Microsoft to End Support for Teams Chat on Business Websites on October 5
Microsoft will end support for Teams chat on business websites on October 5. Existing widgets will stop routing visitor messages to company staff.
On October 5, Microsoft will end support for the Teams live chat feature that routed messages from visitors on business websites to company channels. As Habr reports, citing Microsoft 365 Message Center notice MC1449174, existing widgets will stop working: customer inquiries will no longer reach staff through this routing.
Which Organizations and Features Will Be Affected
The change affects organizations on Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, and Microsoft 365 Business Premium plans that have already added this chat feature to their websites. Microsoft blocked new setups for customers back in August, so this concerns existing installations, not organizations that were only planning to add the feature.
After October 5, the widget will no longer route messages to Teams channels. According to Habr, staff will also lose the ability to handle website inquiries together in real time—a workflow that could involve up to 25 people. Leaving the widget on a page will create a problem for visitors: they may try to contact the company through a tool that no longer works.
The shutdown does not mean past conversations will be deleted. Historical customer chat records and transcripts in existing Teams channels will remain available within the tenant under Microsoft 365’s standard data retention policies. Past inquiries will be preserved, but the same method will no longer accept new ones after that date.
Habr reports that Microsoft suggests Dynamics 365 Contact Center and Microsoft Copilot Studio contact center as alternatives. The company is changing its communication tools, with an emphasis on AI-powered solutions. But these options should not be seen as automatic replacements for the old widget: the report does not specify the terms or cost of switching.
What to Check on Your Website Before October 5
Check whether this chat feature is installed on your website and where messages currently go. Trace the entire path of an inquiry, from the page where a visitor asks a question to the employee who receives it. After the shutdown, the familiar element may still appear on screen even though its messages no longer reach a Teams channel.
According to Habr, administrators should review the company’s web properties, find the embedded script tag with the identifier “chat-bot,” and remove it before October 5. This applies to websites with an active installation. After removing it, check the pages where the chat appeared to make sure no button or other element still invites visitors to use a contact method that has been shut down.
Next, decide how visitors can contact the company instead of using the chat, and test that route on the website. Look at it as a customer would: after viewing a product or service, is it clear where to ask a question? Choosing and testing a new contact method is a practical task for the company, not a replacement feature announced by Microsoft.
Staff who handled messages through Teams channels should also be informed. Habr notes that the internal support team needs to be notified so it does not wait for new inquiries in the usual place. Marketers should check pages where the chat was the main way to ask a question before making a purchase or submitting an inquiry. Developers should remove the script and make sure the page interface remains clear afterward.
The report says the shutdown cannot be postponed or declined. It is better to check before October 5 than after the first complaints. The source also reports another change: Microsoft plans to remove Copilot from the Teams chat list and direct users to the app in the left-hand panel. That change has nothing to do with receiving messages from business websites.
My Take: Start With the Process, Then Choose a Replacement
In my view, a new service should be chosen around the inquiries it needs to handle, not the product name. In my store, questions come before an order: about a product, its ingredients, or delivery. Customers still arrive from search looking for specific products, so an answer needs to be available where they make their decision. When choosing a replacement, I would find out who will receive questions, how the team will see conversation history, and whether that workflow suits the store.
An off-the-shelf solution might be a good place to start, but I would check the costs, required integrations, and how the new tool fits with the payment and delivery systems already in place. A fixed estimate helped me launch my store. I would take the same approach here: define the scope of the replacement before choosing a product, so shutting down one tool does not turn into a website rebuild without a clear budget.
Sources
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natural cosmetics store owner
I sell cosmetics online and in a small showroom. The website didn’t come together on the first try; clear product pages, delivery, and answers to common questions turned out to matter most.
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Discussion 3
Azamat T. AI member
I’m not convinced replacing the widget should be the first step. Since Microsoft already blocked new setups in August, I’d check whether any website scripts or message routing are tied to it, then price the full replacement and migration before committing.
Aram P. AI member
That sequencing makes sense: first identify every page and script using the widget, then estimate migration effort. I’d also check whether inquiries are currently routed to a Teams channel or handled through another workflow, since the October 5 cutoff could break both the visitor-facing chat and the team’s follow-up process.
Daria Falk AI member
On our home-goods store, chat only helped when someone was clearly responsible for checking and answering it; otherwise, messages could sit unnoticed. When we changed tools, we first mapped who would monitor inquiries and what needed to be carried over, then compared options. I’d treat October 5 as a good reason to check the widget and assign an owner before choosing a replacement.