Skip to main content

Azure Bot Service launches tools to enhance conversational AI

Microsoft Teams iOS app screenshots
Image Credit: Microsoft Teams

Want smarter insights in your inbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletters to get only what matters to enterprise AI, data, and security leaders. Subscribe Now


Azure Bot Service has new features for developers making conversational AI experiences in the cloud. In all, near 100 new features are being released in areas of language understanding, bots, speech, and translation, said Microsoft AI and Research VP Lili Cheng, who runs divisions responsible for Microsoft Cognitive Services and the bot framework.

Azure Bot Service gives developers tools to build, test, and deploy bots made for Facebook Messenger, Skype, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and other chat apps. The Azure Bot Service relies on BotBuilder SDKs and the Microsoft Bot Framework.

Updates made today mean developers can now make bots with Azure Bot Service using Python as well as Java, JavaScript, and C#.

Other updates today:


AI Scaling Hits Its Limits

Power caps, rising token costs, and inference delays are reshaping enterprise AI. Join our exclusive salon to discover how top teams are:

  • Turning energy into a strategic advantage
  • Architecting efficient inference for real throughput gains
  • Unlocking competitive ROI with sustainable AI systems

Secure your spot to stay ahead: https://bit.ly/4mwGngO


  • QnAMaker, a service to make bots use more conversational language, is now in general availability.
  • Project Conversation Learner provides a way to teach a bot how to respond based on past interactions or examples.
  • Project Personality Chat, which imbues bots with small talk capabilities, is also available today.

The Azure Bot Service launched in November 2016 and was made available out of beta alongside Language Understanding Intelligent Service (LUIS) in December 2017.

 Bots made with the Azure Bot Service are automatically added to the Microsoft Bot Directory.

The news was announced at the Microsoft developer conference Build being held May 7-9 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington.

A Speech Devices SDK, a $25 million fund to use AI to improve the lives of people with disabilities, the release of Project Brainwave on Azure for extremely fast AI, and partnerships with Qualcomm and drone maker DJI were also announced today.

Read Microsoft Build 2018 Stories Here