How to send proactive message to users if conversation id not have

manav 5

I’m currently building a Teams application that includes both a bot and a tab. I want the bot to proactively send messages to users. While I know that adapter.sendActivity can be used to send messages, it only works for users within the current context. However, in my application, I need to send messages to users selected from the organization (within the Teams app) — even if they have never interacted with the bot before.

Since I can’t save the conversation ID for users who haven’t interacted with the bot, I need to create a new conversation for them. While exploring the documentation, I found the adapter.createConversationAsync method, which seems like a potential solution. While I understand the required parameters, constructing the Activity object seems challenging. If I need to use the adapter.createConversationAsync method, could you please provide a detailed example of how to implement it? It seems to require a lot of information, and I want to ensure I do it correctly.

Could you guide me on the best way to proactively send messages to selected users through the bot, especially when creating a new conversation? Any tips, examples, or best practices would be greatly appreciated! I am using the latest version of the botbuilder npm package.

Sayali-MSFT 3,351 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2025-01-23T11:56:41.1866667+00:00

Hello manav,

Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. We will look into it and get back to you shortly.

1 answer

Sayali-MSFT 3,351 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2025-01-23T13:05:57.2666667+00:00

Hello manav, To proactively send messages to users in Microsoft Teams using a bot, even if they have never interacted with the bot before, you can use the adapter.createConversationAsync method. This method allows you to create a new conversation with a user and send a message to them.

To send a proactive message to a user, a group chat, or a team, your bot must have the requisite access to send the message. For a group chat or team, the app that contains your bot must be first installed in that location.
You can refer the below document and code sample-
1.https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/platform/bots/how-to/conversations/send-proactive-messages?tabs=dotnet
2.https://github.com/OfficeDev/Microsoft-Teams-Samples/blob/5f341fdd6d57f68654218007047f1c9ccfcf8aaa/samples/bot-conversation/nodejs/bots/teamsConversationBot.js#L511
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manav 5 Reputation points

2025-01-23T13:48:13.2333333+00:00

Hello @Sayali-MSFT , Thank you for responding

The provided Node.js sample code contains some type errors. Additionally, when I attempted to use it, I encountered an 'Unknown activity type' error.

My code :

const createConversation = async (context: TurnContext, user: User) => { try { const convoParams: ConversationParameters = { members: [{ id: user.id, name: user.firstName }], isGroup: false, bot: context.activity.recipient, tenantId: context.activity.conversation.tenantId, activity: context.activity, channelData: {}, }; await context.adapter.createConversationAsync( process.env.MICROSOFT_BOT_ID!, context.activity.channelId, context.activity.serviceUrl, 'https://api.botframework.com', convoParams, async context => { const ref = TurnContext.getConversationReference(context.activity); await context.adapter.continueConversationAsync( process.env.MICROSOFT_BOT_ID!, ref, async context => { console.log(context.activity.conversation.id); } ); } ); } catch (error) { console.log(error) throw new Error(error) } };

Error log:

{ "name": "RestError", "code": "BadArgument", "statusCode": 400, "request": { "streamResponseStatusCodes": {}, "url": "https://smba.trafficmanager.net/uk/26bbeb6b-a644-4777-99d7-2ca18c61b24b/v3/conversations", "method": "POST", "headers": { "_headersMap": { "content-type": "application/json; charset=utf-8", "accept": "*/*", "user-agent": "Microsoft-BotFramework/3.1 botframework-connector/4.23.1 core-http/3.0.4 Node/v18.20.5 OS/(arm64-Darwin-23.2.0)", "authorization": "REDACTED" } }, "withCredentials": false, "timeout": 0, "requestId": "311003f8-ee77-4d0a-b801-c1175f30e24b" }, "details": { "error": { "code": "BadArgument", "message": "Unknown activity type" } }, "message": "Unknown activity type" }

An admin selects users within a tab. When a task is submitted, the bot receives an event. The bot then sends a message to all selected users.

manav 5 Reputation points

2025-01-23T14:09:46.94+00:00

Additionally @Sayali-MSFT

I believe the context is specific to the user who provided it. Therefore, operations like fetching another user or sending messages to someone else using this context are likely not possible.

Could you please advise on the appropriate approach for these actions?

manav 5 Reputation points

2025-01-24T08:03:08.51+00:00

Hi @Sayali-MSFT

Is there any update on this?

It’s frustrating that Microsoft, being such a well-known company, doesn’t provide free developer support or a more direct way to get help. Waiting for solutions in the community feels inefficient. On top of that, the documentation is often overly complicated and lacks sufficient information, making it even harder to solve issues.

Sayali-MSFT 3,351 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2025-01-27T04:59:45.6566667+00:00

Hello manav, Appologies for delays in response, we will check this and let you know the updates as soon as possible.

Sayali-MSFT 3,351 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2025-01-27T10:24:05.4833333+00:00

Hello manav, You're correct that the context provided in a bot conversation is specific to the user who initiated the interaction. To send messages to other users or perform operations on behalf of other users, you need to create a new conversation context for each target user. This involves using the Bot Framework's proactive messaging capabilities.
To send proactive messages to other users, you need to:

Store the necessary information (e.g., user IDs and tenant IDs) for the users you want to message.

Create a new conversation using the createConversationAsync method to initiate a conversation with the target user.

Send a message in the newly created conversation using the continueConversationAsync method.
Here is an example of how to send proactive messages to other users using the Bot Framework in Node.js:

const { BotFrameworkAdapter, TurnContext, ActivityTypes } = require('botbuilder'); const adapter = new BotFrameworkAdapter({ appId: process.env.MICROSOFT_APP_ID, appPassword: process.env.MICROSOFT_APP_PASSWORD }); const sendProactiveMessage = async (userId, tenantId, message) => { const conversationParameters = { isGroup: false, bot: { id: process.env.MICROSOFT_APP_ID, name: 'YourBotName' }, members: [ { id: userId } ], tenantId: tenantId, activity: { type: ActivityTypes.Message, text: message } }; await adapter.createConversationAsync( process.env.MICROSOFT_APP_ID, 'msteams', 'https://smba.trafficmanager.net/amer/', 'https://api.botframework.com', conversationParameters, async (context) => { const ref = TurnContext.getConversationReference(context.activity); await adapter.continueConversationAsync( process.env.MICROSOFT_APP_ID, ref, async (proactiveContext) => { await proactiveContext.sendActivity(message); } ); } ); }; // Example usage const userId = 'user-id-from-organization'; const tenantId = 'tenant-id'; const message = 'Hello! This is a proactive message from your bot.'; sendProactiveMessage(userId, tenantId, message) .then(() => console.log('Proactive message sent successfully')) .catch((error) => console.error('Error sending proactive message:', error));

Reference Document-https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/bot-service/bot-builder-howto-proactive-message?view=azure-bot-service-4.0&tabs=javascript
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