How to Implement a "Notification-Only Bot" in Microsoft Teams Without Using Bot Framework SDK

Question

How to Implement a "Notification-Only Bot" in Microsoft Teams Without Using Bot Framework SDK

石川敦己 255

I have a question regarding the implementation of a bot for a Microsoft Teams app, specifically for a "notification-only bot."

Most implementation guides I’ve found suggest using the Bot Framework SDK to set up proactive messaging. For reference, I’ve been reviewing this documentation, which has been particularly helpful.

However, our use case only involves sending notifications to users without requiring user interaction. Setting up endpoints with Express or deploying a standalone bot seems excessive in terms of effort and cost. Essentially, all we need is a way to send requests to the bot/Teams app, but building a mechanism to receive requests feels unnecessary.

After reviewing the documentation, I wondered if it’s possible to send notifications to users via the bot, similar to calling a standard REST API, without the need to create endpoints for the bot. Specifically, I believe it may be achievable using these three components:

Endpoint: https://smba.trafficmanager.net/teams/v3/conversations
Access token
Parameters: user ID, tenant ID, bot ID (and possibly conversation ID?)

Our goal is to minimize dependencies, so we want to avoid using the Bot Framework SDK or Teams Toolkit unless absolutely necessary. Additionally, we already have an established architecture and programming language for our project, making adopting these tools impractical from cost and operational perspectives.

Is this approach feasible, or would the bot still require a mechanism to handle incoming requests?

Looking forward to your response.

Sayali-MSFT 3,851 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-01-17T08:08:50.9833333+00:00

@石川敦己, Thank you for your inquiry about your Teams app development issue!

According to the Microsoft documentation, notification-only bots are designed to send notifications to users without requiring user interaction. You can enable the isNotificationOnly field in your app manifest to specify that the bot is notification-only.

You can use the REST API to send notifications to users. The endpoint you mentioned (https://smba.trafficmanager.net/teams/v3/conversations) is correct. You need to include the access token and the necessary parameters such as user ID, tenant ID, and bot ID

Ref: Send notifications with a Bot - Teams | Microsoft Learn
石川敦己 255 Reputation points

2025-01-18T05:58:05.4966667+00:00

Thank you so much, @Sayali-MSFT , for your helpful response!

I now understand that it is possible to send notifications to a bot via the REST API without deploying the bot itself. I also found this documentation (Bot Framework REST API Reference), which has clarified my implementation approach significantly. This is all thanks to your guidance!

I do have one additional question:

From the above documentation, I reviewed the ConversationParameters object (ConversationParameters) and noticed that it includes many parameters. I’m particularly concerned about the Activity object (Activity), which has an extensive list of properties.

Are all the properties of the Activity object required? If not, which ones are mandatory? Additionally, do you know of any simpler way to construct the Activity object?

Looking forward to your insights. Thank you again!
石川敦己 255 Reputation points

2025-01-19T06:06:52.2333333+00:00
Hello, @Sayali-MSFT ,

I previously asked an additional question regarding the Activity object, but I was able to resolve it on my end. After testing, I found that the following parameters were sufficient to send a request:

curl -X POST "https://smba.trafficmanager.net/teams/v3/conversations" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer ACCESS_TOKEN" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "bot": { "id": "BOT ID", "name": "BOT NAME" }, "members": [ { "id": "USER ID" } ], "channelData": { "tenant": { "id": "TENANT ID" } } }'

Thanks to your guidance, I was able to resolve this issue successfully. I sincerely appreciate your support!

Thank you very much!
Sayali-MSFT 3,851 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-01-20T07:47:46.26+00:00

Hello @石川敦己 ,
Glad to hear that your issue is resolved
We would appreciate it if you could share your valuable feedback via the Microsoft Teams Developer Community Response Feedback link?

Accepted answer

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Sayali-MSFT 3,851 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-01-17T08:08:50.9833333+00:00

@石川敦己, Thank you for your inquiry about your Teams app development issue!

According to the Microsoft documentation, notification-only bots are designed to send notifications to users without requiring user interaction. You can enable the isNotificationOnly field in your app manifest to specify that the bot is notification-only.

You can use the REST API to send notifications to users. The endpoint you mentioned (https://smba.trafficmanager.net/teams/v3/conversations) is correct. You need to include the access token and the necessary parameters such as user ID, tenant ID, and bot ID

Ref: Send notifications with a Bot - Teams | Microsoft Learn
石川敦己 255 Reputation points

2025-01-18T05:58:05.4966667+00:00

Thank you so much, @Sayali-MSFT , for your helpful response!

I now understand that it is possible to send notifications to a bot via the REST API without deploying the bot itself. I also found this documentation (Bot Framework REST API Reference), which has clarified my implementation approach significantly. This is all thanks to your guidance!

I do have one additional question:

From the above documentation, I reviewed the ConversationParameters object (ConversationParameters) and noticed that it includes many parameters. I’m particularly concerned about the Activity object (Activity), which has an extensive list of properties.

Are all the properties of the Activity object required? If not, which ones are mandatory? Additionally, do you know of any simpler way to construct the Activity object?

Looking forward to your insights. Thank you again!
石川敦己 255 Reputation points

2025-01-19T06:06:52.2333333+00:00

Hello, @Sayali-MSFT ,

I previously asked an additional question regarding the Activity object, but I was able to resolve it on my end. After testing, I found that the following parameters were sufficient to send a request:

curl -X POST "https://smba.trafficmanager.net/teams/v3/conversations" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer ACCESS_TOKEN" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "bot": { "id": "BOT ID", "name": "BOT NAME" }, "members": [ { "id": "USER ID" } ], "channelData": { "tenant": { "id": "TENANT ID" } } }'

Thanks to your guidance, I was able to resolve this issue successfully. I sincerely appreciate your support!

Thank you very much!
Sayali-MSFT 3,851 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-01-20T07:47:46.26+00:00

Hello @石川敦己 ,
Glad to hear that your issue is resolved
We would appreciate it if you could share your valuable feedback via the Microsoft Teams Developer Community Response Feedback link?

Answer 1

Hi @石川敦己

Great to know that the issue has already been resolved and thanks for sharing the solution so that others experiencing the same thing can easily reference this! **Since the Microsoft Q&A community has a policy that the question author cannot accept their own answer. They can only accept answers by others, I'll repost your solution in case you'd like to Accept the answer to help more users who encounter the same problem.
**
Case title: How to Implement a "Notification-Only Bot" in Microsoft Teams Without Using Bot Framework SDK

Issue Symptom: How to Implement a "Notification-Only Bot" in Microsoft Teams Without Using Bot Framework SDK

Resolution: According to the Microsoft documentation, notification-only bots are designed to send notifications to users without requiring user interaction. You can enable the field in your app manifest to specify that the bot is notification-only. isNotificationOnly

You can use the REST API to send notifications to users. The endpoint you mentioned (https://smba.trafficmanager.net/teams/v3/conversations) is correct. You need to include the access token and the necessary parameters such as user ID, tenant ID, and bot ID

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How to Implement a "Notification-Only Bot" in Microsoft Teams Without Using Bot Framework SDK

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