Domain 2 of 3 · Chapter 4 of 4

Building and Managing Copilot Agents

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Included in this chapter:

  • Agent Store vs build your own
  • Building an agent end to end
  • Configure an agent that has knowledge
  • Instructions, capabilities, and suggested prompts
  • Share an agent with your team
  • Exam patterns: building and managing agents

Use a store agent or build your own

ConsiderationAdd from Agent StoreBuild in Agent Builder
When it fitsA ready-made agent already does the taskNo existing agent matches your knowledge or instructions
Who maintains itThe publisher (Microsoft, a vendor, or your org)You, the author
Setup effortClick to add and useSet instructions, knowledge, capabilities, and prompts
Knowledge sourceDefined by the publisherYou choose (SharePoint, files, up to four websites)
Best forCommon, prebuilt scenariosA specific, repeatable team need

Decision tree

A ready-made agentin the Agent Store fits?YesAdd it from the storepublisher maintains itNoNo-code, your knowledge,no actions?YesBuild in Agent Builderdeclarative agent, no codeNo: code / actionsCopilot Studioout of scope hereThen share: who should use it?Only you / Specific users / Anyone in your org
Cheat sheet

Cheat sheet

  • Check the Agent Store before building your own agent
  • The Agent Store has Microsoft, third-party, and Built by your org agents
  • A business user builds with Agent Builder, not Copilot Studio
  • An Agent Builder agent is a declarative agent on Copilot's engine
  • Start an agent from Describe, a template, or Skip to configure
  • Building from a template gives a preconfigured agent to tailor
  • Describe and Configure are two views of one agent
  • Test on the Try it tab before you create or share
  • A new agent is private until you choose Create then Share
  • Knowledge is the grounding source the agent answers from
  • An agent grounded on SharePoint searches that URL and its subpaths
  • Agent knowledge has per-type limits: 4 websites, 100 SP files, 50 OneDrive files
  • Email and Teams knowledge need a Copilot add-on license
  • An agent answers within each user's own permissions
  • Use Only use specified sources to keep answers on your knowledge
  • Instructions direct the agent's behavior and tone
  • The description tells Copilot what the agent is for; instructions tell it how to act
  • Capabilities add code interpreter or image generation by toggle
  • Starter prompts show users what an agent can do
  • Share scope is Only you, Specific users, or Anyone in your organization
  • Agent Builder sharing is for a team, not org-wide deployment
  • Edits go live only when you choose Update, and only the creator can delete
  • Use the Analyst agent to turn raw spreadsheets and CSVs into trends, forecasts, and charts
  • Match the scenario to the right Microsoft-built agent by its specialty
  • Build an agent from scratch when no template matches your unique purpose
  • Build an agent for recurring, grounded, standardized needs; use general chat for one-offs
  • Pick the agent's knowledge source by where the authoritative content already lives
  • Enable the web search capability so an agent can use current public web information
  • Share an agent for use via its sharing link, and grant access before colleagues can open it

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References

  1. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot/extensibility/agents-overview
  2. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot-studio/
  3. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot-studio/advanced-generative-actions
  4. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot-studio/publication-fundamentals-publish-channels