Article Summary
The Chat Connector—a service within the Unified Connector App—enables Teams Users to exchange chat messages (with rich text and emojis) and share files with users of external chat applications, including Slack and Webex by Cisco.
This article guides Microsoft Teams Users in using the Unified Connector App to communicate with Slack users.
IMPORTANT UPDATE
To simplify deployment and ongoing management, we are consolidating four separate connector applications into a single Unified Connector App.
This approach reduces complexity for both enterprise administrators and end users by eliminating the need to install, configure, and manage multiple Microsoft Teams applications. With the Unified Connector App, organizations benefit from a single installation that supports PBX, SMS, Call, and Chat services, resulting in a more streamlined setup experience, fewer configuration points, and a more consistent user interface.
Additional benefits of this consolidation include simplified updates and version control, improved reliability through shared services, reduced administrative overhead, and a clearer support and troubleshooting model.
Starting with ConnecttoTeams Portal upgrade 2.18.4, the Unified Connector App also includes AI support, allowing users to perform actions such as sending SMS messages using plain, everyday language directly from the Chat tab — no special commands or navigation required.
Recommendation
The CallApp and Chat services are now available exclusively through the Unified Connector App.
New enterprise deployments are therefore strongly encouraged to use the Unified Connector App for PBX and SMS, rather than relying on standalone connector apps.
The end of life date for PBX and SMS Connector Apps will be announced soon.
Before You Begin
Your organization's Enterprise Admin must deploy and sync the Unified Connector App to the app catalog.
Know When the App Is Ready
In Microsoft Teams, navigate to the Teams app catalog.
Under Built for your org, locate the app.
Note: The app name may vary if it has been customized by your service provider.
The app is ready when the button says “Open”.
Once available, select Open to start using the app.
For quicker access in the future, you can optionally pin the app to your Microsoft Teams sidebar.
If the button continues to display Add for more than 24 hours, contact your enterprise administrator and request that they upgrade the app in the Enterprise portal by increasing the version number and redeploying the app.
Checking if Chat Connector is Active
Open the Unified Connector App, click on the Chat tab, and in the compose message box, enter the following phrase:
echo <message>
If the entered message is echoed back, it confirms that your app is up and running.
Getting Help Instructions
Open the Unified Connector App, click on the Chat tab, and in the compose message box, enter:
help chat
You will be given a list of commands on how you can use the Chat Connector.
NEW IN PORTALS UPGRADE 2.18.4
AI POWERED LANGUAGE SUPPORT
You can now connect with Slack workspaces, invite Slack users, and even send SMS messages by simply typing what you want to do in plain English - no need to memorize specific commands.
Connect a Slack Workspace
Connecting with Slack - Two Ways
Starting with ConnecttoTeams portals upgrade 2.18.4, the Chat Connector in Unified Connector App includes built-in AI that understand natural language. This means you have two ways to accomplish every task: you can type a simple everyday requests in your own workds, or you can use the traditional commands. Both methods work equally well — choose whichever feels most comfortable to you.
Heads up: Traditional commands will be deprecated in a future release. We recommend starting to use natural language prompts now so the transition is seamless.
Before you can chat with a Slack user, the TeamsLink App needs to be installed in their Slack workspace. You can kick off this process right from the Chat tab.
Option A: Use Natural Language (Recommended)
Simply describe what you want to do in the compose message box. Here are some examples of what you can type:
“Connect me with Slack Workspace acmecorp.slack.com”
“I want to connect with acmecorp in Slack“
“I’d like to talk to Jewel at acmecorp in Slack”
“I’d like to talk to Jewel at ireply in Slack”
The AI will understand your intent and send the workspace connection email automatically. You’ll see a confirmation message just like you would with the traditional command.
Option B: Use the Traditional Command
If you prefer, you can still use the specific command in the Chat tab compose box:
addslackworkspace <your Slack contact's email address>
What Happens Next
If you entered a valid email address, you’ll receive a confirmation that an email has been sent. This email contains a unique URL for your contact to install the TeamsLink app in their Slack workspace.
Your contact follows the link and clicks “Install Teamslink” on the consent page, choosing the appropriate Slack workspace.
Once the Slack administrator installs the app, it becomes available to all users in that Slack workspace.
You’ll get a notification in Teams confirming the successful deployment. You can then invite individual Slack users, as detailed in the next section.
NOTE
If the email address is invalid, you’ll get an error message - but a URL will still be provided for you to share with your contact manually.
Invite a Specific Slack UserInvite a Specific Slack User
Once the TeamsLink app is installed in your contact’s Slack workspace (Step 1), you can invite individual Slack users to chat with you.
Option A: Use Natural Language (Recommended)
Type a plain-English request in the Chat tab compose box. For example:
“I'd like to talk to joe@acmecorp.com in Slack.”
“Connect with Jane Doe of acmecorp via slack”
The AI will recognize that you want to send a chat invitation and will process it for you.
Important: Do not begin your messages with these words
The Chat tab also supports traditional commands that use the following reserved keywords:
echo
help
invite
initiate
When using natural language to instruct the AI, do not begin your message with any of these keywords, as the app will interpret it as a traditional command rather than an AI prompt.
In a future update, these reserved keywords will be removed, and the Chat tab will fully support natural language processing for all inputs without restriction.
Option B: Use the Traditional Command
You can also use the direct command in the Chat tab compose box:
invite <your Slack contact’s TeamsLink ID>
What Happens Next
You’ll see a notification confirming that the invite has been sent.
The Slack user will receive the invite in the TeamsLink app and must click the Confirm button.
Once they confirm, you’ll get a notification in MS Teams with a Connect button.
Click Connect and send the first message to activate your conversation.
Clicking Connect button will redirect you to a Teams chat which now serves as your direct chat with the Slack user. Continue to chat with the Slack user here.
The Slack user will receive a new channel titled with your name, where your messages will be displayed and visible to all added members.
Chatting with a Connected Slack Contact
After the invite is accepted and the connection is established, open the chat labeled with your Slack contact’s name to begin messaging.
Important - Do not delete!
Do not remove the extra user in the People list (labeled “DoNotDelete Relay”) and do not remove the Unified app from the Agents and bots list in the chat. These are required for the chat connection to work.
Adding More Teams Users
To allow additional Teams users to communicate with the Slack participants, simply add them to the group chat.
