Send a message in Teams using Power Automate

This article explains different ways in which you can send a message in Teams.

You can use Power Automate to set up a flow that sends messages to a Teams channel or group chat using the Microsoft Teams connector. Messages can be posted either as the user who is signed into the connector in the flow, or by using the Flow bot.

Cloud flow setup

The scenarios in this article use a cloud flow to notify a channel or a group chat.

1. Sign in to Power Automate.

2. Select My flows > New flow > Automated cloud flow.

3. Enter a name for your flow.

4. In the Search all triggers field, start typing When a file is created (properties only) - SharePoint and select it as your trigger when it appears in the list.

5. Select Create. This creates a new cloud flow with the When a file is created (properties only) trigger card in the center of the designer screen. The trigger card might show Invalid parameters in red. This is because you need to configure it.

   Power Automate allows you to use either the new designer or the classic designer to configure your cloud flow. The screenshots in this article use the new designer, but the steps are similar in both designers. Learn more (with examples) in Identify differences between the new designer and the classic designer.

6. In the designer, select the When a file is created (properties only) card to open the configuration pane to the left.

7. Configure your trigger by selecting a site address and library name for the SharePoint site from the Site Address and Library Name dropdown menus.

   

8. Close the panel by selecting (<<) in the top right corner of the panel.

   Notice that the Invalid parameters message is now gone.

9. To add an action to this flow, select the plus sign (+).

10. Search for the Post a message in a chat or channel action, and then select it under the Microsoft Teams connector.

Message sender options

The Post a message in a chat or channel action can send a message in the following two ways:

• As the Flow bot: In this method, the message gets sent as the Flow bot instead of any individual users. Use this sender option if you don't want to tie the message to any specific user and want to use a generic sender instead.

• As a User: In this method, the message gets sent as the user who is signed in to the Teams connector in the Flow (generally the Flow owner). This method can be used when the message needs to get sent as a regular user.

The Post as and Post in options within the action control the combinations of how messages can be posted in Teams.

Post a message as the Flow bot in a Teams channel

To send a message as the Flow bot in a Teams channel, follow these steps.

1. Perform the procedure in Cloud flow setup.

2. In the Post as dropdown menu, select Flow bot.

3. In the Post in dropdown menu, select Channel.

   After you select these options, more dynamic inputs appear.

4. In the Team dropdown menu, select the team where you want to send the message.

5. In the Channel dropdown menu, select the channel where you want to send the message.

6. In the Message field, enter the message you want to send. To add a dynamic value to the message, do the following:

   1. Place the cursor where the input should appear.
   2. Select the lightning bolt to the right of the message field.
   3. Select an input from the list. If you don't see the input you want, select See more to expand the list.

   

Post a message as the Flow bot in an existing named group chat

To send a message as the Flow bot in a group chat, follow these steps.

1. Perform the procedure in Cloud flow setup.

2. In the Post as dropdown menu, select Flow bot.

3. In the Post in dropdown menu, select Group chat.

4. In the Group chat dropdown menu, select a group chat to post the message in.

5. In the Message field, enter the message you want to send. To add a dynamic value to the message, do the following:

   1. Place the cursor where the input should appear.
   2. Select the lightning bolt to the right of the message field.
   3. Select an input from the list. If you don't see the input you want, select See more to expand the list.

   

   By default, Teams lists only the 50 most recent group chats in the dropdown menu. If you want to send a message to a new group chat, use the option in Create a new group chat and post a message to it as the Flow bot.

6. Close the panel by selecting (<<) in the top right corner of the panel.

Create a new group chat and post a message to it as the Flow bot

The Post message in a chat or channel action can be combined with the Create a chat action to create a new group chat and post a message to it. This is useful in scenarios where a chat might not already exist for this topic and one needs to be created.

To create a new group chat, follow these steps.

1. Perform the procedure in Cloud flow setup.

2. Select the (+) above the Post a message in a chat or channel action.

3. In the Add an action field, search for and select the Create a chat action.

4. In the Members to add field, add the members who need to be in the chat using their emails. Separate emails with a semi-colon.

5. Enter the title for the chat if needed.

   

6. In the designer, select the Post a message in a chat or channel action to configure it.

7. In the Post as dropdown menu, select Flow bot.

8. In the Post in dropdown menu, select Group chat.

9. In the Group chat dropdown menu, scroll to the bottom of the list and select Enter custom value.

10. Select the lightning bolt, and then select Conversation ID from the Create a chat list.

Post a message as the Flow bot directly to a user

When you send a message as the Flow bot, you have the added option of posting directly to a user. This is useful in notification scenarios where you want to contact an individual user using the Flow bot.

1. Perform the procedure in Cloud flow setup.

2. In the designer, select the Post a message in a chat or channel action to configure it.

3. In the Post as dropdown menu, select Flow bot.

4. In the Post in dropdown menu, select Chat with Flow bot.

5. In the Recipient field, specify the user you want to message and the specific message you want to send.

6. In the Message field, enter the message you want to send. To add a dynamic value to the message, do the following:

   1. Place the cursor where the input should appear.
   2. Select the lightning bolt to the right of the message field.
   3. Select an input from the list. If you don't see the input you want, select See more to expand the list.

   

Post a message as the user in a Teams Channel

To send a message as the user in a Teams channel, follow these steps.

1. Perform the procedure in Cloud flow setup.

2. In the Post as dropdown menu, select User

3. In the Post in dropdown menu, select Channel.

   These actions display two dynamic inputs that let you specify the team and channel to send the message and add your message in the message field.

   

Post a message as the user in an existing named group chat

To send a message as the user in a Group chat, follow these steps.

1. Perform the procedure in Cloud flow setup.
2. In the Post as dropdown menu, select User.
3. In the Post in dropdown menu, select Group chat.
4. In the Group chat field, select the group chat to post the message in.
5. In the Message field, enter the message you want to send. To add a dynamic value to the message, do the following:
   1. Place the cursor where the input should appear.
   2. Select the lightning bolt to the right of the message field.
   3. Select an input from the list. If you don't see the input you want, select See more to expand the list.

By default, Teams only lists the 50 most recent named group chats in the drop-down. If you want to send a message to a new group chat, use the option in Create a new group chat and post a message.

Create a new group chat and post a message

The Post message in a chat or channel action can be combined with the Create a chat action to create a new group chat and post a message to it. This is useful in scenarios where a chat might not already exist for this topic and one needs to be created.

1. Perform the procedure in Cloud flow setup.

2. Select the plus sign (+) above the Post a message in a chat or channel action.

3. In the Add an action field, search for and select the Create a chat action.

4. In the Members to add field, add the members who need to be in the chat using their emails. Separate emails with a semi-colon.

5. Enter the title for the chat if needed.

6. In the designer, select the Post a message in a chat or channel action to configure it.

7. In the Post as dropdown menu, select User.

8. In the Post in dropdown menu, select Group chat.

9. In the Group chat dropdown menu, scroll to the bottom of the list and select Enter custom value.

10. Select the lightning bolt, and then select Conversation ID from the Create a chat list.

    

Mention a user in any message

Mentions are a great way to get the attention of a user in Teams. You can combine any of the previous actions and add a mention in the message to a user or channel.

1. Perform the procedure in Cloud flow setup.

2. Select the plus sign (+) above the Post a message in a chat or channel action.

3. In the Add an action field, search for and select the Get an @mention token for a user action.

4. In the User field, specify the email of the user you want to mention in the User field. This action generates a dynamic value that can be used in the message field of the Post a message in chat or channel action.

   The User field only accepts a single user input. If you want to mention multiple users, you need to add multiple instances of this action within the flow.

5. Add the mention dynamic value generated from Get an @mention token for a user action in any of the previous Post a message in chat or channel action scenarios.

   The Get an @mention token for a user action only supports mentioning users and not channels or Teams at the moment.

   

Known issues and limitations

• By default, Teams only lists the 50 most recent group chats in the drop-down list.
• The Get an @mention token for a user is only for mentioning users. Mentioning channels or teams isn't supported.
• Sending a message in private channels isn't supported.

Related information

Training: Use the Teams connector in Power Automate (module)