Teams Setup

Set up Microsoft Teams as a channel in ClearFeed

ClearFeed integrates with Microsoft Teams to bring customer requests from Teams directly into your Slack Triage Channels. This creates a unified workflow where your support team can manage and respond to Teams messages without leaving Slack.

Requirements:

• Authorization: An Azure organization admin (not just a Teams admin) must authorize ClearFeed

• Installation: By default, only MS Teams admins can install apps like ClearFeed (this is configurable in your Teams settings)

How It Works

When customers send messages in Microsoft Teams:

1. Messages automatically appear in your Slack Triage Channel

2. Support agents respond from Slack

3. Responses sync back to Teams in real-time

4. Conversations remain synchronized across both platforms

5. Requests can be converted to trackable tickets

Setting Up Teams Channel

Step 1: Connect Teams Integration

1. Go to Settings → Integrations in ClearFeed

2. Find and select Teams

3. Click Connect to start the 2-step process

Step 2: Authorize ClearFeed

1. Click Authorize in the pop-up window

2. Sign in with your Microsoft credentials

3. Complete the OAuth authorization flow

Step 3: Install ClearFeed Bot in Teams

1. Download the ClearFeed Teams App Package from the link shown

1. Open Microsoft Teams → Apps → Manage Your Apps → Upload an app

1. Upload the downloaded App Package

2. Review the Overview & Permissions pop-up

3. Click Add

1. Select which Microsoft Teams channels to sync with Slack

2. Click Go

If you're unsure about app permissions, check with your MS Teams administrator.

Step 4: Create Teams Collection

Configure which Teams channels route to Slack:

1. Go to Collections in ClearFeed dashboard

2. Create a new Teams Collection

3. Select Teams channels to monitor

4. Choose a Triage Channel in Slack

5. (Optional) Enable ticketing integration (Zendesk/Freshdesk) to auto-create tickets

Configure Workflows for your Teams Collection to get reminders for no response, SLA breaches, etc.

Working with Teams Requests

Once configured, Teams conversations automatically appear in your Triage channel:

• Customers create conversations in Teams channels

• Conversations appear in Slack Triage channel

• Agents respond from Slack

• Replies sync back to Teams

• ClearFeed keeps both platforms synchronized

Troubleshooting: Teams Channels Not Showing in ClearFeed

If your Microsoft Teams channels do not appear in the Select Channels dropdown—especially after reinstalling or reconnecting the integration—this is typically caused by the ClearFeed app still being installed inside individual Teams.

This can happen if:

• You recreated your ClearFeed account

• You reinstalled the ClearFeed app in Teams

• ClearFeed was previously added to Teams/channels in an older setup

Fix: Remove ClearFeed from All Teams Where It Was Previously Installed

Follow these steps for every Team where ClearFeed may have been added:

1. Open Microsoft Teams

2. Select the Team

3. Click Manage Team

4. Go to the Apps tab

5. Find ClearFeed

6. Click the three dots → Remove

After removing the app from all relevant Teams:

1. Reinstall the ClearFeed app/bot using the steps in the setup guide

2. Add the bot again to the Teams or channels you want to sync

3. Return to ClearFeed → Collections → Teams Collection

4. The channels should now appear in the dropdown

Why This Happens

Microsoft Teams retains app associations at the Team level even after an account is deleted or the app is re-uploaded. These stale associations prevent ClearFeed from fetching the channel list correctly until the old app installations are removed.

FAQs

1. Can ClearFeed monitor private or shared Teams channels? Answer: No. Microsoft Teams does not allow bots in private or shared channels.

2. Can we use ClearFeed with our customer's Teams account? Answer: No. You must create your own MS Teams instance and invite customers as Guest users. Best practice: Create one Team per customer in your Teams account.

3. Why do I see an error when reinstalling ClearFeed? Answer: ClearFeed may still exist in Teams Admin Center even after removal from Teams interface. Go to Teams Admin Center – Manage Apps, search for ClearFeed, and remove it. Contact your Teams admin if you don't have access.

4. What happens if a customer replies to a closed ticket thread? Answer: ClearFeed automatically creates a follow-up ticket in your ticketing system (e.g., Zendesk), ensuring new activity is captured without manual intervention.

5. Why can’t I see my Teams channels in the ClearFeed channel selector? Answer: ClearFeed may have been installed previously in certain Teams (even from an older or deleted account). Remove the ClearFeed app from Manage Team → Apps for each affected Team, then reinstall the app. After this, Teams channels will appear correctly in the ClearFeed dropdown.

6. Do I need to upload the ClearFeed app package every time I create a new Team? Answer: No. Once the ClearFeed app is uploaded to your Microsoft Teams tenant, you do not need to upload the app package again for each new Team. Simply add the ClearFeed app to the new Team from the Teams UI.