Microsoft Teams: connect your people
Connecting a Team lets Colloquial post into its channels. Linking people is what lets Colloquial message someone directly, credit them when they answer, and let them confirm a Fact from inside a chat.
There are two ways to get people linked, and you can use both:
- Link them yourself from the People tab, using your Microsoft Entra directory.
- Ask a channel to self-link — Colloquial posts a message and each person links their own account.
This article assumes the integration is already connected. If it isn't, start with Microsoft Teams: set up the integration.
First: approve directory access
Both paths work better once Colloquial can read your Microsoft Entra directory, and the People tab needs it. That's a separate approval from installing the app, and it has to be given by someone who administers Microsoft 365 for your organisation.
If it hasn't been given yet, Settings → Microsoft Teams → People shows this panel instead of your directory.
- If you administer Microsoft 365 — choose Provide consent, approve in Microsoft, then come back and choose Sync.
- If you don't — choose Copy approval link and send it to whoever does. The link doesn't expire and is safe to forward.
What Colloquial reads. Names, email addresses and account status — nothing else. It does not read messages, files or calendars. Nothing syncs until the approval is given.
Path 1 — Link people from the People tab
Go to Settings → Microsoft Teams → People. This lists everyone in your Microsoft Teams directory alongside how Colloquial currently sees them.
The bar across the top shows how many of your Colloquial users are linked to Teams, and when you last asked a channel to self-link.
What the statuses mean
| Status | What it means | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Linked | This person's Teams account is connected to their Colloquial account. | Nothing — they're done. |
| Ready to link | Their email address matches an existing Colloquial user. | Choose Link. |
| No Colloquial account | Nobody in Colloquial uses that email address. | Choose Invite to send them a Colloquial invitation. |
| External guest | A guest account in your Microsoft tenant with no usable email address. | Nothing. These can't be matched or invited. If they need Colloquial, invite them from Settings → People using a real email address. |
Linking and inviting
- Use the search box and the status filter to narrow the list.
- Choose Link or Invite on a single row, or tick several rows and use the Link and Invite buttons above the table.
Inviting sends a Colloquial invitation email and gives each person your organisation's default role. When they accept, their Teams identity is already attached.
If your organisation is provisioned via SCIM, the Invite buttons are switched off. Your identity provider decides who has a Colloquial account — create the user there, and they'll appear here as Ready to link.
Keeping the list current
The directory is fetched from Microsoft and held for up to 24 hours. There's no scheduled sync — choose Sync to fetch it again now, for example after adding people in Microsoft 365.
Colloquial also matches people automatically by email address: once directory access is approved, anyone you add to Colloquial later is linked to their Teams account without you doing anything, as long as the email addresses match.
Path 2 — Ask a channel to self-link
Rather than linking people one by one, you can ask a whole channel to link themselves. This is useful when people are already active in Teams but new to Colloquial, and it works without you knowing who's who.
- On the People tab, choose Channel self-linking.
- Pick the channel to post into. Only channels you enabled during setup are listed.
- Check the preview, then choose Post to channel.
Colloquial posts a card into that channel inviting members to link their account.
Each person chooses the link, confirms it's them, and they're connected. Their side of it is covered in Link your Microsoft Teams account to Colloquial.
The People tab records when you last posted a prompt and which channel it went to, so you can see whether it's worth asking again.
People who link themselves this way may still show as Ready to link in the People tab. That's expected — self-linking and directory linking connect the accounts in slightly different ways, and choosing Link as well does no harm.
Which path should I use?
- Rolling out to a known group — use the People tab. You control exactly who is linked and who gets invited, and you can see progress in one place.
- Rolling out to a busy channel, or you can't get directory access approved — post a self-linking prompt. It needs nothing from Microsoft beyond the app itself, and it doubles as an introduction to Colloquial.
Troubleshooting
"Couldn't refresh the directory"
Colloquial couldn't reach Microsoft this time and is showing the most recent data it has. Try Sync again in a few minutes.
"Directory access needs approving again"
Your tenant approved Colloquial before it needed to read the directory. The fix is the same as a first-time approval — Provide consent, or send the approval link to whoever administers Microsoft 365.
Someone is missing from the list
Choose Sync to fetch the directory again. If they're still missing, check they have an active account in your Microsoft 365 tenant.
Someone shows as "No Colloquial account" but I know they have one
Matching is by email address, so this happens when the address in Microsoft 365 doesn't match the one on their Colloquial account. Line the two addresses up, choose Sync, and they'll move to Ready to link. Already-linked people aren't affected by an address change.