Channel Mentions (Connect External)

Mentions in Connected Channels

When using Conclude to connect with external Microsoft Teams and Slack workspaces, users can mention each other across platforms. Here’s how mentions work for external connections, and how to ensure they function reliably

Note: for internal connections (linking Slack and Teams inside the same company), mentions work smoothly when users are signed into Conclude and have credentials linked on both platforms.

How mentions work for external connections

  • To mention someone, use the @mention tag as you normally would
  • The mention may not match locally at first and will look like plain text to the sender
  • Conclude automatically tries to find and match the user in the connected channel and convert the text into a real mention on the receiving side

How we match users

Conclude matches users based on the following order:

  1. The user’s mention name (e.g., @johnsmith)
  2. First name + Last name combined (FirstnameLastname, no spaces)
  3. Last name
  4. First name

Note: matching is not case sensitive.

Important notes and limitations for external connections

  • Mentions are posted under the Conclude bot when no user credentials are available on the other platform
    • If a message is posted by the bot (instead of a real user account), it can happen that mentions do not work properly, especially from Slack to Teams
    • In these cases, Conclude might appear to confirm the mention, but it may not actually work on Microsoft Teams
  • Slack to Teams mentions:
    • Mentions may fail when posted via the bot
  • Teams to Slack mentions:
    • Mentions generally work well, even when messages are posted through the bot
  • User sign-in is important:
    • If a user has not signed into Conclude, we cannot edit their messages or show feedback about whether the mention has worked

How an integration user account can help

An integration user is a special fallback account created on Microsoft Teams to be used when no valid user credentials are available.

With an integration user:

  • Messages are posted under a proper user identity instead of the bot
  • Mentions across connected Slack and Teams channels work more reliably
  • Mention failures caused by bot posting are avoided

How to set up an integration user account

  1. A Microsoft admin creates a generic Teams user (e.g., “External User”) that is not tied to a real person
  2. In the Conclude Admin settings, the admin selects and signs in the user
  3. The integration user must be added to all Teams where channels are connected – including private channels

Read more about the integration user account here.

To ensure mentions work reliably across external connections:

  • Always encourage users to sign in to Conclude
  • Set up and configure an integration user account in Microsoft Teams to act as a fallback when real user credentials are unavailable

This setup ensures messages are properly posted and mentions are successfully relayed between Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Quick summary

  • Mentions from Slack to Teams may fail in external connections if messages are posted via the bot
  • Bot posting occurs when no valid user credentials are available on the other platform
  • Setting up an integration user account ensures reliable message posting and working mentions across external channels
  • Internal connections (within the same company) generally work well when users are properly signed in

 

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