Meeting bots have crashed one too many calls, so Microsoft is giving IT departments a bouncer.
Microsoft is rolling out a Teams policy that can automatically block detected external bots from joining meetings, removing the need for organizers to approve or reject them manually.
The feature builds on Teams’ existing bot-detection system, which currently sends suspected automated participants to the lobby for organizer approval. The new setting gives IT teams a way to make that decision centrally, particularly for users handling sensitive meetings.
Microsoft announced the change in a Microsoft 365 Message Center update, MC1459141, published Aug. 21.
“With this update, organizations can strengthen meeting security by configuring Teams policies to automatically block detected external meeting bots from joining meetings,” Microsoft said in the update, according to BleepingComputer. “This gives administrators additional control over how identified bots are handled and can help reduce organizational risk.”
The new BlockDetectedBots option will sit alongside settings that allow bots or require approval when they are detected. The blocking policy is off by default, meaning administrators must explicitly enable it.
Why Microsoft is making the change
External meeting bots are commonly used for note-taking, transcription, and other automated tasks. But organizations can also face risks when employees use third-party AI assistants without IT approval.
Under the current approval model, a detected bot waits in the lobby until an organizer decides whether to let it in. That creates a potential weak point in busy meetings, where an unfamiliar participant could be approved accidentally. The new policy removes that decision from the meeting organizer. Once enabled, Teams will deny entry to external bots it identifies as bots.
Administrators can apply the policy to particular users or groups through Teams meeting policies, allowing companies to target employees who regularly handle sensitive discussions rather than immediately applying the restriction everywhere.
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The catch: Detection is not perfect
Automatic blocking does not mean Teams can identify every automated participant. Automatic blocking still depends on Teams detecting a participant as a bot. If a bot is not identified by the detection system, the blocking policy would not apply to it.
The policy also does not prevent other forms of recording or data capture, such as permitted local recording or screen capture. For that reason, BlockDetectedBots is best viewed as one additional security control rather than a complete solution for meeting privacy.
Rollout and business impact
Microsoft began rolling out the feature to Targeted Release tenants in August, with worldwide general availability expected to finish by late September 2026. The capability is available through Teams meeting protection settings and can also be managed using Teams PowerShell.
Automatic blocking could reduce the chance that detected third-party bots enter sensitive meetings without an organization’s approval. The trade-off is that legitimate transcription, accessibility, and workflow tools could also be blocked if a company relies on them.
Organizations that use external meeting assistants may therefore want to identify approved tools and test the policy with selected users before applying it more broadly.
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