Microsoft Teams Escalations

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Overview

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Requirements

• Active Microsoft Teams workspace
• Microsoft Teams integration connected (see Integration Setup below)
• Teams channel for escalation notifications
• Appropriate permissions to post messages

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Setup Instructions

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Step 1: Connect Teams Integration

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Step 2: Create Escalation Path

1. Navigate to Agents → Your Agent → Escalations
2. Click “Create Escalation Path”
3. Fill in the basic information:
   • Name: Descriptive name (e.g., “Teams Support Channel”)
   • Platform: Select “Microsoft Teams”
   • Platform Integration: Choose your connected Teams workspace

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Step 3: Configure Teams Settings

• Team ID: The Teams team to notify
• Channel ID: The specific channel for notifications
• Notification Template (optional): Custom message format
• Mention Users (optional): Automatically mention team members
• Adaptive Card Template (optional): Use custom card design

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Step 4: Set Up Triggers (Optional)

• Manual Only: Only when customer requests or AI determines need
• Message Count: After specific number of messages
• Keywords: When certain words detected

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Step 5: Save Configuration

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Configuration Options

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Getting Team and Channel IDs

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Method 1: Via Teams Web App

1. Open Teams in web browser
2. Navigate to the desired channel
3. URL format: https://teams.microsoft.com/...teams/[TEAM_ID]/channels/[CHANNEL_ID]
4. Copy the IDs from the URL

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Method 2: Via Graph Explorer

1. Go to Graph Explorer
2. Sign in with Microsoft account
3. Query: GET /me/joinedTeams to list teams
4. Query: GET /teams/{team-id}/channels to list channels

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Notification Template

🚨 **New Customer Escalation**

**Customer**: {{customer_name}}
**Channel**: {{channel_name}}
**Reason**: {{escalation_reason}}

**Conversation Summary**:
{{conversation_summary}}

[View Full Conversation]({{conversation_url}})

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Available Variables

• {{customer_name}}: Customer’s name or identifier
• {{channel_name}}: Communication channel (Live Chat, SMS, etc.)
• {{escalation_reason}}: Why the conversation was escalated
• {{conversation_summary}}: Brief summary of conversation
• {{conversation_url}}: Link to full conversation
• {{agent_name}}: Name of the AI agent
• {{timestamp}}: When escalation occurred

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Adaptive Cards

{
  "type": "AdaptiveCard",
  "version": "1.4",
  "body": [
    {
      "type": "TextBlock",
      "text": "🚨 Customer Escalation",
      "weight": "Bolder",
      "size": "Large"
    },
    {
      "type": "FactSet",
      "facts": [
        {
          "title": "Customer:",
          "value": "{{customer_name}}"
        },
        {
          "title": "Channel:",
          "value": "{{channel_name}}"
        },
        {
          "title": "Reason:",
          "value": "{{escalation_reason}}"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "type": "TextBlock",
      "text": "{{conversation_summary}}",
      "wrap": true
    }
  ],
  "actions": [
    {
      "type": "Action.OpenUrl",
      "title": "View Conversation",
      "url": "{{conversation_url}}"
    }
  ]
}

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Mentioning Users

• Example: [email protected]
• Or use Teams User ID

• Example: [email protected], [email protected]

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Escalation Triggers

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Manual Only

• Customer explicitly requests human help
• AI determines it cannot assist (low confidence)

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Message Count Trigger

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Keyword Trigger

• Urgent: “urgent”, “asap”, “emergency”
• Escalation: “manager”, “supervisor”
• Dissatisfaction: “frustrated”, “complaint”, “unacceptable”

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How It Works

1. Teams Notification: Message or Adaptive Card posted to channel
2. AI Pauses: AI agent stops responding to conversation
3. Team Notified: Team members receive Teams notification
4. Context Included: Full conversation history shared
5. Human Takeover: Team member responds through original channel

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Managing Teams Escalations

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Test Connection

1. Navigate to Agents → Your Agent → Escalations
2. Find your Teams escalation path
3. Click “Test Connection”
4. Verify test message appears in Teams channel

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Activate/Deactivate

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Edit Settings

1. Navigate to Agents → Your Agent → Escalations
2. Click the Teams escalation path
3. Update configuration
4. Click “Save Changes”

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Set Priority

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Best Practices

1. Dedicated Channel: Use specific channel for escalations
2. Rich Cards: Use Adaptive Cards for better context and actions
3. Mention On-Call: Tag current on-call support person
4. Clear Formatting: Use bold, bullets for readability
5. Action Buttons: Include links to view full conversation
6. Monitor Response: Track how quickly team responds

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Example Use Cases

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Use Case 1: General Support Escalations

• Team: Customer Success
• Channel: Support Escalations
• Trigger: Message count > 5
• Mentions: On-call support agent
• Adaptive Card: Standard escalation template

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Use Case 2: VIP Customer Issues

• Team: Account Management
• Channel: VIP Support
• Trigger: Manual (detected by AI)
• Mentions: Account manager, Support lead
• Adaptive Card: VIP customer template with priority badge

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Use Case 3: Technical Escalations

• Team: Engineering
• Channel: Customer-Reported Issues
• Trigger: Keywords (“error”, “bug”, “broken”)
• Mentions: Engineering on-call
• Adaptive Card: Technical issue template

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Using in Procedures

For urgent assistance:
{{escalate:escal_teams_support}}
I've notified our support team in Microsoft Teams. Someone will help you right away!

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Troubleshooting

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Notifications Not Appearing

• Verify Teams integration is connected and active
• Check Team ID and Channel ID are correct
• Ensure bot has permission to post in channel
• Add Support Unicorn app to the team/channel
• Test connection using “Test Connection” button

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Invalid Team or Channel ID

• Verify IDs are copied correctly (no extra spaces)
• Check that team and channel exist
• Ensure you have access to the team/channel
• Use Graph Explorer to verify IDs

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Mentions Not Working

• Verify email addresses are correct (UPNs)
• Use Azure AD email, not display name
• Ensure mentioned users have access to channel
• Check for typos in email addresses

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Adaptive Cards Not Rendering

• Validate JSON syntax using Adaptive Cards Designer
• Ensure card version is supported (1.4 or lower)
• Check that all required properties are included
• Verify template variables are correctly formatted

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Duplicate Notifications

• Check for multiple active escalation paths with same triggers
• Make trigger conditions more specific
• Set priority order to control which path fires first

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Permissions

• Send messages: Post notifications to channels
• Post Adaptive Cards: Use rich card templates
• Read team members: For @mentions
• Channel access: Added to escalation channel

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Next Steps