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Chatbots in Groups

Wayne Speight
  • Updated

 

Chatbots are also available to be added to group chats, allowing them to interact with multiple users simultaneously in channel conversations.
With this, organizations can now add chatbots to group channels, enabling broader communication and automation capabilities across teams.
 
Framework Documents: Click here
 

Key Features

  • Admin-Only Access: Only administrators can add chatbots to group conversations
  • New "Add Chatbot" Option: Look for the chatbot option in the invite modal when adding members to a group chat
  • Global Chatbots Only (V1): Only organization-wide chatbots can be added to group chats (not team or space-specific bots)
  • No Limit on Bot Count: You can add multiple chatbots to a single group channel as needed
  • Message Types: There are no limitations in terms of types of messages. Quick replies and cards can be sent to a group chat via chatbot.

Tagging Chatbots in Conversations

  • Mention to Activate: Tag a chatbot at the beginning of your message (e.g., @BotName your message here) to trigger a response
  • Text-Only Messages: When tagging chatbots, you can only send text messages (no media attachments)
  • Single User Tag: You can only tag the chatbot - tagging additional users in the same message isn't allowed
  • Main channel only: Tag a chatbot in a thread should not be allowed since the reply won't have the parent message ID to associate the message with the thread

Calls with Chatbots Present

  • Call options are still enabled: Voice and video calls remain available in group chats that include chatbots
  • Bots Don't Count Toward Limits: Chatbots don't count against the maximum participant limit for calls
  • Bots Won't Join Calls: Chatbots will not be invited to or participate in voice/video calls

Managing Chatbots in Channels

  • No Muting or Blocking: You cannot mute or block chatbots like regular users
  • Removal Option: Use the block option to remove a chatbot from the channel
  • No Presence Indicators: Chatbots won't show online/offline status indicators

Availability

This feature is controlled by an organization-level setting. Please contact support to enable this feature 
 

Important Considerations

Privacy and Content Awareness

  • When you tag a chatbot in a group chat, the bot receives the message and may respond based on its programming
  • Be mindful that chatbot responses in group settings may not always be appropriate for all participants
  • Avoid sharing personal or sensitive information when interacting with chatbots in group channels

 

Content Retention

If a chatbot is deleted from your organization, its previous messages will remain in the chat history, similar to how messages from departed users are handled.
 

How to Get Started

  1. Confirm with your administrator that the "Chatbots in Group Chats" setting is enabled for your organization
  2. Open an existing group chat or create a new one
  3. Click the invite/add members option
  4. Select "Add Chatbot" from the modal
  5. Choose the chatbot(s) you want to add to the channel
    1. A chatbot can also be added via customer API

  6. Start interacting by tagging the chatbot or by sending a message to the group via customer API.

     

Need Help?

If you have questions about using chatbots in group chats or need assistance with setup, please get in touch.

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