Microsoft Teams will allow administrators to automatically block external AI bots from joining meetings, with rollout starting in August 2026 across Android, desktop, iOS, Mac, and web, reaching both Worldwide (Standard Multi-Tenant) and GCC tenants at General Availability and Targeted Release together. The feature, confirmed on the Microsoft 365 roadmap (ID 566201), lets IT set a tenant-wide default of "no" via the ExternalBotAccessMode attribute in the Teams Admin Center or through the Set-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy PowerShell cmdlet. There are three values: AllowAllBots, RequireApprovalWhenDetected (the default), and BlockDetectedBots. The setting only applies to external third-party bots, not Microsoft 365 Copilot or bots registered as Entra ID applications inside an organization. Previously, Microsoft rolled out external bot detection under Message Center notice MC1251206, which labeled bots as "Unverified" in a "Suspected threats" area of the lobby and required organizers to explicitly admit them. The August update removes the need for organizer approval, as detected external bots never reach the lobby.