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Dynamics 365 Community / Forums / Service | Customer Service, Contact Center, Fie... / Can we create a custom...
Service | Customer Service, Contact Center, Fie...
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Can we create a custom Omnichannel messaging channel without using Direct Line or a bot?

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Posted on by AD-30101205-0 2
Hi everyone,
 
I’m exploring ways to integrate a custom communication channel provider into Dynamics 365 Omnichannel for Customer Service.
 
According to the Microsoft Docs article on Configuring a custom channel provider, it seems the “Custom Channel” setup works through Direct Line, which requires a bot built on the Bot Framework.
 
However, in our scenario, we’d like to send and receive messages directly between our external messaging system and Omnichannel — without a bot layer in the middle.
 
Before we start implementing a workaround, I’d like to confirm:
  • Is it possible to build a non-bot custom channel provider?
  • Or is Direct Line + Bot the only supported route for custom message channels?
  • If not supported directly, has anyone successfully implemented a middleware approach to integrate a proprietary chat service?
Any guidance or experience would be appreciated.

Thank You !!
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Dynamics 365 Customer Service
I have the same question (0)
  • Daniyal Khaleel Profile Picture
    Daniyal Khaleel 764 Most Valuable Professional on at
    While you can’t directly connect a non-bot endpoint, many organizations use a middleware approach:
    Create a lightweight Azure Bot using Bot Framework SDK.
    Within the bot, implement logic to:
    • Receive incoming Omnichannel messages.
    • Transform and forward them to your external messaging service via APIs.
    • Listen to webhook events or API callbacks from your system and post them back to Omnichannel through the bot.
    This allows you to:
    • Maintain official support and compatibility.
    • Keep your external system integration logic outside the Omnichannel environment.
    • Optionally log and transform data as needed.
    • This “relay bot” approach is currently the recommended enterprise-safe pattern.
  • AD-30101205-0 Profile Picture
    AD-30101205-0 2 on at
    Hello MVP-Daniyal Khaleel ,

    Thanks for the response !!

    So what you are suggesting is that we register a bot channel (via Azure Bot Framework + Direct Line) and instead of implementing full conversation logic we use it as relay or pass-through that does the following:
    • Forwards messages from Omnichannel to your external messaging platform via REST APIs or webhooks.
    • Receives messages/events from that external platform and posts them back to Omnichannel using the Bot Framework message schema.
    Please correct me if I am understanding this wrong.
     
    Regards !!

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