Microsoft is rolling out a new Microsoft Teams meeting-protection policy that allows administrators to automatically block identified external bots from joining Teams meetings, according to BleepingComputer, citing a Microsoft 365 Message Center update. The setting is aimed at external meeting bots — including third-party tools used for note-taking, transcription or other automated tasks — as well as malicious apps that attackers could try to place into meetings. The key constraint is important: the policy applies to bots Teams identifies as external meeting bots, not to every possible non-human participant or unknown automation path. BleepingComputer reports that the feature extends a June Teams policy that added a softer control: detected bots were tagged in the meeting lobby and required organizer approval before admission. The new policy moves from organizer-by-organizer approval to an administrative block, letting organizations prevent identified external bots from entering meetings covered by the assigned policy. The rollout is not automatic enforcement across every tenant. The new control will appear under the “Manage bots” meeting protection settings in the Teams admin center, will be off by default, and will require administrators to enable and evaluate it before deployment, BleepingComputer reports. Once enabled, admins can assign it to specific users or groups through existing Teams meeting policy management. The timing is staged. BleepingComputer says Microsoft is rolling out the policy as part of a targeted release through the end of August, with worldwide general availability expected by late September. The security context is broader than transcription tools. BleepingComputer notes that Microsoft warned in April about rising abuse of Teams for enterprise access and lateral movement, including attackers impersonating IT or helpdesk staff through cross-tenant chats and persuading employees to grant remote access. Since December, admins have also been able to block external Teams users through the Defender portal to counter social-engineering campaigns, including ransomware-related activity. Microsoft has also described additional controls planned around meeting bots, according to BleepingComputer. Those include allow lists for approved bots, admin reports and audit logs on bot detection and presence, and more granular controls for different security requirements. The newly reported block policy is one step in that broader administrative control set, not a complete replacement for meeting governance or user training. Who benefits: Enterprise administrators gain a more direct control for meetings where external bots should not be present. Security teams also get a cleaner default posture for users or groups handling sensitive discussions. Who's exposed: Vendors of external meeting bots may face more friction in Teams environments where admins enable blocking. Organizations that leave the policy off by default remain dependent on existing bot detection, lobby tagging and organizer decisions.