Share via

Copilot Agents in MS Teams with Error Messages

Carla Hattingh | Oldschool 20 Reputation points
2026-03-23T15:13:25.6733333+00:00

Hi,

I have a Copilot agent that I use in MS Teams, which has suddenly stopped working and is returning the following error:

"Sorry, something unexpected happened. We’re looking into it. Error code: SystemError."

(Please note the Conversation ID has been anonymised for privacy.)

Could you please advise what this error indicates and how we can prevent it from occurring going forward?

Based on research it looks like a temporary Microsoft service issue.

Thanks

Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams for business | Chats | Other
0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
  1. Q&A Assist
    2026-03-23T15:13:43.2666667+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    The SystemError message in a Copilot agent used in Microsoft Teams is a generic platform/backend error. It doesn’t indicate anything the end user did wrong and typically points to a configuration or service-side issue that can’t be fixed from the Teams client alone.

    For Copilot Studio–based agents (including Store Operations Agent), this error:

    • Appears as: "Sorry, something went wrong. Error code: SystemError" or similar wording.
    • Indicates a backend or configuration problem with the agent or the underlying Copilot Studio service.

    Recommended actions:

    1. Verify the agent is successfully published
      • Open the agent in Copilot Studio.
      • Confirm that it’s published without errors.
      • If using a managed solution (such as Store Operations Agent), ensure installation and setup completed successfully and that required flows and connection references are valid.
    2. Wait and retry to rule out transient issues
      • Refresh the browser or Teams client.
      • Retry the interaction after a few minutes. SystemError can be caused by temporary platform or service issues.
    3. Check for configuration or policy issues
      • If the agent was recently changed (connections, authentication, data sources, or environment), validate those settings in Copilot Studio.
      • If users see other specific error codes (for example, DataLossPreventionViolation instead of SystemError), admins must review and adjust data loss prevention policies or agent configuration.
    4. Use Copilot Studio diagnostics as an agent maker
      • Use the test pane in Copilot Studio to reproduce the issue; error messages there can include more context.
      • Use the Topic checker to validate the agent’s configuration and identify topic or configuration errors.
    5. Escalate if the issue persists
      • If the agent is correctly published and configured, and SystemError continues for multiple users over time, this typically requires backend/service investigation.
      • Open a support ticket with Microsoft, including the error code, time of occurrence, and conversation ID (non-anonymized in the ticket) so support can trace the failing request.

    Prevention going forward:

    • Ensure the agent remains in a published, healthy state after changes (retest in Copilot Studio after each update).
    • Keep connections, authentication, and flows valid and monitored, especially for managed or solution-based agents.
    • When making significant configuration changes, test in Copilot Studio before exposing to Teams users.
    • If SystemError appears sporadically and resolves after some time, it’s often due to transient platform issues; monitoring and, if frequent, raising to Microsoft support is the main mitigation.

    References:

    0 comments

2 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. EmilyS_726 15,880 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-03-24T02:29:41.2466667+00:00

    Hello

    This is a known issue published in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center > Service Health.

    Issue ID: CP1257280 - Users may encounter errors when interacting with the Copilot Facilitator bot within any Microsoft Teams client.

    Root cause: A recent feature update to the facilitator bot was released without an accompanying configuration update, resulting in impact.

    Latest update as of now: We've enabled the configuration in 50 percent of the affected environment and confirmed that this remediates impact without any adverse effects. We're enabling the configuration for all impacted users to completely remediate impact.

    0 comments
  2. Hendrix-C 13,915 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-03-23T17:56:18.2033333+00:00

    Hi @Carla Hattingh | Oldschool,

    According to your concern, the “SystemError” is a generic failure surfaced by the Copilot/agent runtime and it does not uniquely identify one single root cause. The “Error code: SystemError” can indicate:

    • A stuck or stale Teams conversation session
    • Expired or broken connector/authentication state
    • Caching/version mismatch after Teams updates

    Therefore, I suggest you first try refreshing the Copilot agent to see if the issue persists:

    1/ Confirm first whether it is a Teams client cache issue

    • Try the agent in Teams web to see if the agent works properly there.
    • Sign out of Teams and sign back in.
    • Clear Teams desktop cache (Windows) by fully quitting Teams and go to Settings > Apps > Installs apps > locate Teams and select More options > Advanced options > Reset
    • Remove and re-add the agent app in Teams.

    2/ Refresh the agent configuration

    Please understand that my initial response may not always resolve the issue immediately. However, you can try these steps and let me know if it works. If not, we can work together to find a solution. 

    If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments to this post so that I can continue to help you.

    Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. I look forward to hearing from you. 

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it.

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

    0 comments

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.