Why is the Avoma Assistant held in the Microsoft Teams meeting lobby?
If you notice the Avoma Assistant waiting in your Microsoft Teams meeting lobby, this is expected behavior and not a cause for concern. Microsoft Teams has a built-in security and compliance mechanism that automatically detects external AI note-taking and transcription bots when they try to join a meeting.
The Avoma Assistant is a trusted, secure tool that joins your calls solely to capture notes and transcripts on your behalf. Being held in the lobby doesn’t indicate a security threat — it’s a standard Teams safeguard that gives meeting organizers full awareness and control over automated participants entering their sessions. Your meeting data stays private and is handled in strict accordance with Avoma’s security and compliance standards.
How meeting policies affect the Avoma Assistant
Whether the Avoma Assistant joins your meetings automatically or is held in the lobby depends entirely on your organization’s Teams meeting policy. Microsoft Teams gives administrators two modes for handling external bots, controlled by the ExternalBotAccessMode attribute:
|
Policy mode |
What it does |
|
Require approval when detected (default) |
Teams detects the bot during the join process and automatically places it in the meeting lobby — regardless of the meeting’s general lobby settings. The bot stays there and will not begin recording until an organizer or presenter manually admits it. |
|
Do not detect bots |
Bot detection is turned off. The Avoma Assistant bypasses the lobby and joins the meeting automatically, behaving just like any other external participant. |
How to admit the Avoma Assistant during a meeting
If your organization uses the default “Require approval” policy, a meeting organizer or presenter must manually admit the Avoma Assistant into the call.
-
Open the Participants panel from the top toolbar in your active Teams meeting.
-
Scroll to the Lobby section at the top of the participant list.
-
Locate the entry for your bot. By default, this is named Avoma Assistant, but it will show whatever custom name you’ve configured for your notetaker in your Avoma settings. Teams will also flag it with an external bot label.
Teams meeting → Participants panel → Lobby section — Avoma Assistant entry with external bot label and Admit checkmark visible - Click the checkmark (Admit) next to its name to allow it into the meeting.
NOTE: Once admitted, the assistant joins the call instantly and begins capturing notes.
Troubleshooting FAQs:
What to do if Avoma isn’t joining or recording
If the Avoma Assistant is failing to join or record your meetings, it’s likely due to a restrictive organizational policy. If you want the bot to join automatically without lobby intervention, your IT or Teams administrator can review and update the policy.
1. Via the Teams Admin Center
-
Log in to the Microsoft Teams Admin Center.
-
Navigate to Meetings → Meeting policies.
-
Select the org-wide default policy, or the specific user/group policy you want to edit.
-
Scroll down to the Meeting join & lobby section.
-
Find the setting: “Manage external bots and their access to meetings.”
-
Change the setting from Require approval when detected to Do not detect bots to allow seamless, automatic access.
2. Via PowerShell
Administrators can also manage this setting using the Set-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy cmdlet by updating the ExternalBotAccessMode attribute:
- To require lobby approval (default): Set-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity <PolicyName> -ExternalBotAccessMode RequireApprovalWhenDetected
- To allow automatic entry: Set-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity <PolicyName> -ExternalBotAccessMode AllowBots
NOTE: Depending on your deployment, administrators may also apply these changes using the Set-CsTeamsEventsPolicy cmdlet.
For full configuration details, PowerShell commands, and best practices, see Microsoft’s official guide on how to manage external bots and their access.
Why does the bot display as "Unverified" in Microsoft Teams?
If you have recently noticed an "Unverified" tag next to our bot during your Microsoft Teams meetings, please rest assured that this is expected behavior and your data remains completely secure.
Here is everything you need to know about this label.
Why is the "Unverified" tag appearing?
Microsoft recently introduced a platform-wide update that automatically applies an "Unverified" label to any meeting participant who joins without being signed into a registered Microsoft Teams account.
Because our bot operates as an automated external assistant, it joins your meetings without signing into a Teams account. As a result, Microsoft Teams automatically flags the bot with this standard label.
Is my meeting data still secure?
Yes, absolutely. This tag is simply a reflection of how the bot connects to the meeting, not a reflection of its security status.
Security & Privacy Assurance
There is no security risk associated with the "Unverified" tag. Your meeting data, audio, and video streams continue to be processed with the highest level of security, strictly adhering to our established data protection and encryption protocols.
Do I need to take any action?
No action is required on your part. You do not need to change any settings or adjust your permissions. The bot will continue to join your meetings and process your data seamlessly, just as it did before.
If you have any further questions regarding our security protocols, please feel free to reach out to our support team.
Related articles
If you have any questions, contact our team at help@avoma.com