Microsoft Blocks External Bots from Teams Meetings with New Security Policy

Microsoft has introduced a new security policy for its Teams meeting platform that automatically blocks identified external bots from accessing meetings. This move aims to address growing concerns about unauthorized AI notetakers, transcription tools, and recording assistants entering sensitive virtual meetings.

The feature, which is in addition to existing bot-detection controls, allows IT administrators to prevent detected bots from joining meetings without requiring any action from meeting organizers.

Previously, organizations could set up Teams to direct detected external bots into the meeting lobby, where they would need to be manually approved or rejected by the organizer. However, this approach relied on human oversight and posed risks in busy environments.

The new configuration option, BlockDetectedBots, can be implemented across an entire organization or assigned to specific users and groups through Teams meeting policies.