Skip to main content
The Teams Service App is a white-labeled app you deploy into your customers’ Microsoft 365 tenants. It embeds Messenger inside Microsoft Teams as an iframe, so customers reach your service team and get real-time updates on their tickets where they already work.
This is the customer-facing app. For your own service team inside your own tenant, use the Teams Companion App instead.

What it gives your customers

  • White-labeled: build as many branded apps as you need, one per customer. See designing a custom Teams app.
  • Messenger embedded in Teams as an iframe.
  • Updates where they work: customers connect with their service team and follow their threads without leaving Teams.
Thread Messenger embedded as a tab inside Microsoft Teams for an end customer

Before you start

  1. Finish setting up Messenger and customising the Teams app.
  2. Deploy to your own team first. It gives your technicians a chance to learn the app and gives you a test environment. If you don’t use Teams internally, test in a sandbox instead.
Once you’ve done this once, budget about three minutes per customer.

Deploy the app

Work in a separate incognito browser session throughout, so you’re certain which Microsoft Teams tenant you’re signing into.
1

Find the customer in Thread

In the Thread Admin Panel, open the Clients tab, use the magnifying glass to search for the company, and select it.
Searching for a client company in the Clients tab of the Thread Admin Panel
2

Choose Microsoft Teams

Go to the App Deployment tab, pick Microsoft Teams, and click Continue.
App Deployment tab with Microsoft Teams selected
3

Pick which branded app to deploy

Select the Teams app you want in this customer’s tenant, then Continue.
List of custom Teams apps available to deploy to a customer
4

Choose Magic Link or Email Invite

  • Magic Link: you have admin access to the customer’s Microsoft 365 tenant. This guide follows it.
  • Email Invite: you don’t. Send the link to an administrator in that tenant, who gets an email walking them through the same steps. The recipient does not need Thread access.
Magic Link and Email Invite deployment options in the Thread Admin Panel
5

Open the magic link and authenticate

Click Copy link, then paste it into a new tab in your incognito session. Sign in with an administrator account in the customer’s tenant and complete MFA.
If you aren’t already signed into Thread in that session, the magic link may ask you to sign into Thread first, so you need Thread admin access for this route. The email link doesn’t have that requirement.
Microsoft sign-in prompt for an administrator account in the customer tenant
6

Grant the bot's permissions

Click Accept. The permissions and why they’re needed are listed in the Microsoft Teams app permissions reference.
Microsoft consent screen granting permissions to the Thread Teams app
7

Confirm it uploaded and installed

Confirmation screen showing the Teams app uploaded and installed successfully

Install it for all users

Uploading the app makes it available. These steps put it in front of users.
1

Find the app in the Teams admin center

Sign in to the Teams admin center and go to Teams apps → Manage apps. Search for your app and open it.
Your app’s name is in the Thread Admin Panel under Messenger → Teams Apps → Edit → Teams app name. That’s the string to search for.
Searching for the custom Thread app in Manage apps in the Teams admin center
2

Check the app overview

You’ll see the publisher Thread Magic, Inc, the supported surfaces (Microsoft 365, Outlook, Teams), and the published version.
Teams app overview page showing publisher Thread Magic Inc and supported surfaces
3

Open Users and groups

On the Users and groups tab, find the dropdown labelled “Select to manage who this app is installed” and choose Installs.
Users and groups tab with the install-management dropdown
4

Install the app

Click Install App.
Install App button on the Teams app Users and groups tab
5

Choose Everyone, then Apply

Everyone covers all users in the org plus guests and external users.
Install scope selector set to Everyone

Pin it with a setup policy

1

Open Setup policies

In the Teams admin center, go to Teams apps → Setup policies.
Setup policies list under Teams apps in the Teams admin center
2

Select Global (Org-wide default)

This applies to everyone in the customer’s tenant. To limit who gets it, create your own policy assignment instead — see rolling the Teams Service App out to specific users.
Global org-wide default setup policy selected
3

Add the app under Installed apps

In the Add installed apps sidebar, search for your Teams app name, click Add, then Add again at the bottom.
Add installed apps sidebar with the custom Thread app selected
4

Pin it

Under Pinned apps, click + Add apps and add the same app.
Add apps button in the Pinned apps section of a Teams setup policy
5

Order it and save

Move the app up or down to control how prominently it appears, then Save.
Pinned apps list with the Thread app positioned and ready to save
The deployed Thread service app pinned in a customer's Microsoft Teams sidebar
Microsoft’s publishing process means the app can take up to 24 hours to appear for end users. We recommend everyone opens the app’s chat tab once before they first need it.

Troubleshooting

If the admin account you published with isn’t a fully licensed user in that Teams tenant (common for IT providers) icons don’t render for that account. Licensed end users see your full design, icons included.
Teams app showing a missing or placeholder icon after publishing
There’s likely a previous Thread service app (or a legacy Chatgenie one) already published in that tenant. Remove any existing published apps from Enterprise applications in Entra ID, then retry.You may need to filter for all application types to see them:
Enterprise applications list filtered to show all application types
The legacy Chatgenie Bot causes the same error even when it’s been deactivated — uninstall both Thread and Chatgenie Bot to fully clear it.
Legacy Chatgenie Bot enterprise application that must be removed
The tenant you’re deploying to has no Microsoft Teams license, or no Teams at all.
Thread Teams app authentication or installation failure error message

Next step

Control who can see it with setup policies for specific users, or remove it if you need to start over.