Using Watercooler Prompts in MS Teams

Using Watercooler Topic Packs

The Watercooler feature helps you and your team build a more engaged, connected, and self-aware culture through lightweight conversation prompts.

CultureBot provides a set of templated Watercooler Topic Packs, each containing multiple conversation starters created by the CultureBot team. Exact prompt counts vary and are shown in the UI when selecting packs.

Available Templated Topic Packs

• 🍕 Food — Food preferences, recipes, dining experiences
• ✈️ Travel — Travel destinations, vacation stories, places to visit
• 📸 Photo Challenge — Photo-based prompts and visual sharing
• 🏔 Aspirational — Goals, dreams, and bucket list items
• 😎 Personal — Personal interests, hobbies, and experiences
• 👵 Generational — Generational differences, nostalgia, and era comparisons
• 🌲 Never Gets Old — Timeless topics and classic favorites
• 🌎 Go Green (Environmental Ideas) — Sustainability and environmental awareness
• ❤️ Favorite Things — Favorite foods, shows, hobbies, and more
• 🐈‍⬛ Pets — Pet stories, photos, and animal-related prompts
• 😬 Selfie Contest — Selfie challenges and photo prompts
• 🆚 This or That — Choice-based preference questions
• 👨‍💻 Working Style — Work preferences, productivity, and professional habits
• 🗺 Scavenger Hunt — Interactive challenges and activities

Creating Custom Watercooler Topic Packs

You’re not limited to templated packs — you can also create custom Watercooler Topic Packs tailored to your team.

Step-by-Step: Create a Custom Pack

1. Go to CultureBot → Water Cooler
2. Click View/Add Custom Packs

3. Click Create Pack, enter a name, and save

   Select the pack and click Add Prompt

   • Enter your question text
   • (Optional) Add an image URL
   • Save the prompt

Using a Custom Pack

1. Edit an existing Watercooler instance
2. Select your custom pack from the Topics dropdown
3. Save your changes

Setting Up Watercooler Prompts in Microsoft Teams

1. Go to the CultureBot Web Dashboard → Water Cooler

   Click Add Instance (Classic) or Add Instance (AI)

   • Classic includes preset and custom topic packs
   • AI generates prompts based on the subjects you provide

2. Click Edit/Delete on the new instance

   Configure:

   • Channel(s)
   • Days of the week
   • Time

   • Frequency

     Choose prompts:

   • Select from preset packs, or
   • Create/select custom packs via View/Add Custom Packs
3. Save your settings

Prompts will automatically post to the selected channels at the scheduled times.

Viewing, Editing, and Managing Upcoming Prompts

To review or adjust scheduled prompts:

1. Go to CultureBot → Water Cooler
2. Click View Prompts on a Watercooler instance

Available Actions

• Preview — View the full prompt text
• Skip — Remove a prompt (a new one will automatically generate)
• Reorder — Use the up/down arrows to change the sending order

All changes save automatically. Prompts are sent in the order shown. For AI-based instances, new prompts are generated automatically as needed.