Seeking Advice on Using Apps Script WebApp as a Personal Google Chat Bot

Google Workspace Developers Q&A
1

Hello Google Developers community,

I am trying to create a personal auto-responder bot for Google Chat that interacts with users via direct messages and checks my Google Calendar before sending a reply. My goal is that only I can install and use this bot within my organization.

I have implemented the bot as a Google Apps Script WebApp with a doPost(e) endpoint to handle incoming messages, and it works when I test it via POST requests. However, I cannot figure out how to make it appear in Google Chat as a DM bot.

I have tried:

  • Configuring the Google Chat API in Cloud Console

  • Using Google Workspace Marketplace SDK with internal visibility

  • “Test your app” (which does not appear in my project)

  • Using direct installation links (api-admin/install-app?resourceName=…)

It seems that Apps Script WebApps cannot be installed as personal Chat bots anymore with the current Google Chat / Marketplace SDK setup.

My questions for the experts:

  1. Is there any way to make a WebApp function as a personal DM bot in Google Chat today?

  2. If not, what are the recommended alternatives to achieve a similar auto-responder functionality (checking Calendar, responding to DMs) without publishing to the marketplace?

Thank you in advance for your guidance!

2

try Incoming webhook for Google chat space.

const WEBHOOK_URL = ‘YOUR_WEBHOOK_URL_HERE’;

const payload = {

'text': 'messege'

};

const options = {

'method': 'post',

'contentType': 'application/json; charset=UTF-8',

'payload': JSON.stringify(payload)

};

UrlFetchApp.fetch(WEBHOOK_URL, options);
3

Hey,

Hope you’re keeping well.

Apps Script Web Apps can no longer be registered directly as Google Chat bots, so they won’t appear as DM bots without going through the Chat API bot framework. For an internal-only bot, the supported path is to build it with the Google Chat API in Cloud Console, host the bot logic in Apps Script (or Cloud Run/App Engine), and register it in Chat API > Configuration with “Only people in your organization” visibility. You can then assign your own account as the only user via Admin Console > Apps > Google Chat > Manage apps to keep it personal.

If you still want Calendar integration, your bot service can call the Calendar API using an Apps Script project bound to your account, or a service account with delegated domain-wide authority. This approach avoids Marketplace publishing while still giving you a DM-capable bot that behaves like your current WebApp.

Thanks and regards,
Taz