An AI colleague in Teams is an assistant you write to in a chat or speak to in a meeting. Bill & Ben has two: Bill plans, Ben does the engineering. They say they are AI, answer only people your admin allows, and ask before anything risky.
This post says what that means in daily work. It also says what is not open yet.
What is an AI colleague in Microsoft Teams?
It is an assistant that works where your team already talks. You write to Bill in a Teams chat or say it in a meeting. No new app to learn.
There are two of them:
| Agent | What it does |
|---|---|
| Bill | Talks ideas through, weighs the options and turns decisions into tasks. |
| Ben | Builds what you agreed, tests it and opens the pull request. |
Either agent can ask the other for help.
What can you ask for in a Teams chat?
You can ask Bill for product and commercial work, and Ben for engineering work. Open a direct chat with one of them, or mention one in a channel. Write what you want in plain words.
A typing indicator shows while the agent works. Long answers are split into several messages.
Some examples:
- Ask Bill to talk an idea through and weigh the options.
- Ask Bill to turn what you decided into tasks.
- Ask Ben to fix a bug. Ben opens a branch, runs the tests and prepares a pull request. The result comes back to your chat.
Ben works in a sealed workspace, runs the tests and opens a draft pull request. Pushing code to main still waits for a person's yes.
What happens when you invite an agent to a meeting?
The agent joins, says what it is, and answers when you speak to it. In a chat with Bill, write "Bill, join this meeting" and paste the Teams link. For Ben, ask Bill, who passes the request on.
The agent appears as Bill (AI) or Ben (AI). When it joins, it says once that it is an AI assistant and that the meeting is transcribed.
During the call:
- Speak to the agent by name at the start of a sentence, for example "Bill, what did we decide on pricing?".
- It answers in the meeting chat and by voice.
- A longer task starts with "On it", and the result is posted in the meeting chat.
After the call, Bill sends a short summary and proposes work items. You pick which ones to create. Nothing is created in Azure Boards until a person confirms.
Who is allowed to ask, and who decides?
Your admin decides. Your admin sets who may ask or command an agent, and each request is checked against what that person may do. The agent answers only people your admin has allowed.
If you are not allowed, the agent says so. In a chat it says: "I can only take requests from people your admin has allowed." If the check cannot be made, the answer is no.
In a group chat or channel, nothing works until an admin enables the agent there first.
Anything risky waits for a yes. A card with Approve and Deny buttons arrives in your direct chat with the agent. Our post on approvals before risky AI steps goes into detail.
How do people know they are talking to an AI?
The agents tell them. Both tell people they are AI assistants before they first answer. In a meeting, the name ends with "(AI)", and the agent says the meeting is transcribed.
How does your admin set it up?
Your admin installs the Teams app from the console and chooses who may ask what. Today the admin installs an app package from the console.
To see what it costs, read the pricing page. The FAQ answers common questions about trials and plans. The product docs have a page for Teams chat and one for meetings.
What is not available yet?
Three things, in plain words.
- The Teams app store listing is coming soon. Until then, an admin installs an app package from the console.
- We are still collecting proof on live systems. Teams chat and meetings are built. We are still collecting end-to-end evidence with a live Microsoft 365 account.
- We state no setup time. We have not measured one, so we give none.
You can try Bill & Ben free for 14 days, with no card. Start from the pricing page.