Azure Bot Service Azure AI Bot Service
Legacy names Azure Bot Service, Microsoft Bot Framework
Managed bot hosting and multichannel communication service for connecting conversational AI agents across Microsoft Teams, Web Chat, Slack, Telephony, and Direct Line.
Naming timeline
- Microsoft Bot Framework
Launched as an SDK and Bot Connector service for building multichannel conversational bots.
- Azure Bot Service
Reached general availability as a managed Azure service integrating Bot Framework SDK and channel connectors.
- Azure AI Bot ServiceCurrent name
Rebranded from Azure Bot Service to Azure AI Bot Service.
What is Azure Bot Service called now?
Azure Bot Service is now called Azure AI Bot Service, with the latest change on 18 July 2023 (Azure AI Portfolio Rebrand). Earlier names covered by this entry also include Microsoft Bot Framework. Managed bot hosting and multichannel communication service for connecting conversational AI agents across Microsoft Teams, Web Chat, Slack, Telephony, and Direct Line. Only the customer-facing name changed; the underlying technical identifiers remain backward compatible.
Also known as
- Azure Bot
Technical identifiers
Technical identifiers unchanged. Only the customer-facing product name changed; the APIs, CLI commands, IAM roles and Terraform resources below keep their legacy identifiers for backward compatibility.
| ARM Resource Providers (Microsoft.*) | Microsoft.BotService/botServices Microsoft.BotService/botServices/channels |
|---|---|
| Azure CLI (az) / PowerShell | az bot az bot create |
| Entra ID / Azure RBAC Roles | Azure Bot Service Contributor Role Azure Bot Service Reader Role |
| Terraform Resources (azurerm_*) | azurerm_bot_service_azure_bot azurerm_bot_channel_ms_teams azurerm_bot_channel_directline |
ARM resource provider Microsoft.BotService/botServices, az bot CLI, and azurerm_bot_service_azure_bot Terraform resources retain their original identifiers.
Notes & disambiguation
- Introduced in preview in 2016 as Microsoft Bot Framework and generally available in December 2017 as Azure Bot Service, the offering was rebranded to Azure AI Bot Service in July 2023 as part of the Azure AI portfolio alignment.
- Works alongside Microsoft Copilot Studio and the Microsoft 365 Agents SDK (successor to Bot Framework SDK) to connect custom code-first and low-code agents to enterprise messaging channels.
- Underlying technical identifiers—including Microsoft.BotService/botServices, the az bot CLI command group, Azure Bot Service Contributor Role, and Terraform azurerm_bot_service_azure_bot—remain unchanged.
Sources & official documentation
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