Absorb Learner Experience in Microsoft Teams App v1.5

Updated October 17, 2026 01:22

The Absorb Aura app for Microsoft Teams brings the full Absorb Learner Experience into Teams through the Absorb Learn tab. Learners can view their dashboard, browse the Catalog, launch Courses, and review their Transcript without opening a browser or signing in separately. This article explains what the app includes, the Portal requirements, how to set it up, what Learners see when they sign in, and how to resolve common issues.

What the Absorb Aura App Includes

The Absorb Aura app contains two tabs, each with its own requirements. The app is available in the Teams desktop app, Teams on the web, and Teams mobile, and is included with an active Absorb subscription at no additional cost.

Tab	Description
Absorb Learn	The embedded Absorb Learner Experience, including the Dashboard, Course Catalog, Course details, Course player, and Transcript. A System Admin turns it on from Client Settings.
Chat	The Aura assistant. This is a separate feature that requires the Aura Learner Agent for your organization. Installing the Teams app does not turn Aura on, and the Absorb Learn tab does not depend on Aura.

This article focuses on the Absorb Learn tab. For more information about the Chat tab, see Aura for Microsoft Teams and Aura Learner Agent.

The Absorb Learn tab runs the standard Absorb Course player, so no lesson type is blocked or hidden inside Teams. One difference applies: a lesson configured to open in a pop-up window or a new tab opens inline in the tab instead.

Training completed in Teams uses the same enrollment record as the browser-based LMS. A Course started in a browser can be resumed in Teams, and the other way around.

The app does not send notifications to Learners. The Absorb Learn tab is a destination Learners open when they choose, and nothing is pushed to them.

Portal Requirements

Your Portal must meet all four of the following requirements before you configure the app. These requirements are not optional: a Portal that does not meet any one of them cannot use the Absorb Learn tab. Most of them cannot be checked from your Portal settings, so Absorb can confirm whether your Portal qualifies before you begin.

Requirement	Details
Production portal	The app connects only to Absorb's production service. A sandbox Portal accepts the Tenant ID and toggle settings and appears to save them, but the settings have no effect. If the same Tenant ID is entered on both a sandbox and a production Portal, Learners who open the tab reach the production Portal, and any Course activity is recorded as production activity.
One sign-in method for all Learners	Teams uses a single Portal address for your whole organization and selects it before it knows who the Learner is. A mix of Single Sign-On (SSO) and non-SSO Learners, or more than one SSO configuration used by different groups, is not supported. Learners who sign in differently from the selected address cannot sign in, and they see no error explaining why.
Supported SSO type	If your Portal uses SSO, it must be Service Provider (SP)-initiated Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) or OpenID Connect (OIDC). If your Portal uses Identity Provider (IdP)-initiated SAML, Learners still reach Absorb but sign in with their Absorb username and password instead of through your IdP.
A .myabsorb sign-in address	Teams only loads Portal addresses on .myabsorb domains. Your Portal needs a qualifying .myabsorb address that Teams can use for everyone. If you use SSO, your SSO route must also be on a .myabsorb address. Absorb can add a qualifying address if your Portal does not have one, as described in the next section.

Department-scoped routes are not a blocker on their own. As long as every Learner signs in the same way, Absorb can add one shared address for Teams. For more information about routes and SSO, see Route Level Single Sign-On.

The Sign-In Address Teams Uses

The Teams app can only load pages on .myabsorb addresses. A qualifying address is a subdomain such as client-name.myabsorb.com, or the regional equivalent on .myabsorb.ca, .myabsorb.eu, or .myabsorb.com.au. A bare myabsorb.com address does not qualify, and the address must be available to your whole organization rather than to a single Department.

If your Learners use a custom or vanity domain, it keeps working exactly as it does today in a browser. It simply is not the address Teams uses. The tab opens your Portal on its .myabsorb address, and Learners never need to know or type either address.

Most Portals already have a qualifying address. Absorb adds a dedicated address on its own infrastructure, such as teams-clientname.myabsorb.com, when none of your existing addresses qualifies:

Situation	Why Existing Addresses Do Not Work
The Portal only uses a custom or vanity domain and has no .myabsorb address.	Teams only loads .myabsorb addresses.
Every .myabsorb address is scoped to a Department.	Teams selects one address for the whole organization before it knows who the Learner is, so it never uses Department addresses.
Every .myabsorb address has SSO configured on it.	Teams only takes the Portal address from routes with no SSO configuration attached.

When Absorb adds an address for Teams:

There is nothing for you to host, register, or set up in DNS.
No Teams or Microsoft Entra changes are needed, and the admin consent your organization grants covers the new address.
Learners never need to know or type the address.
Your existing addresses and everyday browser sign-in are unaffected.

A new address changes where Teams goes, not how Learners sign in. It does not resolve a Portal where different groups of Learners sign in different ways.

If your Portal has more than one qualifying address, Teams uses the first one in the configured route order. Reordering or adding routes after the tab is enabled can change the address Teams uses and cause the tab to load blank, so reach out to Absorb Support before making route changes.

Security Consideration

Because the address Teams uses has no SSO configured on it, its standard Absorb sign-in page can be reached directly. Anyone who already holds a valid Absorb username and password for your Portal could sign in there, outside your SSO policy. This applies to any non-SSO route, including those most Portals already have, and is not specific to Teams.

People and Information You Need

Setup involves both your Microsoft administrators and your Absorb System Admin. Confirm the following are available before you begin:

Your organization's Microsoft Teams Tenant ID. One Absorb Portal connects to exactly one Teams tenant.
A Microsoft 365 admin with the Global Administrator, Application Administrator, or Cloud Application Administrator role to grant admin consent.
A Teams administrator to make the app available in your organization's Teams app catalog.
A System Admin with access to your Absorb Portal.

Set Up the Absorb Aura App

Setting up the Absorb Learn tab involves your Microsoft administrators, your System Admin, and in some cases Absorb. Complete setup in the following order:

If Absorb is adding a sign-in address for your Portal, wait until Absorb confirms it is in place.
Your Microsoft 365 admin grants admin consent for the app.
Your System Admin enters the Tenant ID and turns on Embed Learning Experience in Client Settings.
Your Teams administrator makes the app available to Learners.

Grant Admin Consent in Microsoft Entra

A Microsoft 365 admin grants admin consent for the Absorb Aura enterprise application in the Microsoft Entra admin center. Consent allows Absorb to identify Learners by their Microsoft account so they can be signed in to the Absorb Learn tab automatically.

Until consent is granted, Learners see a Microsoft Need admin approval screen the first time they open the tab. This is expected and clears as soon as consent is granted; it does not indicate a problem with your Absorb configuration.

Enable the Absorb Learn Tab in Client Settings

A System Admin connects your portal to your Teams organization and turns on the embedded Learner experience in the Admin Experience (AE). Follow these steps:

Access the Admin Experience.
Navigate to Account > Client Settings.
Click Workplace apps.
In the Microsoft Teams section, enter your organization's Tenant ID.
Turn on the Embed Learning Experience toggle.
Click Save.

The following table describes each setting:

Setting	Description
Tenant ID	Links your Portal to your Teams organization. If the Tenant ID is already recorded against another Absorb Portal, the save is rejected with the message "This Microsoft Teams Tenant ID cannot be used for your configuration."
Embed Learning Experience	Turns on the Absorb Learn tab. When this toggle is off, the tab shows "Teams embedding is disabled for this portal."

This setting applies to the whole Portal and cannot be targeted by department or permission.

Make the App Available to Learners

After consent is granted and the settings are saved, your Teams administrator approves the app and makes it available from Teams Admin Center > Teams apps > Manage apps. Depending on how your organization manages Teams apps, Learners either find the app already installed or add it from their Teams app list.

To roll the app out to a pilot group or specific team first, your Teams administrator can make it available to specific people or groups in the Teams Admin Center. This assignment is what controls who can reach the app.

Customize the App for Your Organization

Your Teams administrator can change the app's display name, short and long descriptions, icons, and accent color for your organization from Teams Admin Center > Manage apps > Customize. These changes apply only to your organization and do not require a store re-submission.

Note that a renamed app will not match Absorb documentation that refers to the app as Absorb Aura.

Access Training in the Absorb Learn Tab

Learners use the Absorb Learn tab to find, complete, and review training without leaving Teams. The dashboard shows their assigned Courses, progress, and featured content. Follow these steps to access training:

Open the Absorb Aura app from the Teams sidebar. If the app is not pinned, click Apps to find it.
Click the Absorb Learn tab.
Sign in if prompted. Most Learners are signed in automatically, as described in Sign-In Experience below.
Browse or search the Course Catalog.
Click a Course to view its details, including duration, ratings, and prerequisites.
Enroll in the Course.
Launch the Course. The player runs inside the tab, with no browser or additional sign-in.
Complete the Course. Progress and completion are recorded in Absorb.

Learners can review completed training and Certificates in their Transcript, also inside the tab.

Resume an In-Progress Course

In-progress Courses appear on the Learner's Dashboard in the Absorb Learn tab. When the Learner clicks Resume, they return to where they left off. Progress is fully preserved because the tab uses the same enrollment record as the browser.

Mobile Device Support

The embedded experience requires partitioned cookie support on the device. Devices that do not support partitioned cookies show a branded fallback page with an Open Training button, which opens Absorb in the device's browser. The following devices are not supported:

Android 11 and earlier.
iPhones manufactured in 2019 or earlier.
Any iPhone running iOS 18.3 or earlier, regardless of model. Support begins with iOS 18.4.

This list is a screening guide rather than a guarantee. Absorb tests each device as the tab loads, so a managed device can still show the fallback page if a device management or browser policy blocks third-party or partitioned cookies.

Sign-In Experience

What a Learner sees when they open the Absorb Learn tab depends on your Portal's SSO setup and on whether Absorb can match their Microsoft account to an Absorb account.

Portal SSO Setup	What the Learner Sees
Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD)	No sign-in prompt. A few seconds of loading screens and redirects, then their dashboard, on the first visit and every visit after. This assumes their Absorb username or email address matches their Microsoft account.
Another IdP federated through Microsoft Entra ID	No sign-in prompt, on the same assumption as above. The hand-off happens in the background.
Another IdP not federated through Microsoft Entra ID, such as Okta, Auth0, or Ping	A sign-in pop-up opens and hands off to that IdP's own sign-in.
No SSO configured	The Absorb login screen appears inside the tab. Learners sign in with their Absorb username and password.

For more information about configuring SSO with Microsoft Entra ID, see Incoming SAML 2.0 Single Sign-On using Azure AD.

How Automatic Sign-In Works

Absorb uses the Microsoft work identity that Teams already holds and looks for a matching Absorb account. It compares the username and email address on the Microsoft account against the username and email address on the Absorb account, in every combination. When it finds a match, the Learner is signed in with no prompt. There is nothing to configure.

If Learners in a Microsoft Entra ID organization are asked to sign in unexpectedly, the usual cause is that their Absorb username and email address do not match their Microsoft work account.

How Often Learners Sign In

Learners who are signed in automatically are never prompted. Learners who sign in through a pop-up or the login screen are not asked again until their session expires. Session length is controlled by your IdP, not by Absorb, so it varies between organizations.

When reopening the tab, a brief window may open and close on its own. This is the IdP confirming the Learner is already signed in, and no action is needed.

Pop-Up Blockers

The sign-in window is a browser pop-up, so a pop-up blocker interrupts sign-in. Learners then see a sign-in failure message that names the pop-up blocker and asks them to navigate away and return to the tab. To prevent this, Learners must allow pop-ups for Microsoft Teams.

Learners Without an Absorb Account

An Absorb account can be created automatically the first time someone signs in through your IdP, if User Provisioning is enabled on that SSO configuration. Provisioning is set per SSO configuration, separately for SAML and for OIDC, and there is no single Portal wide setting. Keep the following in mind:

Provisioning does not apply to automatic Microsoft sign-in, which only signs in existing Absorb accounts. It also does not apply when no SSO is configured.
For OIDC, the provisioning setting alone is not enough. The configuration must also use dynamic keys and have a discovery URL.
For SAML, the assertion must include enough information to build the account. An assertion missing required fields does not create one, even with the setting turned on.
Where provisioning does not apply, the Learner sees a sign-in window or the login screen and cannot get past it, with no message explaining why.

If Learners report being stuck at sign-in, confirm their Absorb account exists before investigating anything else. For more information, see Incoming SAML 2.0 SSO Account Provisioning and OpenId Connect Single Sign-On.

Permissions Requested From Microsoft

The app requests only limited Microsoft permissions. The Teams app requests two permissions:

identity: Confirms who the signed-in User is.
messageTeamMembers

The app requests no access to mail, files, calendars, or Teams messages outside the app. Separately, at sign-in Absorb reads the signed-in User's email address and User Principal Name (UPN) from Microsoft Graph and uses those two values only to match the Learner to an existing Absorb account. Your Microsoft 365 admin sees the authoritative permission list in Microsoft Entra when granting consent.

Troubleshooting

The following tables list common issues by where they appear in the setup and Learner journey. Each entry describes what you see, the likely cause, and how to resolve it.

Installing the App

These issues appear when Learners look for, add, or first open the app in Teams.

What You See	Likely Cause	What To Do
Searching for the app in Teams returns nothing.	The app has not been made available in your organization's Teams app catalog.	Your Teams administrator makes it available from Teams Admin Center > Teams apps > Manage apps.
The app is listed, but Add is unavailable or sends a request instead.	Your organization's Teams app policy restricts who can add apps.	Your Teams administrator approves the request or adjusts the policy.
A Microsoft Need admin approval screen appears the first time the tab is opened.	Admin consent has not been granted for the Absorb Aura enterprise application.	A Microsoft 365 admin grants consent in the Microsoft Entra admin center. This screen is expected until then.
You want the app available to one team or pilot group only.	The Absorb setting is Portal wide, with no department or group targeting.	Your Teams administrator scopes the app to a group in the Teams Admin Center.

Configuring the Portal

These issues appear when saving or relying on the settings in Client Settings.

What You See	Likely Cause	What To Do
"Teams embedding is disabled for this portal. Please try again or contact support."	Most often, Embed Learning Experience is off. The message can also appear for other configuration reasons.	Check the toggle in Client Settings > Workplace apps. If it is already on, contact Absorb Support.
"This Microsoft Teams Tenant ID cannot be used for your configuration."	The Tenant ID is already recorded against another Absorb Portal. One Portal connects to one tenant.	Confirm the Tenant ID is correct. If it is, contact Absorb Support.
Everything saved and looks correct, but nothing works for Learners.	The settings were saved on a sandbox Portal.	Configure the production Portal instead.
The tab stopped working after routes were added or reordered.	The route change altered the address Teams uses, and that address is not yet authorized for Teams.	Contact Absorb Support. This cannot be fixed from your Portal Settings.

Signing In

These issues appear when Learners open the Absorb Learn tab.

What You See	Likely Cause	What To Do
The tab loads completely blank, with no error.	The address Teams uses is not authorized for Teams, typically after a route was added or reordered.	Contact Absorb Support. This cannot be fixed from your Portal Settings.
"Your account was not found in your organization's learning system..." appears for every Learner.	Usually a sign-in address issue rather than an account issue: none of your portal's addresses qualifies for Teams. It also appears when a sandbox portal was configured.	Confirm you configured the production Portal, then contact Absorb Support to review your Portal's addresses.
Some Learners get into the tab, but others cannot get past the sign-in screen, and no error appears.	Usually, Learners sign in to your Portal in different ways, such as SSO for employees and a username and password for contractors. Less often, the Learner has no Absorb account.	Compare how the affected Learners sign in to Absorb in a browser. If it differs, this configuration is not supported; contact Absorb Support. If it is the same, confirm their Absorb account exists.
A Learner is stuck at sign-in with no explanation.	No Absorb account exists and provisioning does not apply.	Confirm the account exists, then review the provisioning conditions in Learners Without an Absorb Account.
Learners are asked to sign in when automatic sign-in was expected.	In order of likelihood: your IdP is not federated through Microsoft Entra ID; the Learner's Absorb username and email do not match their Microsoft account; or admin consent has not been granted.	A sign-in prompt is expected for IdPs not federated through Microsoft Entra ID. Otherwise, align the Learner's identifiers or grant consent.
The Absorb login screen appears instead of your IdP.	Your Portal uses IdP-initiated SAML, which is not supported inside Teams.	Learners can sign in with their Absorb credentials. Signing in through your IdP requires an SP-initiated SAML or OIDC configuration.
A sign-in failure message names the pop-up blocker.	A pop-up blocker interrupted the sign-in window.	Allow pop-ups for Microsoft Teams and reopen the tab.
"Tenant ID not found."	The Learner is using a personal Microsoft account or certain guest access scenarios.	Sign in to Teams with a work account.
A window opens and closes on its own when reopening the tab.	Your IdP is confirming the Learner is already signed in.	No action needed.
The login page shows a different department's branding.	All Learners sign in through the single address Teams uses.	No action needed. After sign-in, Learners see their own department's branding.

On a Device

These issues relate to specific devices or lesson behavior inside Teams.

What You See	Likely Cause	What To Do
A branded fallback page with an Open Training button appears instead of the learner experience.	The device does not support partitioned cookies.	No action needed. Click Open Training to open Absorb in the device's browser.
A device that should be supported still shows the fallback page.	A device management or browser policy blocks third-party or partitioned cookies.	Your IT team reviews the device or browser policy.
A lesson set to open in a pop-up or new tab opens inline.	Pop-up and new-tab launch settings have no effect inside Teams.	No action needed. This is expected.

Frequently Asked Questions

The following answers address common questions about the Absorb Aura app for Microsoft Teams. Click a question to view its answer.

Does this cost extra?

No. The Teams app is included with an active Absorb subscription. The Portal requirements are a technical gate, not a commercial one.

Who has to approve what before Learners can use it?

Two approvals are needed, both on your side. A Teams administrator makes the app available in your organization's app catalog, and a Microsoft 365 admin grants admin consent for the Absorb Aura enterprise application in Microsoft Entra. Without consent, Learners see a Microsoft Need admin approval screen when they open the tab.

Does the app send Learners notifications?

No. The Absorb Learn tab is a destination Learners open when they choose. Nothing is pushed to Learners.

Can we turn it on for one team or one department first?

Not from Absorb, as the Absorb setting is Portal wide. Your Teams administrator can make the app available to specific people or groups in the Teams Admin Center, which determines who can reach it.

Will Absorb need to change anything on our portal?

Usually not. Teams needs one sign-in address on your Portal that it can use for everyone. If your Portal does not have one, Absorb adds a dedicated address on its own infrastructure, such as teams-yourcompany.myabsorb.com. There is nothing for you to host, register, or configure, your Learners never need to use it directly, and your existing addresses and sign-in continue as before.

Our Learners use a custom or vanity domain. Does that work?

Yes. Your custom domain keeps working exactly as it does today in a browser; it just is not the address Teams uses. The Teams app can only load pages on .myabsorb addresses, so the tab opens your Portal on its .myabsorb address instead. Learners never need to know or type either address.

Each of our departments has its own route. Are we blocked?

No, provided every Learner signs in the same way. Department-scoped routes cannot be used for Teams sign-in, so Absorb adds one shared route at no effort on your part. More than one SSO configuration, or a mix of SSO and non-SSO Learners, is a blocker.

We already have several .myabsorb routes. Does adding one for Teams break anything?

No, as long as the existing routes are not reordered when the new one is added. Teams uses the first eligible route in configured order, so reordering routes later changes which one Teams uses.

We use Okta. Will Learners be signed in automatically?

Only if Okta is federated through Microsoft Entra ID. If it is not, Learners get a sign-in pop-up that hands off to Okta. This is expected behavior, not a fault.

Will Learners have to sign in every time they open the tab?

No. Learners signed in automatically are never prompted. Learners who sign in through a pop-up or the login screen are not asked again until their session expires, and session length is set by your IdP, not by Absorb.

Which lesson types work in Teams?

The tab runs the standard Absorb Course player, and no lesson type is blocked inside Teams. One difference applies: a lesson set to open in a pop-up or a new tab opens inline in the tab instead.

Is training completed in Teams recorded differently?

No. It is the same enrollment record as the browser. A Course started in a browser can be resumed in Teams, and the other way around.