following SQL command and providing its handler name as an engine.

CREATE DATABASE teams_conn
WITH ENGINE = 'teams', 
PARAMETERS = {
  "client_id": "12345678-90ab-cdef-1234-567890abcdef",
  "client_secret": "a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0k1l2m3n4o5p6"
};

Required connection parameters include the following:

  • client_id: The client ID of the registered Microsoft Entra ID application.
  • client_secret: The client secret of the registered Microsoft Entra ID application.

Microsoft Entra ID was previously known as Azure Active Directory (Azure AD).

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How to set up Microsoft Teams app and MindsDB chatbot

Follow the instructions given below to set up the Microsoft Teams app that will act as the chatbot:

1

Register a bot in the Microsoft Bot Framework portal

  • Follow this link to the Microsoft Bot Framework portal and sign in with your Microsoft account.
  • Fill out the Display name, Bot handle, and, optionally, the Long description, but leave the Messaging endpoint field empty for now.
  • Set the App type to be Multi Tenant and click on Create Microsoft App ID and password. This will open a new tab with the Azure portal.
2

Register an application in the Azure portal

  • Click on New registration and fill out the Name and select the Accounts in any organizational directory (Any Azure AD directory - Multitenant) option under Supported account types, and click on Register. Save the Application (client) ID for later use.
  • Click on Certificates & secrets under Manage.
  • Click on New client secret and fill out the Description and select an appropriate Expires period, and click on Add.
  • Copy and save the client secret in a secure location.

If you already have an existing app registration, you can use it instead of creating a new one and skip the above steps.

3

Configure a chatbot in the MindsDB Editor

  • Open the MindsDB editor and create a connection to Microsoft Teams using the client ID and client secret obtained in the previous steps. Use the CREATE DATABASE statement as show above.
  • Using this connection, create a chatbot with the CREATE CHATBOT syntax, as shown in the Usage section below.
  • Run the SHOW CHATBOTS command and record the webhook_token of the chatbot you created.
4

Complete the bot setup in the Microsoft Bot Framework portal

  • Navigate back to the Microsoft Bot Framework portal and fill out the messaging endpoint in the following format: <mindsdb_url>/api/webhooks/chatbots/<webhook_token>.

The <mindsdb_url> placeholder should be replaced with the URL where MindsDB instance is running. Note that if you are running MindsDB locally, it will need to be exposed to the internet using a service like ngrok.

  • Fill out the Microsoft App ID using the client ID obtained in the previous steps, agree to the terms, and click on Register.
  • Under Add a featured channel, click on Microsoft Teams, select your Microsoft Teams solution, click on Save and agree to the terms when prompted.
5

Create an application via the Developer Portal in Microsoft Teams

  • Navigate to Microsoft Teams and then to the Apps tab.
  • Search for the Developer Portal app and add it to your workspace.
  • Open the Developer Portal, click on Apps and then on New app.
  • Fill out the Name for the app and click on Add.
  • Navigate to Basic information and fill out the required fields: Short description, Long description, Developer or company name, Website, Privacy policy, Terms of use, and Application (client) ID. You may also provide any additional information if you prefer.

Please note that the above fields are required for the bot to be usable in Microsoft Teams. The URLs provided in the Website, Privacy policy, and Terms of use fields must be valid URLs.

  • Navigate to App features and select Bot.
  • Choose the Select an existing bot option and select the bot you created earlier in the Microsoft Bot Framework portal.
  • Select all of the scopes where bot is required to be used and click on Save.
  • Finally, on the navigation pane, click on Publish and then on Publish to your org.

For the bot to be made available to the users in your organization, you will need to ask your IT administrator to approve the submission at this link.

Once it is approved, users can find it under the Built for your org section in the Apps tab. They can either chat with the bot directly or add it to a channel. To chat with the bot in a channel, type @<bot_name> followed by your message.

While waiting for approval, you can test the chatbot by clicking on Preview in Teams in the Developer Portal.

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Usage

This integration can only be used to create chatbots for Microsoft Teams via the CREATE CHATBOT syntax. Currently, it cannot be used as a data source for other workloads.

CREATE CHATBOT teams_chatbot
USING
    database = 'teams_datasource',
    agent = 'ai_agent',
    is_running = true;

Learn more about agents and chatbots here. Follow this tutorial to build your own chatbot.

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Troubleshooting Guide

No response from the bot:

  • Symptoms: The bot does not respond to messages.
  • Checklist:
    1. Ensure the bot is correctly set up in the Microsoft Bot Framework portal.
    2. Ensure that the client ID and client secret used to create the connection are correct and valid.
    3. Ensure that the messaging endpoint is correctly set in the Microsoft Bot Framework portal with the correct webhook token.
    4. Confirm that the bot is added to the Microsoft Teams workspace.

The bot is not available to other users:

  • Symptoms: The bot is not available to other users in the organization.
  • Checklist:
    1. Ensure that the bot is published to the organization in the Microsoft Bot Framework portal.
    2. Ensure that the bot is approved by the IT administrator.

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