Auto-generate the manifest file for uploading on Microsoft Teams

Auto-generate the manifest file and customize the branding of your Microsoft Teams app so that you can make Virtual Agent available in your organization.

Before you begin

Role required: virtual_agent_admin or admin

About this task

Note:

Custom Engine Agent (CEA) is replacing Declarative Agent (DA), the prior Microsoft Copilot integration. The CEA enables Virtual Agent to be discoverable by Microsoft Copilot, with full functional access to Now Assist in Virtual Agent and multi-turn conversations.

You must have version 10.1.1 or higher of the Microsoft Teams plugin to have CEA support. In version 10.2 of the Microsoft Teams plugin, streaming is inactive by default and CEA is active by default.

An automated manifest file generator on the new Microsoft Teams UI automatically fills in the bot ID and updates the other settings (such as branding) based on input from you, the administrator​. The manifest file generator also enables a one-select download of the manifest package.

• Before you generate a manifest file, you must create a self-configured bot (or ensure that one has already been created) in the ServiceNow instance. You can then generate a manifest package for each self-configured bot that you create​.
• After you save the manifest form, you can download the manifest zip package, which contains the following three files:
  • manifest.json
  • color.png
  • outline.png
  You can edit the manifest form and redownload it as many times as you want.​

Note:

This feature is only applicable when you’re setting up the Virtual Agent integration with Microsoft Teams. If you intend to use ServiceNow for Microsoft Teams with ITSM or HR capabilities, select the Learn more link next to Planning to enable additional ITSM and HR integrations on the Bot Configuration page. That way, you can configure the manifest in a separate module instead of continuing to configure the manifest here. For more information, see Create and download the manifest file.

Procedure

1. Navigate to All > Conversational Interfaces > Settings.
2. In General Settings, in the Channels and routing section, select View All.
3. On the Channels and integrations page, in the Microsoft Teams tile, select Manage.
4. In the Self-configured bot section, select the Manage Bot icon .
   If you haven't enabled Message Extension and you are accessing it for the first time, you see a Turn on new feature alert message that informs you that the Message Extension feature for your Microsoft Teams integration is now available to be turned on.
5. On the Configuration tab, select Edit configuration and on the form, fill in the fields.

   Table 1. Configure your Bot - VA Microsoft Teams Manifest

   Field	Description
   Short Name	Short display name for your app. Note: Ensure that the name doesn’t exceed 30 characters.
   Full Name	Full name of your app. Use the full name if the short name of the app exceeds 30 characters. Note: Ensure that the full name doesn’t exceed 100 characters.
   Bot (Client) ID	Unique Microsoft generated identifier. This field is automatically tied to the bot creation step and can't be altered.
   Short description	Short description of your app experience. Use a short description when space is limited. Note: Ensure that the short description doesn't exceed 80 characters.
   Full description	Full description of your app. Note: Ensure that the full description doesn't exceed 4000 characters.
   Valid domains	List of valid domains for websites that your app expects to load in Microsoft Teams. Note: Currently only the ServiceNow domain is supported.
   Version	Specific version of your app to track the incremental manifest submission to Microsoft Teams. For example, 1.0.0. Use a maximum of 2 digits after each decimal. Note: Ensure that you put a higher number for each new version.
   Accent color	Color to use as a background for your outline icons. Note: The value must be a valid HTML color code starting with a hash-tag (#). For example, #293E40.
   Color icon	Icon of your app that you want to appear in most Microsoft Teams scenarios. You can select the following options: Use Default icon: Changes the color of the icon back to the default color icon. Use Custom icon: Changes the color icon with an icon color of your choice. Note: Ensure that you upload only the .png image files that have fewer than 192x192 pixels to change the color of the icon.
   Outline icon	Icon that is seen on the app bar when the app is in use. You can select the following options: Use Default icon: Changes the outline icon back to the default outline icon. Use Custom icon: Changes the outline icon with an icon of your choice. Note: Ensure that you upload only the .png image files that have fewer than 32x32 pixels to change the outline icon.
   Message Extension	Message extension that lets users search and share the results through the compose message area of the Microsoft Teams client. If you are going to use this bot for Microsoft Copilot, then ensure that you enable Message Extension. By enabling Message Extension for an app or bot, you will see the same app or bot in the message extension area while your conversation with the Now Assist using Microsoft Copilot.

   For more details about each field, refer to Microsoft Teams documentation.

6. Select Save.
   You’re redirected to the Bot configuration page where the manifest file is saved and ready for you to download.

   Note:

   You can also edit the manifest file by selecting Edit configuration on the download page and downloading the file as many times as you would like. With each new manifest, ensure that you enter a higher version number in the Version field so that the updated form can be saved successfully.

7. In the Bot configuration page, under Your package, select the Download button to download your package file.
   Note:

   You can also edit the manifest file by selecting Edit configuration on the download page and downloading the file as many times as you would like. However, with each new manifest, ensure that you enter a higher version number in the Version field so that the updated form to be saved successfully.

What to do next

Upload the manifest package file to publish your bot.