The bot won't join my session: what to do

We know this is frustrating, especially if you have a client waiting. Let's resolve it. Most cases have a simple cause that can be fixed in under two minutes.

Table of contents

• Quick check (2 minutes)
• Common causes and solutions
• Platform-specific diagnosis
• If the bot joins but transcription does not work
• When to contact support

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Quick check (2 minutes)

Before going into detail, check these four things in order:

1. Is the meeting URL correct?

• Go to your session in CauceOS and verify the URL you pasted.
• Copy the URL directly from the browser when the meeting is active, not from an older email or invitation.
• The meeting must be active (not pending to start).

2. Has the meeting started?

• The bot can only join active meetings. If you created the session in CauceOS before the meeting started, wait for the meeting to be active and then click "Retry join" on the session status.

3. Does the session status show an error?

• In your CauceOS panel, check the session status. If it shows "Connection error" or "Could not join", you will see an error code. The most common codes are covered in this guide.

4. Does your plan have sessions available?

• If you exceeded your plan's monthly cap, the bot cannot join. Check your usage under Settings → Billing → This month's usage.

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Common causes and solutions

Waiting room enabled

Symptom: The bot attempts to join but the status stays at "In waiting room" for more than 2 minutes.

Cause: Your meeting platform has the waiting room enabled and nobody has admitted the bot.

Solution:

• When the meeting is active, check the waiting participant list. You will see the bot (named "CauceOS Copilot" or whatever name you configured). Admit it manually.
• If you do not want to do this every time, disable the waiting room for meetings where you use CauceOS, or configure an automatic admission rule for the email the bot uses.

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Incorrect or expired URL

Symptom: The status shows "Meeting not found" or "Invalid URL".

Cause: The URL you pasted corresponds to a meeting that has already ended, a generic invitation template, or has an incorrect format.

Solution:

• Copy the URL directly from the browser address bar when the meeting is active.
• For Google Meet: the URL has the format https://meet.google.com/xxx-xxxx-xxx.
• For Microsoft Teams: the URL has the long format that includes teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/....
• Avoid using invitation URLs that include additional text after the meeting URL.

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Organizer permissions

Symptom: The bot enters the waiting room but is rejected, or the status shows "Access denied".

Cause: The meeting has settings that prevent external participants or bots from joining.

Solution:

• Make sure you are the meeting organizer, or that the organizer has enabled access for external participants.
• In Google Meet: go to meeting settings and verify that external participants can join.
• In Microsoft Teams: the tenant administrator may have policies blocking bots. Consult your IT administrator.

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Participant limit reached

Symptom: The status shows "Could not join — meeting full".

Cause: The meeting already has the maximum number of participants allowed by your Google Meet, Teams, or Zoom plan.

Solution: Check the participant limit of your video conferencing plan. Free plans for Meet have lower limits than paid plans.

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Temporary service issue

Symptom: The bot does not join and the status does not show a clear cause.

Solution:

• Wait 30 seconds and click "Retry" on the session status.
• If the problem persists, check service status at status.cauceos.com.
• If the service reports normal status, contact support.

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Platform-specific diagnosis

Google Meet

The most frequent issues in Meet:

• Waiting room: Active in Google Workspace meetings. Admit the bot manually.
• Educational meetings: Some Google Workspace Education plans block external participants. Consult your administrator.
• "Invite-only" meetings: Configure the meeting to allow anyone with the link to join.

Microsoft Teams

The most frequent issues in Teams:

• Tenant policies: IT administrators can block external bots. This is the most common case in corporate environments.
• Channel meetings vs. direct meetings: CauceOS works better with direct meetings (not channel meetings).
• Teams waiting room: Similar to Meet — admit the bot from the waiting room.

Zoom

• Authentication required: If the meeting requires a Zoom account to join, the bot cannot access. Change the settings to allow access without authentication.
• Waiting room: Same situation as the other platforms.

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If the bot joins but transcription does not work

If you see the bot in the meeting but the transcription in your panel shows "No audio" or is blank:

1. Verify that the meeting audio is active — if all participants are muted, there is nothing to transcribe.
2. Verify that the bot is not muted — in Meet and Teams, the organizer can mute participants. The bot needs to be able to hear, even though it does not speak.
3. Check your internet connection — an unstable connection can interrupt the audio stream.

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When to contact support

Contact us if:

• None of the above steps resolve the issue.
• The session status shows an error code not covered in this guide.
• The problem occurs consistently with a specific platform.
• You have an important meeting in the next few minutes and need urgent assistance.

Support: support@cauceos.com

When you write, include:

• The meeting platform you are using (Meet, Teams, Zoom)
• The error code if there is one
• The meeting URL (you can redact it after the session has ended)
• A screenshot of the session status in your panel

We respond Monday to Friday, 9am–6pm (UTC-5). For urgent issues outside business hours, include "URGENT" in the subject line.

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Related articles

• How the CauceOS virtual bot works
• Your first session step by step

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Still have questions? Write to us at support@cauceos.com.