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With Azure AI integration, absentify’s Teams Bot enables employees to create absence requests using natural language commands, streamlining absence management and reducing manual input. For example, users can simply type, “Schedule a home office day for tomorrow,” and the bot will handle the request.

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How Azure AI integration works

When this feature is enabled, Microsoft’s Azure AI services process natural language inputs to interpret commands and translate them into structured absence requests in absentify. The necessary data (e.g., leave type, dates, and duration) is securely transmitted to Azure AI for processing.
If the Azure AI integration is not activated, no data is sent to any AI models. All absence-related information remains securely stored in absentify’s database.

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Benefits of Azure AI integration

  • Integration with Microsoft Teams: Employees interact with the familiar absentify Teams Bot, making the process seamless.
  • Simplified absence management: Employees can create absence requests quickly and intuitively using natural language.
  • In-app assistance: The bot helps users by answering questions about absence planning, as well as explaining specific features and configuration options.
  • Enhanced productivity: Reduces time spent on navigating menus or filling out forms for absence requests.
  • Strict security controls: Data is only transmitted to Azure AI when the feature is enabled, ensuring full compliance with privacy standards.

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What you can do with the AI assistant

The assistant supports a wide range of actions through natural language. The available tools depend on your role. For all users:
  • View your absences — ask about upcoming or past leave (e.g., “When is my next vacation?”)
  • View team absences — see who in your team is off (e.g., “Who is out next week?”)
  • Check available leave types — find out which leave types are configured in your workspace (e.g., “What leave types are available?”)
  • Check your remaining allowance — see how many vacation days or other leave you have left (e.g., “How many vacation days do I have left?”)
  • See your approvers — find out who approves your requests (e.g., “Who is my approver?”)
  • Create a leave request — book time off by describing what you need (e.g., “Book vacation next Monday to Friday”)
  • Cancel a leave request — cancel an existing request (e.g., “Cancel my vacation next week”)
For employees assigned as representatives:
  • View pending representative requests — see requests where you are assigned as a substitute (e.g., “Do I have any representative requests?”)
  • Confirm or decline representative coverage — respond to substitute assignments (e.g., “I’ll cover for Sarah” or “I can’t cover for Tom next week”)
For managers and admins:
  • View pending approvals — see requests waiting for your approval (e.g., “Show pending approvals”)
  • Approve a request — approve a pending leave request (e.g., “Approve Sarah’s vacation request”)
  • Decline a request — decline a pending leave request with a reason (e.g., “Decline Tom’s request because of a deadline”)
The assistant automatically shows the tools that match your role. Managers see approval tools, and employees assigned as representatives see representative tools.

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Data handling and security

absentify takes data privacy and security seriously, ensuring compliance with international standards:
  • No AI interaction when disabled: If the integration is not enabled, no data is sent to any AI models, and all information remains within absentify’s database.
  • Scope of data sent to Azure AI: Only the necessary information to interpret and process the absence request (e.g., leave type, dates, and duration) is sent.
  • GDPR compliance: All data processing adheres to GDPR standards, ensuring user privacy.
  • Azure-hosted processing: Data is processed exclusively within Microsoft Azure’s secure environment, with no external storage or unauthorized access.

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Enabling Azure AI integration

Azure AI integration is available starting with the Plus plan. To enable this feature:
  1. Go to settings: Navigate to Settings > Integrations > Azure AI.
  2. Activate the integration: Toggle the Azure AI integration to enable it for your organization.
This feature is disabled by default. No data is sent to Azure AI unless the feature is explicitly enabled by an administrator.

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Key considerations

  • Plan requirement: Azure AI integration is available exclusively on the Plus plan.
  • Secure by default: Without activation, no data is sent to any AI models, and all absence-related information remains securely stored in absentify’s database.
  • User experience: When enabled, employees can use natural language to interact with the Teams Bot for creating absence requests.
By enabling Azure AI integration, absentify enhances absence management with intuitive natural language capabilities while maintaining strict security and data privacy standards.