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Frequently Asked Questions

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General Questions​

What is Ava?​

Ava is a Microsoft Teams bot that automatically sends celebration messages for your team's birthdays and work anniversaries. You configure it once, and it handles everything from there.

Is Ava free?​

Check with the person who set up Ava in your organisation — they'll have information about your team's subscription or licensing.

What happens if two people share the same birthday?​

Ava sends a separate celebration message for each person on their birthday. If multiple people share the same birthday, Ava sends multiple messages throughout the day.

Does Ava work outside of Microsoft Teams?​

Currently, Ava is designed specifically for Microsoft Teams and is not available on other platforms.

For Regular Users​

How do I set my birthdate or joining date?​

Open Ava in Teams and click Set Dates. Enter your birthdate and/or joining date and click Save.

Full guide →

Do I have to share my birth year?​

No. Your birth year is completely optional. Ava only needs the day and month to know when to celebrate you. Your year, if provided, is only ever visible to admins — never to other team members.

Can I opt out of being celebrated?​

Yes. Simply don't submit your dates, or contact your Ava admin and ask them to remove your dates from the system.

Will the whole team see my birthday message?​

Yes — Ava posts birthday and anniversary messages in the channel your admin has configured. This is typically a shared #celebrations channel or a main team channel.

I received a message from Ava asking for my dates. Is it legitimate?​

Yes, if your organisation uses Ava. Your admin has used the Collect Dates feature to request your information. You can fill in just your birthday, just your joining date, or both — or skip it entirely.

Can I see when other people's birthdays are?​

Yes! Use Upcoming Celebrations in Ava to see milestones coming up in the next 30 days.

How to view upcoming celebrations →

My birthday passed and Ava didn't post anything. What happened?​

A few possible reasons:

  1. Your dates weren't in the system — add them now
  2. Ava's notification settings are misconfigured — ask your admin to check birthday notification settings
  3. Ava lost access to the channel — ask your admin to verify the channel still exists

For Admins​

How do I become an admin?​

The person who first set up Ava is automatically an admin. They can grant admin access to others via Configure Admins.

Configure Admins guide →

Can I import data from our HR system?​

Yes, as long as you can export it to a spreadsheet. Download the Ava template, map your HR data into the correct columns, and upload.

Import Data guide →

Will importing data overwrite existing entries?​

Yes — if a team member's email already exists in Ava and you re-import data for them, the new data will overwrite the old entry. This is intentional for bulk updates.

How do I change the channel Ava posts in?​

Go to Settings → Configure Birthday Notifications (or Anniversary Notifications) and update the Channel dropdown.

Can I disable celebrations for a specific person?​

Remove their dates from the system, or ask them to not submit dates. Ava only celebrates people whose dates it knows about.

What timezone does Ava use?​

Ava uses your organisation's configured default timezone in Microsoft 365. If you're unsure what timezone is set, check with your IT administrator.

Can I schedule a one-off celebration manually?​

Ava currently only supports automatic scheduled celebrations based on dates. Manual one-off messages are not supported — but you can always post a message in your channel yourself!

How do I remove a team member's data if they leave?​

Currently, you can overwrite their entry by re-importing without their row, or contact your Ava administrator to remove the record. The team member can also clear their own dates via Set Dates.

Next Steps​