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Posted by on Jan 20, 2025 in Everything Else, Microsoft Teams

Microsoft removes ability for Copilot plugins to be added to meetings

Microsoft removes ability for Copilot plugins to be added to meetings

Microsoft is removing the ability for Copilot plugins (agents) to be added to Microsoft Teams meetings.

Previously, it’s been possible from within a Teams meeting to add Copilot plugins to the Copilot chat instance that’s there:

This image is actually taken from a Microsoft Support document: Use Copilot plugins in Microsoft Teams meetings that explains how to do this:

Except, that plugin icon isn’t there any more.
And, on the “What’s New for developers in Microsoft Teams” page, a new deprecated platform feature has appeared:

On the Validation Guidance for agents page, an entire section titled “Ensure your Copilot plugins work in Teams meetings” has been removed.

On the Extend bot-based message extension as agent for Microsoft 365 Copilot page, a section previously titled “Enable message extension as a plugin for Copilot for meetings” has been removed.

And, on the Build message extensions using Bot Framework page, a section previously titled Message extension as plugin for Copilot for Teams meetings is gone.

To take one of the introductory paragraphs from one of the removed sections, this is the functionality that I’m talking about:

Message extension plugins are supported in Copilot for Teams meetings. Extending bot-based message extension plugins to meetings allows you to enhance the Copilot for Teams meetings. Copilot for Teams meetings can utilize various app capabilities during meetings, such as task modules, app sharing, and more, to improve user engagement and productivity. For example, a plugin can be used in Copilot for Teams meetings to summarize discussions, generate notes, and list tasks. It also extends the benefits of traditional plugins by enabling real-time interaction with external data and custom functionality.

Copilot for Teams meetings is interactive and efficient, it can assist with summarizing discussions, suggesting action items, and providing prompt-less assistance in real-time. Users can ask natural language questions to Copilot for Teams meetings and get responses from your plugin that are relevant to the meeting context. Plugins are available for users to enable in both Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot for Teams meetings.

I’m fairly confused about this.

There’s no link on the announcement to a blog post describing the timeline, the reasons, or what developers who have built solutions that use this are supposed to do.

This feature was actually part of the Copilot for Sales experience, launching last year in this Roadmap item:

So, I don’t know. I don’t know whether this still works in Copilot for Sales, as I don’t use it. I’m going to try and find out though, and I’ll update here once I know more.

In the meantime, however, just be aware of this if you’re building Copilot plugins or message extensions. And, if you have any applications that make use of this today then go and see if they’re still working OK!

Written by Tom Morgan

Tom is a Microsoft Teams Platform developer and Microsoft MVP who has been blogging for over a decade. Find out more.
Buy the book: Building and Developing Apps & Bots for Microsoft Teams. Now available to purchase online with free updates.

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