Retirement of Office 365 connectors within Microsoft Teams

Update 10/16/2024: New information related to Office 365 Connectors Retirement in Teams – Webhook URL Migration

As shared in the last communication, we are publishing guidance for owners of webhook-based connectors to update their URLs with a new structure. To allow ample time for replacing URLs, connector owners will have until January 31, 2025, which is an extension from our previous deadline of December 31, 2024. See below for complete guidance.

Webhook-based connectors within the O365 Connectors service in Teams are transitioning to a new URL structure due to the implementation of further service hardening updates. During this transition, you may receive notifications to update your configured connector to use the new URL. We strongly recommend that you update your connector immediately to prevent any disruption to connector services. URLs for all webhook-based connectors must be updated by January 31, 2025 for the connectors to continue posting messages into Teams. Keep in mind the entire O365 Connectors service in Teams will be retired at the end of 2025, so consider moving your webhooks to the Workflows app within Teams to avoid conducting another migration. Documentation: Create incoming webhooks with Workflows for Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Support

This change is needed only for webhook-based Connectors such as Incoming Webhook and third-party connectors where a URL is provided for posting messages. The change is not required for polling-based connectors such as RSS.

To update webhook URLs for existing O365 Connectors, follow these steps below or within this documentation: Manage Microsoft 365 connectors and custom connectors – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn

Go to Manage Channel in a Teams channel, select Edit under the Connectors option, and select Configured section. Review the existing connections listed on this page.
Do one of the following to generate a new URL:
- For connectors that contain a webhook URL, select Manage and Update URL.
- For other types of connectors, remove the connector and reconfigure the connector to generate a new URL.
Replace the old URL with the new URL (or the new connection in the service that triggers the post). You’ll know the new URL is ready for you to copy when the Configure page shows a message that the URL is updated (“Url is up-to-date”).

Additional documentation:

Create incoming webhooks with Workflows for Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Support

Browse and add workflows in Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Support

Note about parity features for the Workflows app

We are currently developing a method for webhooks in the Workflow app to support the following scenarios and will share more details before March 30, 2025.

Post messageCard formatted message payloads (so you do not have to reformat the payload to adaptive card)
Post to private channels

— End of update —

Update 07/23/2024: We understand and appreciate the feedback that customers have shared with us regarding the timeline provided for the migration from Office 365 connectors. We have extended the retirement timeline through December 2025 to provide ample time to migrate to another solution such as Power Automate, an app within Microsoft Teams, or Microsoft Graph.

— End of update —

Office connectors in Microsoft Teams deliver content and service updates directly from third-party services into a Teams channel. By using Office connectors, users can receive updates from popular services such as Azure DevOps Services, Trello, Wunderlist, GitHub, and more. Office connectors post these updates directly into the chat stream. This functionality makes it easy for all team members to stay in sync and informed on relevant information.

Why are we retiring Office 365 connectors?

Starting August 15th, 2024 we will be retiring the Office 365 connectors feature from Microsoft Teams. We recommend Power Automate workflows as the solution to relay information into and out of Teams in a scalable, flexible, and secure way.

Power Automate workflows not only offer a much deeper catalog of Office connectors (see all connectors) but also ensure that your integrations are built on an architecture that can grow with your business needs and provide maximum security of your information. These changes are aligned to the Microsoft Secure Future Initiative, and our company-wide priority to safeguard our customers from cyber threats. Users currently utilizing Office 365 connectors should transition to Power Automate to maintain smooth operation of their services.

We will gradually roll out this change in waves:

Wave 1 – effective August 15th, 2024: All new Connector creation will be blocked within all clouds
Wave 2 – effective October 1st, 2024: All connectors within all clouds will stop working

What’s the new experience within Microsoft Teams?

The Workflows app in Microsoft Teams has received dozens of updates in the last year to more deeply integrate into your stream of work. For newcomers who aren’t yet familiar, workflows save time, reduce mistakes, and boost productivity across various activities. They facilitate approval processes, project updates, and any routine operation, offering notifications on task changes, quick actions from chats, improved meeting management, and the ability to swiftly customize workflows.

Learn more about the Workflows app here.

How do I transition from Office 365 connectors to Workflows?

If you are currently using Office 365 connectors in Microsoft Teams, you will need to migrate your existing Office connectors to Workflows before the relevant retirement dates above. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Workflows app in Teams and click on the “Create” tab. Choose the type of workflow you want from a template, or from scratch:

If you choose to create from a template, you can browse or search for workflow templates that match your Office connectors’ functionality. For example, if you use the Trello connector, you can find templates for creating cards, updating lists, or posting messages based on Trello actions.
If you choose to create from scratch, you can select the trigger and action for your workflow. You can use many of the same services that you used with your Office 365 connectors or explore new ones from the hundreds of Office connectors available in Power Automate. Once you have created your workflow, you will name it and add a description. You can also test it, share it, or edit it anytime from the “My flows” tab.

2. Open the Workflows app within the chat or channel by right-clicking on the conversation, or by clicking on More options (…). From there you can also browse a list of templates that are specific to the chat or channel context that match your current Office connectors’ functionality.