Handling No Input Timeout in Chat Channel (Copilot Studio Bot Design)

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Posted on by CU08100520-1

I'm designing a chat agent in Copilot Studio, and I have a scenario where the bot asks the user: "What is your name?" If the user doesn't respond within 10 seconds (i.e., no input), I want the bot to trigger a follow-up prompt like: "I didn't hear anything—could you please tell me your name?" This should happen in the chat channel only, not via voice.

Is this behavior supported in Copilot Studio for chat-based interactions? If yes, how can I implement this timeout and fallback prompt logic?

Any guidance or examples would be greatly appreciated!

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Prasad-MSFT Microsoft Employee on at

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Handling No Input Timeout in Chat Channel (Copilot Studio Bot Design)

Yes, Copilot Studio supports chat-only "no input" / inactivity follow-ups. Use an Inactivity trigger on a topic, set its duration to 10 seconds, and add a Condition that limits the trigger to the chat channel only. Then add the follow-up message node you want (for example: "I didn't hear anything—could you please tell me your name?").

Open your agent in Copilot Studio and go to Topics.

Add a new topic (From blank) — call it e.g. "No Input — Ask Name".

Change the trigger to Inactivity:

Edit the Trigger node → choose Inactivity.

Set the inactivity duration to 10 seconds (you can pick a value from the list or use the Formula option and enter 10 to represent seconds).

Add a Condition so it only fires for chat:

In the trigger node or a Condition node, check System.Activity.Channel (or the equivalent system variable) and compare it to the chat channel identifier you use (for example "Chat" or "WebChat" — whatever your runtime sets for chat). This ensures it does not fire for voice channels.

Example condition: System.Activity.Channel == "Chat" (match your runtime channel name).

Add the follow-up message node with the prompt text:

Example message node: "I didn't hear anything—could you please tell me your name?"

(Optionally add a retry counter or branch to end the conversation after N retries.)

Save and publish the agent. Use the Test bot panel to verify behavior.

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